AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/ (AMT) FY 2023 MD&A

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations that follow are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates and such differences could be material to the financial statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report and the accompanying notes, and the information set forth under the caption “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” below.

We report our results in seven segments – U.S. & Canada property (which includes all assets in the United States and Canada, other than our data center facilities and related assets), Asia-Pacific property, Africa property, Europe property, Latin America property, Data Centers and Services. In evaluating financial performance in each business segment, management uses, among other factors, segment gross margin and segment operating profit (see note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report).

Executive Overview

We are one of the largest global REITs and a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate. Our primary business is the leasing of space on communications sites to wireless service providers, radio and television broadcast companies, wireless data providers, government agencies and municipalities and tenants in a number of other industries. In addition to the communications sites in our portfolio, we manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. We also hold other telecommunications infrastructure and property interests that we lease primarily to communications service providers and third-party tower operators, and, as discussed further below, we hold a portfolio of highly interconnected data center facilities and related assets in the United States. Our customers include our tenants, licensees and other payers. We refer to the business encompassing the above as our property operations, which accounted for 99% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 and includes our U.S. & Canada property, Asia-Pacific property, Africa property, Europe property and Latin America property segments and Data Centers segment.

We also offer tower-related services in the United States, including site application, zoning and permitting, structural and mount analyses, and construction management, which primarily support our site leasing business, including the addition of new tenants and equipment on our sites.

28

Table of Contents

The following table details the number of communications sites, excluding managed sites, that we owned or operated as of December 31, 2023:

_______________

(1)Approximately 98% of the operated towers are held pursuant to long-term finance leases, including those subject to purchase options.

(2)We also control land under carrier or other third-party communications sites in Australia and New Zealand, which provide recurring cash flows through tenant leasing arrangements.

(3)As further discussed below, in January 2024, we entered into the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction.

(4)During the year ended December 31, 2023, we completed the sale of our subsidiary in Poland.

As of December 31, 2023, our property portfolio included 28 operating data center facilities across ten markets in the United States that collectively comprise approximately 3.3 million NRSF of data center space, as detailed below:

29

Table of Contents

_______________

(1)Excludes approximately 0.4 million of office and light-industrial NRSF acquired as part of the CoreSite Acquisition.

In most of our markets, our tenant leases for our communications sites with wireless carriers generally have initial non-cancellable terms of five to ten years with multiple renewal terms. Accordingly, the vast majority of the revenue generated by our property operations during the year ended December 31, 2023 was recurring revenue that we should continue to receive in future periods. Most of our tenant leases for our communications sites have provisions that periodically increase or “escalate” the rent due under the lease, typically based on (a) an annual fixed escalation (averaging approximately 3% in the United States) or (b) an inflationary index in most of our international markets, or a combination of both. In addition, certain of our tenant leases provide for additional revenue primarily to cover costs, such as ground rent or power and fuel costs.

Based upon existing customer leases and foreign currency exchange rates as of December 31, 2023, we expect to generate over $60 billion of non-cancellable customer lease revenue over future periods, before the impact of straight-line lease accounting.

Following the rulings by the Supreme Court of India regarding carriers’ obligations for the AGR fees and charges prescribed by the court, we have experienced variability and a level of uncertainty in collections in India. As further discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors—A substantial portion of our current and projected revenue is derived from a small number of customers, and we are sensitive to adverse changes in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our customers,” in the third quarter of 2022, one of our largest customers in India, VIL, communicated that it would make partial payments. We recorded reserves in late 2022 and the first half of 2023 for the VIL Shortfall. In the second half of 2023, VIL began making payments in full of its monthly contractual obligations owed to us.

In February 2023, and as amended in August 2023, VIL issued the VIL OCDs, which are (a) to be repaid by VIL with interest, or (b) convertible into equity of VIL. If converted, such equity shall be free to trade in the open market beginning on the one year anniversary of the date of issuance of the VIL OCDs. The VIL OCDs were issued for an aggregate face value of 16.0 billion Indian Rupees (“INR”) (approximately $193.2 million on the date of issuance) and will mature on August 27, 2024. The fair value of the VIL OCDs at issuance was approximately $116.5 million.

We considered these developments and the uncertainty with respect to amounts owed under our tenant leases when conducting our 2022 annual impairment assessments for long-lived assets and goodwill in India, and, as a result, we determined that certain fixed and intangible assets had been impaired during the year ended December 31, 2022, which resulted in an impairment charge of $508.6 million.

Additionally, in 2023, we initiated a strategic review of our India business, where we evaluated the appropriate level of exposure to the India market within our global portfolio of communications assets, and assessed opportunities to repurpose capital to drive long-term shareholder value and sustained growth. The strategic review concluded in January 2024 with our signed agreement with DIT for the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction. During the process, and based on information gathered therein, we updated our estimate on the fair value of the India reporting unit and determined that the carrying value exceeded fair value. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $322.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

On January 4, 2024, we entered into an agreement with DIT for the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction, pursuant to which DIT will acquire a 100% ownership interest in ATC TIPL. We will retain the full economic benefit associated with the VIL OCDs and rights to payments on certain existing customer receivables. Total aggregate consideration would potentially represent up to approximately 210 billion INR (approximately $2.5 billion), including the value of the VIL OCDs, payments on certain existing customer receivables, the repayment of existing intercompany debt and the repayment, or assumption, of our existing term loan in India, by DIT. The Pending ATC TIPL Transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approval.

30

Table of Contents

We will continue to evaluate the carrying value of our Indian assets, which may result in the realization of additional impairment expense or other similar charges. For more information on impairments in India, please see the information under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” included in this Annual Report.

The revenues generated by our property operations may be affected by cancellations of existing tenant leases. As discussed above, most of our tenant leases with wireless carriers and broadcasters are multiyear contracts, which typically are non-cancellable; however, in some instances, a lease may be cancelled upon the payment of a termination fee.

Revenue lost from either tenant lease cancellations or the non-renewal of leases or rent renegotiations, which we refer to as churn, has historically not had a material adverse effect on the revenues generated by our consolidated property operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, churn was approximately 3% of our tenant billings, primarily driven by churn in our U.S. & Canada property segment, as discussed below.

We expect that our churn rate in our U.S. & Canada property segment will remain elevated through 2025 due to contractual lease cancellations and non-renewals by T-Mobile, including legacy Sprint Corporation leases, pursuant to the terms of the T-Mobile MLA entered into in September 2020.

Property Operations Revenue Growth. Due to our diversified communications site portfolio, our tenant lease rates vary considerably depending upon numerous factors, including, but not limited to, amount, type and position of tenant equipment on the tower, remaining tower capacity and tower location. We measure the remaining tower capacity by assessing several factors, including tower height, tower type, environmental conditions, existing equipment on the tower and zoning and permitting regulations in effect in the jurisdiction where the tower is located. In many instances, tower capacity can be increased with relatively modest tower augmentation capital expenditures, which are often reimbursed to us.

The primary factors affecting the revenue growth of our property segments are:

•Growth in tenant billings, including:

•New revenue attributable to leasing additional space on our sites (“colocations”) and lease amendments;

•Contractual rent escalations on existing tenant leases, net of churn; and

•New revenue attributable to leases in place on day one on sites acquired or constructed since the beginning of the prior-year period.

•Revenue growth from our Data Centers segment in the United States, including rental and power revenue from new lease commencements and expansions, contractual rent and power escalations on existing leases, mark-to-market increases on renewing leases and increased interconnection services and solutions.

•Revenue growth from other items, including additional tenant payments primarily to cover costs, such as ground rent or power and fuel costs included in certain tenant leases (“pass-through”), straight-line revenue and decommissioning, partially offset, in certain cases, by revenue reserve provisions.

We continue to believe that our site leasing revenue, which makes up the vast majority of our property segment revenue, is likely to increase due to the growing use of wireless services globally and our ability to meet the corresponding incremental demand for our communications real estate. By adding new tenants and new equipment for existing tenants on our sites, we are able to increase these sites’ utilization and profitability. We believe the majority of our site leasing activity will continue to come from wireless service providers, with tenants in a number of other industries contributing incremental leasing demand. Our site portfolio and our established tenant base provide us with new business opportunities, which have historically resulted in consistent and predictable organic revenue growth as wireless carriers seek to increase the coverage and capacity of their existing networks, while also deploying next generation wireless technologies. In addition, we intend to continue to supplement our organic growth by selectively developing or acquiring new sites in our existing and new markets where we can achieve our risk-adjusted return on investment objectives.

Property Operations Organic Revenue Growth. Consistent with our strategy to increase the utilization and return on investment from our sites, our objective is to add new tenants and new equipment for existing tenants through colocation and lease amendments. Our ability to lease additional space on our sites is primarily a function of the rate at which wireless carriers and other tenants deploy capital to improve and expand their wireless networks. This rate, in turn, is influenced by the growth of wireless services, the penetration of advanced wireless devices, the level of emphasis on network quality and capacity in carrier competition, the financial performance of our tenants and their access to capital and general economic conditions. According to industry data, recent aggregate annual wireless capital spending in the United States has averaged at least $30 billion, resulting in consistent demand for our sites.

Based on industry research and projections, we expect that a number of key industry trends will result in incremental revenue opportunities for us:

31

Table of Contents

•In less advanced wireless markets where network deployments are in earlier stages, we expect these deployments to drive demand for our tower space as carriers seek to expand their footprints and increase the scope and density of their networks. We have established operations in many of these markets at the early stages of wireless development, which we believe will enable us to meaningfully participate in these deployments over the long term.

•Subscribers’ use of mobile data continues to grow rapidly given increasing smartphone and other advanced device penetration, the proliferation of bandwidth-intensive applications on these devices and the continuing evolution of the mobile ecosystem. We believe carriers will be compelled to deploy additional equipment on existing networks while also rolling out more advanced wireless networks to address coverage and capacity needs resulting from this increasing mobile data usage.

•The deployment of advanced mobile technology, such as 4G and 5G, will provide higher speed data services and further enable fixed broadband substitution. As a result, we expect that our tenants will continue deploying additional equipment across their existing networks.

•Wireless service providers compete based on the quality of their networks, which is driven by capacity and coverage. To maintain or improve their network performance as overall network usage increases, our tenants continue to deploy additional equipment across their existing sites while also adding new cell sites. We anticipate increasing network densification over the next several years, as existing network density is anticipated to be insufficient to account for rapidly increasing levels of wireless data usage.

•Wireless service providers continue to acquire additional spectrum, and as a result are expected to add additional sites and equipment to their networks as they seek to optimize their network configuration and utilize additional spectrum. We expect this to be particularly relevant in the context of higher-band spectrum such as 2.5 gigahertz (GHz) and C-Band being deployed for 5G, as these spectrum assets tend to have more limited propagation characteristics compared to the lower-band spectrum that has historically been deployed on our towers.

•Next generation technologies requiring wireless connectivity have the potential to provide incremental revenue opportunities for us. These technologies may include edge computing functionality, autonomous vehicle networks and a number of other internet-of-things, or IoT, applications, as well as other potential use cases for wireless services. These technologies may create new and complementary use cases for our communications real estate over time, although these use cases are currently in nascent stages.

•Continued data growth and emerging high-performance, latency-sensitive applications will drive an increased need for reliable, secure and interconnected data center solutions. We believe these trends will result in incremental utilization and interconnection demand at our data center facilities.

As part of our international expansion initiatives, we have targeted markets in various stages of network development to diversify our international exposure and position us to benefit from a number of different wireless technology deployments over the long term. In addition, we have focused on building relationships with large multinational carriers to increase the opportunities for growth or mutually beneficial transactional opportunities across common markets. We believe that consistent carrier network investments across our international markets will, over the long term, position us to generate meaningful organic revenue growth going forward.

In emerging markets, such as Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, the Philippines and Uganda, wireless networks tend to be significantly less advanced than those in the United States, and initial voice networks continue to be deployed in certain underdeveloped areas. A majority of consumers in these markets still utilize basic wireless services and advanced device penetration remains low. In more developed urban locations within these markets, mobile data usage tends to be higher and advanced network deployments are further along. Carriers are focused on completing voice network build-outs while increasing investments in data networks as mobile data usage and smartphone penetration within their customer bases begin to accelerate.

In markets with rapidly evolving network technology, such as South Africa and most of the countries in Latin America where we do business, initial voice networks, for the most part, have already been built out, and carriers are increasingly focused on the early stages of 5G network deployments. Consumers in these regions are increasingly adopting smartphones and other advanced devices, in particular as lower cost smartphones become increasingly available. As a result, the usage of bandwidth-intensive mobile applications is growing materially. Recent spectrum auctions in these rapidly evolving markets have allowed incumbent carriers to accelerate their data network deployments and have also enabled new entrants to begin initial investments in data networks. Smartphone penetration and wireless data usage in these markets are advancing rapidly, which typically requires that carriers continue to invest in their networks to maintain and augment their quality of service.

Finally, in markets with more mature network technology, such as Australia, Canada, Germany, France, New Zealand and Spain, carriers are focused on deploying 5G data networks to account for rapidly increasing wireless data usage among their customer base.

32

Table of Contents

We believe that the network technology migration we have seen in the United States, which has led to significantly denser networks and meaningful new business commencements for us over a number of years, will be replicated in our international markets over time. As a result, we expect to be able to leverage our extensive international portfolio of approximately 182,000 communications sites and the relationships we have built with our carrier tenants to drive sustainable, long-term growth.

We have master lease agreements with many of our tenants for our communications sites that provide for consistent, long-term revenue and reduce the likelihood of non-contractual churn. Certain of those master lease agreements are comprehensive in nature and further build and augment strong strategic partnerships with our tenants while significantly reducing colocation cycle times, thereby providing our tenants with the ability to rapidly and efficiently deploy equipment on our sites.

Demand for our communications infrastructure assets could be negatively impacted by a number of factors, including an increase in network sharing or consolidation among our customers, as set forth in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the captions “Risk Factors—If our customers consolidate their operations, exit their businesses or share site infrastructure to a significant degree, our growth, revenue and ability to generate positive cash flows could be materially and adversely affected” and “Risk Factors—A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from a small number of customers, and we are sensitive to adverse changes in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our customers.” In addition, the emergence and growth of new technologies could reduce demand for our sites, as set forth under the caption “Risk Factors—New technologies or changes,or lack thereof, in our or a customer’s business model could make our communications infrastructure leasing business less desirable and result in decreasing revenues and operating results.” Further, our customers may be subject to new regulatory policies from time to time that materially and adversely affect the demand for our communications infrastructure assets.

Property Operations New Site Revenue Growth. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we grew our portfolio of communications real estate through the acquisition and construction of approximately 3,355 communications sites globally. In a majority of our Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and Latin America markets, the revenue generated from newly acquired or constructed sites resulted in increases in both tenant and pass-through revenues (such as ground rent or power and fuel costs) and expenses. We continue to evaluate opportunities to acquire communications real estate portfolios, both domestically and internationally, to determine whether they meet our risk-adjusted hurdle rates and whether we believe we can effectively integrate them into our existing portfolio.

Property Operations Expenses. Direct operating expenses incurred by our property segments include direct site or facility level expenses and consist primarily of ground rent and power and fuel costs, some or all of which may be passed through to our customers, as well as property taxes and repairs and maintenance expenses. These segment direct operating expenses exclude all segment and corporate selling, general, administrative and development expenses, which are aggregated into one line item entitled Selling, general, administrative and development expense in our consolidated statements of operations. In general, our property segments’ selling, general, administrative and development expenses do not significantly increase as a result of adding incremental customers to our sites or facilities and typically increase only modestly year-over-year. As a result, leasing additional space to new customers on our sites or within our facilities provides significant incremental gross margin and cash flow. We may, however, incur additional segment selling, general, administrative and development expenses as we increase our presence in our existing markets or expand into new markets. Our profit margin growth is therefore positively impacted by the addition of new customers to our sites or facilities but can be temporarily diluted by our development activities.

Services Segment Revenue Growth. As we continue to focus on growing our property operations, we anticipate that our services revenue will continue to represent a small percentage of our total revenues.

33

Table of Contents

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Included in our analysis of our results of operations are discussions regarding earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, as adjusted (“Adjusted EBITDA”), Funds From Operations, as defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit FFO”) attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders, Consolidated Adjusted Funds From Operations (“Consolidated AFFO”) and AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as Net income before Income (loss) from equity method investments; Income tax benefit (provision); Other income (expense); Gain (loss) on retirement of long-term obligations; Interest expense; Interest income; Other operating income (expense), including Goodwill impairment; Depreciation, amortization and accretion; and stock-based compensation expense.

Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders is defined as net income before gains or losses from the sale or disposal of real estate, real estate related impairment charges, real estate related depreciation, amortization and accretion less dividends to noncontrolling interests, and including adjustments for (i) unconsolidated affiliates and (ii) noncontrolling interests. In this section, we refer to Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders as “Nareit FFO (common stockholders).”

We define Consolidated AFFO as Nareit FFO (common stockholders) before (i) straight-line revenue and expense; (ii) stock-based compensation expense; (iii) the deferred portion of income tax and other income tax adjustments; (iv) non-real estate related depreciation, amortization and accretion; (v) amortization of deferred financing costs, debt discounts and premiums and long-term deferred interest charges; (vi) other income (expense); (vii) gain (loss) on retirement of long-term obligations; (viii) other operating income (expense); and adjustments for (ix) unconsolidated affiliates and (x) noncontrolling interests, less cash payments related to capital improvements and cash payments related to corporate capital expenditures.

We define AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders as Consolidated AFFO, excluding the impact of noncontrolling interests on both Nareit FFO (common stockholders) and the other adjustments included in the calculation of Consolidated AFFO. In this section, we refer to AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders as “AFFO (common stockholders).”

Adjusted EBITDA, Nareit FFO (common stockholders), Consolidated AFFO and AFFO (common stockholders) are not intended to replace net income or any other performance measures determined in accordance with GAAP. None of Adjusted EBITDA, Nareit FFO (common stockholders), Consolidated AFFO or AFFO (common stockholders) represents cash flows from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and, therefore, these measures should not be considered indicative of cash flows from operating activities, as a measure of liquidity or a measure of funds available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to make cash distributions. Rather, Adjusted EBITDA, Nareit FFO (common stockholders), Consolidated AFFO and AFFO (common stockholders) are presented as we believe each is a useful indicator of our current operating performance. We believe that these metrics are useful to an investor in evaluating our operating performance because (1) each is a key measure used by our management team for decision making purposes and for evaluating our operating segments’ performance; (2) Adjusted EBITDA is a component underlying our credit ratings; (3) Adjusted EBITDA is widely used in the telecommunications real estate sector to measure operating performance as depreciation, amortization and accretion may vary significantly among companies depending upon accounting methods and useful lives, particularly where acquisitions and non-operating factors are involved; (4) Consolidated AFFO and AFFO (common stockholders) are widely used in the telecommunications real estate sector to adjust Nareit FFO (common stockholders) for items that may otherwise cause material fluctuations in Nareit FFO (common stockholders) growth from period to period that would not be representative of the underlying performance of property assets in those periods; (5) each provides investors with a meaningful measure for evaluating our period-to-period operating performance by eliminating items that are not operational in nature; and (6) each provides investors with a measure for comparing our results of operations to those of other companies, particularly those in our industry.

Our measurement of Adjusted EBITDA, Nareit FFO (common stockholders), Consolidated AFFO and AFFO (common stockholders) may not, however, be fully comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA, Nareit FFO (common stockholders), Consolidated AFFO and AFFO (common stockholders) to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, have been included below.

34

Table of Contents

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021

For a discussion of our 2022 Results of Operations, including a discussion of our financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, refer to Part I, Item 7 of our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023 (the “2022 Form 10-K”).

Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

(in millions, except percentages)

Revenue

Year ended December 31, 2023

U.S. & Canada property segment revenue growth of $209.9 million was attributable to:

• Tenant billings growth of $232.5 million, which was driven by:

◦$229.9 million due to colocations and amendments; and

◦$12.5 million resulting from contractual escalations, net of churn;

◦Partially offset by:

▪a decrease of $8.5 million from other tenant billings; and

▪a decrease of $1.4 million generated from newly acquired or constructed sites, which includes the impact of the disposition in the second quarter of 2022 of certain operations acquired in connection with our acquisition of InSite Wireless Group, LLC;

• Partially offset by a decrease of $22.0 million in other revenue, which includes a $66.9 million decrease due to straight-line accounting, partially offset by equipment removal and other fees.

Segment revenue growth included a decrease of $0.6 million attributable to the negative impact of foreign currency translation related to fluctuations in Canadian Dollar.

Asia-Pacific property segment revenue growth of $73.8 million was attributable to:

• Tenant billings growth of $51.4 million, which was driven by:

◦$41.3 million due to colocations and amendments;

◦$17.4 million generated from newly acquired or constructed sites; and

◦$1.6 million from other tenant billings;

◦Partially offset by a decrease of $8.9 million resulting from churn in excess of contractual escalations;

• An increase of $45.2 million in pass-through revenue, primarily due to a decrease in revenue reserves of $26.6 million as a result of reserves taken in the prior year period related to the VIL Shortfall (as discussed above); and

• An increase of $34.6 million in other revenue, primarily due to a decrease in revenue reserves of $31.4 million as a result of reserves taken in the prior year period related to the VIL Shortfall.

Segment revenue decline included a decrease of $57.4 million primarily attributable to the negative impact of foreign currency translation related to fluctuations in INR.

Africa property segment revenue growth of $33.1 million was attributable to:

• Tenant billings growth of $141.1 million, which was driven by:

◦$58.1 million due to colocations and amendments;

35

Table of Contents

◦$43.6 million generated from newly acquired or constructed sites;

◦$35.1 million resulting from contractual escalations, net of churn; and

◦$4.3 million from other tenant billings;

• An increase of $126.6 million in pass-through revenue, primarily due to an increase in energy costs; and

• An increase of $1.3 million in other revenue, primarily due to an increase from straight-line accounting, partially offset by an increase in revenue reserves.

Segment revenue growth included a decrease of $235.9 million attributable to the impact of foreign currency translation, which included, among others, negative impacts of $148.2 million related to fluctuations in Nigerian Naira, $45.4 million related to fluctuations in Ghanaian Cedi, $22.3 million related to fluctuations in Kenyan Shilling and $20.4 million related to fluctuations in South African Rand, partially offset by positive impacts of $2.0 million related to fluctuations in West African CFA Franc.

Europe property segment revenue growth of $39.9 million was attributable to:

• Tenant billings growth of $47.2 million, which was driven by:

◦$25.8 million resulting from contractual escalations, net of churn;

◦$13.6 million due to colocations and amendments; and

◦$8.5 million generated from newly acquired or constructed sites;

◦Partially offset by a decrease of $0.7 million from other tenant billings; and

• An increase of $9.9 million in other revenue, which includes an increase attributable to our Spain fiber business acquired in the second quarter of 2022;

• Partially offset by a decrease of $36.4 million in pass-through revenue, primarily due to a decrease in energy costs.

Segment revenue growth included an increase of $19.2 million, primarily attributable to the positive impact of foreign currency translation related to fluctuations in Euro (“EUR”).

Latin America property segment revenue growth of $106.4 million was attributable to:

• Tenant billings growth of $58.0 million, which was driven by:

◦$35.3 million due to colocations and amendments;

◦$20.2 million resulting from contractual escalations, net of churn;

◦$2.2 million generated from newly acquired or constructed sites; and

◦$0.3 million from other tenant billings; and

• An increase of $23.8 million in pass-through revenue, primarily attributable to increased pass-through ground rent costs in Brazil;

• Partially offset by a decrease of $74.0 million in other revenue, primarily attributable to the sale of one of our subsidiaries in Mexico that held fiber assets (“Mexico Fiber”) and a decrease in tenant settlements in Mexico.

Segment revenue growth included an increase of $98.6 million, attributable to the impact of foreign currency translation, which included, among others, positive impacts of $69.3 million related to fluctuations in Mexican Peso, $25.4 million related to fluctuations in Brazilian Real and $4.0 million related to fluctuations in Chilean Peso, partially offset by negative impacts of $1.9 million related to fluctuations in Colombian Peso.

Data Centers segment revenue growth of $68.1 million was attributable to:

•An increase of $31.9 million in rental, related and other revenue, primarily due to new lease commencements, customer expansions and rent increases upon customer renewals;

•An increase of $27.7 million in power revenue from new lease commencements, increased power consumption and pricing increases from existing customers; and

•An increase of $9.6 million in interconnection revenue, primarily due to customer interconnection net additions and set-up fees;

•Partially offset by a decrease of $1.1 million in straight-line revenue.

Services segment revenue decrease of $98.1 million was primarily attributable to a decrease in site application, zoning and permitting, structural and mount analyses services and construction management services.

36

Table of Contents

Gross Margin

Year ended December 31, 2023

•The increase in U.S. & Canada property segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, partially offset by an increase in direct expenses of $4.5 million.

•The increase in Asia-Pacific property segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, partially offset by an increase in direct expenses of $43.7 million due to an increase in costs associated with pass-through revenue, including fuel costs. Direct expenses also benefited by $37.1 million from the impact of foreign currency translation.

•The increase in Africa property segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, partially offset by an increase in direct expenses of $91.1 million, primarily due to an increase in costs associated with pass-through revenue, including energy costs. Direct expenses also benefited by $102.9 million from the impact of foreign currency translation.

•The increase in Europe property segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, and a decrease in direct expenses of $27.6 million, primarily due to a decrease in costs associated with pass-through revenue, including energy costs. Direct expenses were also negatively impacted by $7.5 million from the impact of foreign currency translation.

•The increase in Latin America property segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, partially offset by an increase in direct expenses of $15.0 million, primarily due to an increase in costs associated with pass-through revenue, including land rent costs. Direct expenses were also negatively impacted by $24.3 million from the impact of foreign currency translation.

•The increase in Data Centers segment gross margin was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue described above, partially offset by an increase in direct expenses of $25.6 million, primarily due to power costs.

•The decrease in Services segment gross margin was primarily due to the decrease in revenue described above, partially offset by a decrease in direct expenses of $47.3 million.

37

Table of Contents

Selling, General, Administrative and Development Expense (“SG&A”)

Year Ended December 31, 2023

•The decrease in our U.S. & Canada property segment SG&A was primarily driven by decreased personnel and related costs.

•The decrease in our Asia-Pacific property segment SG&A was primarily driven by a net decrease in bad debt expense of $18.8 million and decreased personnel and related costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023 the impact of the VIL Shortfall is reflected in revenue reserves as described above.

•The decrease in our Africa property segment SG&A was primarily driven by a benefit from the impact of foreign currency translation, partially offset by increased personnel and related costs to support our business, increased costs associated with the cancellation of projects and an increase in bad debt expense.

•The increases in our Europe property and Data Centers segment SG&A were primarily driven by increased personnel and related costs to support our business.

•The increases in our Latin America property and Services segment SG&A were primarily driven by net increases in bad debt expense, partially offset by decreased personnel and related costs. The Latin America property segment SG&A increase also includes the negative impact of foreign currency translation.

•The increase in other SG&A was primarily attributable to an increase in stock-based compensation expense of $26.4 million, including an increase of $7.9 million related to the change in vesting terms as described in note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report, and an increase in corporate SG&A, including an increase in personnel and related costs to support our business.

Operating Profit

Year Ended December 31, 2023

•The increases in operating profit for our U.S. & Canada, Asia-Pacific and Africa property segments were primarily attributable to increases in our segment gross margin and decreases in our segment SG&A.

38

Table of Contents

•The increases in operating profit for our Europe and Latin America property segments and our Data Centers segment were primarily attributable to increases in our segment gross margin, partially offset by increases in our segment SG&A.

•The decrease in operating profit for our Services segment was primarily attributable to a decrease in our segment gross margin and an increase in our segment SG&A.

Depreciation, Amortization and Accretion

The decrease in depreciation, amortization and accretion expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to the decrease in property and equipment and intangible assets subject to amortization as a result of impairments taken and disposals since the beginning of the prior-year period and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

We are in the process of finalizing our review of the estimated useful lives of our tower assets. Based on preliminary information obtained to date, we expect that our estimated asset lives may be extended, which would result in an estimated $700 million to $800 million decrease in depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2024. For more information on the change in the estimated useful lives of our tower assets, see the information under the caption “Property and Equipment” included in note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

Other Operating Expenses

The decrease in other operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to a decrease in impairment charges, excluding goodwill impairments, of $453.5 million, and a decrease in integration and acquisition related costs, including pre-acquisition contingencies and settlements, of $63.2 million, partially offset by a loss on the sale of Mexico Fiber of $80.0 million and an increase in severance and related costs of $21.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2022, impairment charges included $97.0 million related to tower and network location intangible assets and $411.6 million related to tenant-related intangible assets in our India reporting unit related to VIL in India. For more information on these impairments, see the information under the caption “India Impairments” included in note 16 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

Goodwill Impairment

Goodwill impairment consists of $402.0 million of impairment charges recorded for our India and Spain reporting units during the year ended December 31, 2023. For more information on these impairments, see the information under the caption “Goodwill Impairments” included in note 5 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

Total Other Expense

Total other expense consists primarily of interest expense and realized and unrealized foreign currency gains and losses. We record unrealized foreign currency gains or losses as a result of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations primarily associated with our intercompany notes and similar unaffiliated balances denominated in a currency other than the subsidiaries’ functional currencies.

The increase in total other expense during the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily due to foreign currency losses of $330.8 million in the current period, as compared to foreign currency gains of $449.4 million in the prior-year period, and an increase in net interest expense of $189.9 million, primarily due to increases in our weighted average interest rate, partially offset by an unrealized gains of $76.7 million related to the VIL OCDs held as of December 31, 2023.

39

Table of Contents

Income Tax Provision

As a REIT, we may deduct earnings distributed to stockholders against the income generated by our REIT operations. Consequently, the effective tax rate on income from continuing operations for each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 differs from the federal statutory rate.

The increase in the income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to increased earnings in certain foreign jurisdictions in the current year after adjusting for non-deductible amounts, partially offset by a benefit in the current year from the application of a tax law change in Kenya. The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2022 included a reduction in income due to intangible asset impairment charges in India. The income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2023 included the reversal of valuation allowances of $87.2 million in certain foreign jurisdictions as compared to the reversal of valuation allowances of $76.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Net Income / Adjusted EBITDA and Net Income / Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders / Consolidated AFFO / AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders

40

Table of Contents

_______________

(1)    Included in these amounts are impairment charges of $202.4 million and $655.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023, also includes goodwill impairment charges of $402.0 million recorded for the India and Spain reporting units and a loss on the sale of Mexico Fiber of $80.0 million.

(2)    For the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily includes distributions related to the outstanding mandatorily convertible preferred equity in connection with our agreements with certain investment vehicles affiliated with Stonepeak Partners LP (such investment vehicles, collectively, “Stonepeak,” and the distributions, the “Stonepeak Preferred Distributions”) and common dividends payable to us and Stonepeak in proportion to our equity interests in our U.S. data center business (the “Stonepeak Common Dividend”). For the year ended December 31, 2023, the amount included for the Stonepeak Common Dividend was $91.7 million.

(3)    In 2015, we incurred charges in connection with certain tax elections wherein MIP Tower Holdings LLC, parent company to Global Tower Partners (“GTP”), would no longer operate as a separate REIT for federal and state income tax purposes. We finalized a settlement related to this tax election during the year ended December 31, 2022. We believe that these related transactions are nonrecurring, and do not believe it is an indication of our operating performance. Accordingly, we believe it is more meaningful to present Consolidated AFFO excluding these amounts.

(4)    Includes (losses) gains on foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations of $(330.8) million and $449.4 million, respectively.

(5)    Primarily includes acquisition-related costs, integration costs and disposition costs.

(6)    Includes adjustments for the impact on both Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders as well as the other line items included in the calculation of Consolidated AFFO.

Year Ended December 31, 2023

The decrease in net income was primarily due to (i) changes in other expense (income) primarily due to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, (ii) an increase in goodwill impairment expense, (iii) an increase in net interest expense and (iv) an increase in the income tax provision, partially offset by (a) an increase in segment operating profit, (b) a decrease in other operating expenses and (c) a decrease in depreciation, amortization and accretion expense.

The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily attributable to an increase in our gross margin and a decrease in SG&A, excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense, of $6.2 million.

The increases in Consolidated AFFO and AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders were primarily attributable to the increase in our operating profit, excluding the impact of straight-line accounting, partially offset by (i) increases in net cash paid for interest, (ii) increases in dividends to noncontrolling interests, including the Stonepeak

41

Table of Contents

Preferred Distributions and the Stonepeak Common Dividend, (iii) increases in cash paid for income taxes and (iv) increases in capital improvement capital expenditures.

42

Table of Contents

Liquidity and Capital Resources

For a discussion of our 2022 Liquidity and Capital Resources, including a discussion of cash flows for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, refer to Part I, Item 7 of the 2022 Form 10-K.

Overview

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we increased our financial flexibility and our ability to grow our business while maintaining our long-term financial policies. Our significant 2023 financing transactions included:

•Redemption of our 3.50% senior unsecured notes due 2023 (the “3.50% Notes”) and our 3.000% senior unsecured notes due 2023 (the “3.000% Notes”) upon their maturity;

•Registered public offering in an aggregate amount of $5.7 billion, including 1.1 billion EUR, of senior unsecured notes with maturities ranging from 2027 to 2033;

•Securitization transactions, including the repayment of $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under our Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2013-2A due 2023 (the “Series 2013-2A Securities”) and the issuance of $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of the Series 2023-1A Securities (as defined below);

•Repayment of $1.5 billion under our $1.5 billion unsecured term loan entered into in December 2021 (the “2021 USD Two Year Delayed Draw Term Loan”); and

•Amendment of the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility, the 2021 Credit Facility and the 2021 Term Loan (each as defined below) to, among other things, (i) extend the maturity dates under each of the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility and (ii) adopt an Adjusted Term SOFR (as defined in the amendment agreements) pricing benchmark.

The following table summarizes our liquidity as of December 31, 2023 (in millions):

Subsequent to December 31, 2023, we made additional net borrowings of $485.0 million under the 2021 Credit Facility (as defined below) and $1.8 billion under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility (as defined below). The borrowings were used to repay existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.

On January 4, 2024, we entered into an agreement with DIT for the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction, pursuant to which DIT will acquire a 100% ownership interest in ATC TIPL. We will retain the full economic benefit associated with the VIL OCDs and rights to payments on certain existing customer receivables. Subject to certain pre-closing terms, total aggregate consideration would potentially represent up to 210 billion INR (approximately $2.5 billion), including the value of the VIL OCDs, payments on certain existing customer receivables, the repayment of existing intercompany debt and the repayment, or assumption, of our existing term loan in India, by DIT. The Pending ATC TIPL Transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approval. We expect to use the proceeds from the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction to repay existing indebtedness, including under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility.

Summary cash flow information is set forth below for the years ended December 31, (in millions):

We use our cash flows to fund our operations and investments in our business, including maintenance and improvements, communications site and data center construction, managed network installations and acquisitions. Additionally, we use our cash flows to make distributions, including distributions of our REIT taxable income to maintain our qualification for taxation

43

Table of Contents

as a REIT under the Code. We may also periodically repay or repurchase our existing indebtedness or equity. We typically fund our international expansion efforts primarily through a combination of cash on hand, intercompany debt and equity contributions.

On an on-going basis, we also perform a comprehensive assessment of our global operations to ensure our portfolio is positioned to drive sustained growth and achieve our risk-adjusted return objectives. This assessment may result in our decision to divest a portion, or all, of certain assets, including our Mexico fiber and Poland businesses in 2023, and our signed agreement in January 2024 with DIT for the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction, and repurpose proceeds, and potential future capital, to other capital priorities.

As of December 31, 2023, we had total outstanding indebtedness of $39.2 billion, with a current portion of $3.2 billion. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we generated sufficient cash flow from operations, together with borrowings under our credit facilities, proceeds from our equity and debt issuances and cash on hand, to fund our acquisitions, capital expenditures and debt service obligations, as well as our required distributions. We believe the cash generated by operating activities during the year ending December 31, 2024, together with our borrowing capacity under our credit facilities, will suffice to fund our required distributions, capital expenditures, debt service obligations (interest and principal repayments) and signed acquisitions.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $1.6 billion of cash and cash equivalents held by our foreign subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2023, we had $223.6 million of cash and cash equivalents held by our joint ventures, of which $196.6 million was held by our foreign joint ventures. While certain subsidiaries may pay us interest or principal on intercompany debt, we have historically not repatriated earnings from our foreign subsidiaries. However, in the event that we do repatriate any funds, we may be required to accrue and pay certain taxes.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

For the year ended December 31, 2023, cash provided by operating activities increased $1.0 billion as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The primary factors that impacted cash provided by operating activities as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, include:

•Changes in unearned revenue, as the prior year ended December 31, 2022 included the impact of advance payments from a customer during the year ended December 31, 2021; and

•An increase in our property segment operating profit of $510.9 million;

•Partially offset by an increase of approximately $171.4 million in cash paid for interest.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Our significant investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 are highlighted below:

•We spent approximately $168.0 million for acquisitions, including payments made for acquisitions completed in 2022.

•We spent $1.8 billion for capital expenditures, as follows (in millions):

_______________

(1)Includes the construction of 3,198 communications sites globally and approximately $395 million of spend related to data center assets.

(2)Includes $38.7 million of perpetual land easement payments reported in Deferred financing costs and other financing activities in the cash flows from financing activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.

(3)Includes $6.2 million of finance lease payments reported in Repayments of notes payable, credit facilities, term loans, senior notes, secured debt and finance leases in the cash flows from financing activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.

(4)Net of purchase credits of $13.2 million on certain assets, which are reported in investing activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.

We plan to continue to allocate our available capital, after satisfying our distribution requirements, among investment alternatives that meet our return on investment criteria, while maintaining our commitment to our long-term financial policies. Accordingly, we expect to continue to deploy capital through our annual capital expenditure program, including land purchases and new site and data center facility construction, and through acquisitions. We also regularly review our portfolios as to capital

44

Table of Contents

expenditures required to upgrade our infrastructure to our structural standards or address capacity, structural or permitting issues.

We expect that our 2024 total capital expenditures will be as follows (in millions):

_______________

(1)    Includes the construction of approximately 2,500 to 3,500 communications sites globally and approximately $450 million of anticipated spend related to data center assets.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Our significant financing activities were as follows (in millions):

_______________

(1)For the year ended December 31, 2022, included payment in full of $875.0 million aggregate principal amount and a fair value adjustment of $80.1 million of debt assumed in connection with the CoreSite Acquisition.

(2)For the year ended December 31, 2022, included $3.1 billion of contributions received in connection with Stonepeak’s acquisition of a noncontrolling ownership interest in our U.S. data center business.

Securitizations

Repayment of Series 2013-2A Securities—On the March 2023 repayment date, we repaid the entire $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Series 2013-2A Securities, pursuant to the terms of the agreements governing such securities. The repayment was funded with proceeds from the 2023 Securitization (as defined below).

Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2023-1, Subclass A and Series 2023-1, Subclass R—On March 13, 2023, we completed a securitization transaction (the “2023 Securitization”), in which American Tower Trust I (the “Trust”) issued $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2023-1, Subclass A (the “Series 2023-1A Securities”). To satisfy the applicable risk retention requirements of Regulation RR promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act” and, such requirements, the “Risk Retention Rules”), the Trust issued, and one of our affiliates purchased, $68.5 million aggregate principal amount of Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2023-1, Subclass R (the “Series 2023-1R Securities” and, together with the Series 2023-1A Securities, the “2023 Securities”) to retain an “eligible horizontal residual interest” (as defined in the Risk Retention Rules) in an amount equal to at least 5% of the fair value of the 2023 Securities.

45

Table of Contents

The assets of the Trust consist of a nonrecourse loan broken into components or “componentized” (the “Loan”), which also secures each of (i) the Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2018-1, Subclass A (the “Series 2018-1A Securities”) and (ii) the Secured Tower Revenue Securities, Series 2018-1, Subclass R (the “Series 2018-1R Securities” and, together with the Series 2018-1A Securities, the “2018 Securities”) issued in a securitization transaction in March 2018 (the “2018 Securitization” and, together with the 2023 Securitization, the “Trust Securitizations”) made by the Trust to American Tower Asset Sub, LLC and American Tower Asset Sub II, LLC (together, the “AMT Asset Subs”).

The AMT Asset Subs are jointly and severally liable under the Loan, which is secured primarily by mortgages on the AMT Asset Subs’ interests in 5,034 broadcast and wireless communications towers and related assets (the “Trust Sites”).

The 2023 Securities correspond to components of the Loan made to the AMT Asset Subs pursuant to the Second Supplement and Amendment dated as of March 13, 2023 (the “2023 Supplement”) to the Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated as of March 29, 2018 (the “Loan Agreement,” which continues to govern the 2018 Securities, and collectively, the “Trust Loan Agreement”).

The 2023 Securities (a) represent a pass-through interest in the components of the Loan corresponding to the 2023 Securities and (b) have an expected life of approximately five years with a final repayment date in March 2053. The Series 2023-1A Securities and the Series 2023-1R Securities have interest rates of 5.490% and 5.735%, respectively.

The debt service on the Loan will be paid solely from the cash flows generated from the operation of the Trust Sites held by the AMT Asset Subs. The AMT Asset Subs are required to make monthly payments of interest on the Loan. Subject to certain limited exceptions described below, no payments of principal will be required to be made on the components of the Loan corresponding to the 2023 Securities prior to the monthly payment date in March 2028, which is the anticipated repayment date for such components.

The AMT Asset Subs may prepay the Loan at any time, provided that prepayment is accompanied by applicable prepayment consideration. If the prepayment occurs within twelve months of the anticipated repayment date for the 2023 Securities, no prepayment consideration is due. The entire unpaid principal balance of the components of the Loan corresponding to the 2023 Securities will be due in March 2053.

Senior Notes

Repayments of Senior Notes

Repayment of 3.50% Senior Notes—On January 31, 2023, we repaid $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of our 3.50% Notes upon their maturity. The 3.50% Notes were repaid using borrowings under the 2021 Credit Facility. Upon completion of the repayment, none of the 3.50% Notes remained outstanding.

Repayment of 3.000% Senior Notes—On June 15, 2023, we repaid $700.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 3.000% Notes upon their maturity. The 3.000% Notes were repaid using borrowings under the 2021 Credit Facility. Upon completion of the repayment, none of the 3.000% Notes remained outstanding.

Repayment of 0.600% Senior Notes—On January 12, 2024, we repaid $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 0.600% senior unsecured notes due 2024 (the “0.600% Notes”) upon their maturity. The 0.600% Notes were repaid using borrowings under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility. Upon completion of the repayment, none of the 0.600% Notes remained outstanding.

Repayment of 5.00% Senior Notes—On February 14, 2024, we repaid $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of our 5.00% senior unsecured notes due 2024 (the “5.00% Notes”) upon their maturity. The 5.00% Notes were repaid using borrowings under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility. Upon completion of the repayment, none of the 5.00% Notes remained outstanding.

Offerings of Senior Notes

5.500% Senior Notes and 5.650% Senior Notes Offering—On March 3, 2023, we completed a registered public offering of $700.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.500% senior unsecured notes due 2028 (the “5.500% Notes”) and $800.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.650% senior unsecured notes due 2033 (the “5.650% Notes”). The net proceeds from this offering were approximately $1,480.9 million, after deducting commissions and estimated expenses, which we used to repay existing indebtedness under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility.

4.125% Senior Notes and 4.625% Senior Notes Offering—On May 16, 2023, we completed a registered public offering of 600.0 million EUR ($652.1 million at the date of issuance) aggregate principal amount of 4.125% senior unsecured notes due 2027 (the “4.125% Notes”) and 500.0 million EUR ($543.4 million at the date of issuance) aggregate principal amount of

46

Table of Contents

4.625% senior unsecured notes due 2031 (the “4.625% Notes”). The net proceeds from this offering were approximately 1,089.5 million EUR (approximately $1,184.1 million at the date of issuance), after deducting commissions and estimated expenses, which we used to repay existing indebtedness under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility.

5.250% Senior Notes and 5.550% Senior Notes Offering—On May 25, 2023, we completed a registered public offering of $650.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.250% senior unsecured notes due 2028 (the “5.250% Notes”) and $850.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.550% senior unsecured notes due 2033 (the “5.550% Notes”). The net proceeds from this offering were approximately $1,481.9 million, after deducting commissions and estimated expenses, which we used to repay existing indebtedness under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility.

5.800% Senior Notes and 5.900% Senior Notes Offering—On September 15, 2023, we completed a registered public offering of $750.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.800% senior unsecured notes due 2028 (the “5.800% Notes”) and $750.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.900% senior unsecured notes due 2033 (the “5.900% Notes” and, together with the 5.500% Notes, the 5.650% Notes, the 4.125% Notes, the 4.625% Notes, the 5.250% Notes, the 5.550% Notes and the 5.800% Notes, the “2023 Notes”). The net proceeds from this offering were approximately $1,482.8 million, after deducting commissions and estimated expenses, which we used to repay existing indebtedness under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility.

The key terms of the 2023 Notes are as follows:

_______________

(1)Accrued and unpaid interest on U.S. Dollar (“USD”) denominated notes is payable in USD semi-annually in arrears and will be computed from the issue date on the basis of a 360-day year comprised of twelve 30-day months. Interest on EUR denominated notes is payable in EUR annually in arrears and will be computed on the basis of the actual number of days in the period for which interest is being calculated and the actual number of days from and including the last date on which interest was paid on the notes, beginning on the issue date.

(2)We may redeem the 2023 Notes at any time, in whole or in part, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 2023 Notes plus a make-whole premium, together with accrued interest to the redemption date. If we redeem the 2023 Notes on or after the par call date, we will not be required to pay a make-whole premium.

(3)The 4.125% Notes and the 4.625% Notes are denominated in EUR; dollar amounts represent the aggregate principal amount at the issuance date.

If we undergo a change of control and corresponding ratings decline, each as defined in the applicable supplemental indenture for the 2023 Notes, we may be required to repurchase all of the 2023 Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of those 2023 Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest (including additional interest, if any), up to but not including the repurchase date. The 2023 Notes rank equally with all of our other senior unsecured debt and are structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of our subsidiaries.

Each applicable supplemental indenture contains certain covenants that restrict our ability to merge, consolidate or sell assets and our (together with our subsidiaries’) ability to incur liens. These covenants are subject to a number of exceptions, including that we and our subsidiaries may incur certain liens on assets, mortgages or other liens securing indebtedness if the aggregate amount of indebtedness secured by such liens does not exceed 3.5x Adjusted EBITDA, as defined in the applicable supplemental indenture.

Bank Facilities

47

Table of Contents

Amendments to Bank Facilities—On June 29, 2023, we amended our (i) $6.0 billion senior unsecured multicurrency revolving credit facility, as previously amended and restated on December 8, 2021 (the “2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility”), (ii) $4.0 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility, as previously amended and restated on December 8, 2021, (the “2021 Credit Facility”) and (iii) $1.0 billion unsecured term loan, as previously amended and restated on December 8, 2021, (the “2021 Term Loan”).

These amendments, among other things,

i.extend the maturity dates of the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility to July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2028, respectively;

ii.commemorate commitments under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility of $6.0 billion and $4.0 billion, respectively; and

iii.replace the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) pricing benchmark with an Adjusted Term Secured Overnight Financing Reserve (“SOFR”) pricing benchmark.

2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility—As of December 31, 2023, we had the ability to borrow up to $6.0 billion under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility, which includes a $3.5 billion sublimit for multicurrency borrowings, a $200.0 million sublimit for letters of credit and a $50.0 million sublimit for swingline loans. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we borrowed an aggregate of $3.0 billion and repaid an aggregate of $6.1 billion, including 842.6 million EUR ($919.1 million as of the repayment date), of revolving indebtedness under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility. We used the borrowings to repay outstanding indebtedness, including the 2021 USD Two Year Delayed Draw Term Loan, and for general corporate purposes.

2021 Credit Facility—As of December 31, 2023, we had the ability to borrow up to $4.0 billion under the 2021 Credit Facility, which includes a $2.5 billion sublimit for multicurrency borrowings, $200.0 million sublimit for letters of credit and a $50.0 million sublimit for swingline loans. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we borrowed an aggregate of $3.1 billion and repaid an aggregate of $2.6 billion of revolving indebtedness under the 2021 Credit Facility. We used the borrowings to repay outstanding indebtedness, including the 3.50% Notes and the 3.000% Notes, and for general corporate purposes.

Repayment of 2021 USD Two Year Delayed Draw Term Loan—On June 27, 2023, we repaid all amounts outstanding under the 2021 USD Two Year Delayed Draw Term Loan with borrowings under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility.

As of December 31, 2023, the key terms under the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility, the 2021 Credit Facility, the 2021 Term Loan and our 825.0 million EUR unsecured term loan, as amended in December 2021 (the “2021 EUR Three Year Delayed Draw Term Loan”) were as follows:

_______________

(1)Represents interest rate above: (a) SOFR for SOFR based borrowings, (b) Euro Interbank Offer Rate (“EURIBOR”) for EURIBOR based borrowings and (c) the defined base rate for base rate borrowings, in each case based on our debt ratings.

(2)Currently borrowed at SOFR for USD denominated borrowings and at EURIBOR for EUR denominated borrowings.

(3)Subject to two optional renewal periods.

(4)Currently borrowed at SOFR.

(5)Currently borrowed at EURIBOR.

We must pay a quarterly commitment fee on the undrawn portion of each of the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility. The commitment fee for the 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility and the 2021 Credit Facility ranges from 0.080% to 0.200% per annum, based upon our debt ratings, and is currently 0.110%.

The 2021 Multicurrency Credit Facility, the 2021 Credit Facility, the 2021 Term Loan and the 2021 EUR Three Year Delayed Draw Term Loan and the associated loan agreements (the “Bank Loan Agreements”) do not require amortization of principal

48

Table of Contents

and may be paid prior to maturity in whole or in part at our option without penalty or premium. We have the option of choosing either a defined base rate, SOFR or EURIBOR as the applicable base rate for borrowings under these bank facilities.

Each Bank Loan Agreement contains certain reporting, information, financial and operating covenants and other restrictions (including limitations on additional debt, guaranties, sales of assets and liens) with which we must comply. Failure to comply with the financial and operating covenants of the loan agreements could not only prevent us from being able to borrow additional funds under the revolving credit facilities, but may constitute a default, which could result in, among other things, the amounts outstanding under the applicable agreement, including all accrued interest and unpaid fees, becoming immediately due and payable.

India Term Loan—On February 16, 2023, we entered into a 12.0 billion INR (approximately $145.1 million at the date of signing) unsecured term loan with a maturity date that is one year from the date of the first draw thereunder (the “India Term Loan”). On February 17, 2023, we borrowed 10.0 billion INR (approximately $120.7 million at the date of borrowing) under the India Term Loan. The India Term Loan bears interest at the three month treasury bill rate as announced by the Financial Benchmarks India Private Limited at the time of borrowing plus a margin of 1.95%. Any outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest will be due and payable in full at maturity. The India Term Loan does not require amortization of principal and may be paid prior to maturity in whole or in part at our option without penalty or premium. In January 2024, we amended the India Term Loan to extend the maturity date to December 31, 2024.

India Working Capital Facilities—The working capital facilities bear interest at rates that consist of the applicable bank’s Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate or Market Benchmark (as defined in the applicable agreement), plus a spread. Generally, the working capital facilities are payable on demand prior to maturity. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we increased the borrowing capacity of our working capital facilities in India by 2.8 billion INR (approximately $33.7 million). During the year ended December 31, 2023, we did not borrow under these facilities.

Amounts outstanding and key terms of the India credit facilities consisted of the following as of December 31, 2023 (in millions, except percentages):

_______________

(1)    10.7 billion INR ($128.7 million) of borrowing capacity as of December 31, 2023. We have 0.2 billion INR (approximately $2.7 million) of bank guarantees outstanding included within the overall borrowing capacity.

Stock Repurchase Programs—In March 2011, our Board approved a stock repurchase program, pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of our common stock (the “2011 Buyback”). In December 2017, our Board approved an additional stock repurchase program, pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase up to $2.0 billion of our common stock (the “2017 Buyback,” and, together with the 2011 Buyback, the “Buyback Programs”).

During the year ended December 31, 2023, there were no repurchases under either of the Buyback Programs.

Under each program, we are authorized to purchase shares from time to time through open market purchases or in privately negotiated transactions not to exceed market prices and subject to market conditions and other factors. With respect to open market purchases, we may use plans adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act in accordance with securities laws and other legal requirements, which allows us to repurchase shares during periods when we may otherwise be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws or because of self-imposed trading blackout periods. These programs may be discontinued at any time.

We have repurchased a total of 14.5 million shares of our common stock under the 2011 Buyback for an aggregate of $1.5 billion, including commissions and fees. We expect to continue managing the pacing of the remaining approximately $2.0 billion under the Buyback Programs in response to general market conditions and other relevant factors. We expect to fund any further repurchases of our common stock through a combination of cash on hand, cash generated by operations and borrowings under our credit facilities. Repurchases under the Buyback Programs are subject to, among other things, us having available cash to fund the repurchases.

Sales of Equity Securities—We receive proceeds from sales of our equity securities pursuant to our employee stock purchase plan (the “ESPP”) and upon exercise of stock options granted under our equity incentive plan, as amended (the “2007 Plan”). During the year ended December 31, 2023, we received an aggregate of $22.1 million in proceeds upon exercises of stock options and sales pursuant to the ESPP.

49

Table of Contents

Future Financing Transactions—We regularly consider various options to obtain financing and access the capital markets, subject to market conditions, to meet our funding needs. Such capital raising alternatives, in addition to those noted above, may include amendments and extensions of our bank facilities, entry into new bank facilities, transactions with private equity funds or partnerships, additional senior note and equity offerings and securitization transactions. No assurance can be given as to whether any such financing transactions will be completed or as to the timing or terms thereof.

Distributions—As a REIT, we must annually distribute to our stockholders an amount equal to at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (determined before the deduction for distributed earnings and excluding any net capital gain). Generally, we have distributed, and expect to continue to distribute, all or substantially all of our REIT taxable income after taking into consideration our utilization of NOLs. We have distributed an aggregate of approximately $17.5 billion to our common stockholders, including the dividend paid in February 2024, primarily classified as ordinary income that may be treated as qualified REIT dividends under Section 199A of the Code for taxable years beginning before 2026.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we paid $6.31 per share, or $2.9 billion, to our common stockholders of record. In addition, we declared a distribution of $1.70 per share, or $792.7 million, paid on February 1, 2024 to our common stockholders of record at the close of business on December 28, 2023.

We accrue distributions on unvested restricted stock units, which are payable upon vesting. The amount accrued for distributions payable related to unvested restricted stock units was $21.5 million and $17.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we paid $9.0 million of distributions upon the vesting of restricted stock units.

The amount, timing and frequency of future distributions will be at the sole discretion of our Board and will depend on various factors, a number of which may be beyond our control, including our financial condition and operating cash flows, the amount required to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT and reduce any income and excise taxes that we otherwise would be required to pay, limitations on distributions in our existing and future debt and preferred equity instruments, our ability to utilize NOLs to offset our distribution requirements, limitations on our ability to fund distributions using cash generated through our TRSs and other factors that our Board may deem relevant.

For more details on the cash distributions paid to our common stockholders during the year ended December 31, 2023, see note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.

Material Cash Requirements—The following table summarizes material cash requirements from known contractual and other obligations as of December 31, 2023 (in millions):

______________

(1)    Includes aggregate principal maturities of long-term debt, including finance lease obligations (see note 8 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report).

(2)    Includes payments under non-cancellable initial terms, as well as payments for certain renewal periods at our option, which we expect to renew because failure to do so could result in a loss of the applicable communications sites and related revenues from tenant leases (see note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report).

Distributions—We expect that our 2024 total distributions declared to our common stockholders will be $3.0 billion. The amount, timing and frequency of future distributions will be at the sole discretion of our Board.

Asset Retirement Obligations—We are required to remove our assets and remediate the leased sites upon which certain of our assets are located. As of December 31, 2023, the estimated undiscounted future cash outlay for asset retirement obligations was $4.0 billion.

Factors Affecting Sources of Liquidity

Our liquidity depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operating activities, borrow funds under our credit facilities and maintain compliance with the contractual agreements governing our indebtedness. We believe that the debt agreements discussed below represent our material debt agreements that contain covenants, our compliance with which would be material to an investor’s understanding of our financial results and the impact of those results on our liquidity.

Internally Generated Funds—Because the majority of our customer leases are multiyear contracts, a significant majority of the revenues generated by our property operations as of the end of 2023 is recurring revenue that we should continue to receive in future periods. Accordingly, a key factor affecting our ability to generate cash flow from operating activities is to maintain this recurring revenue and to convert it into operating profit by minimizing operating costs and fully achieving our operating

50

Table of Contents

efficiencies. In addition, our ability to increase cash flow from operating activities depends upon the demand for our communications infrastructure and our related services and our ability to increase the utilization of our existing communications infrastructure.

Restrictions Under Loan Agreements Relating to Our Credit Facilities—Each Bank Loan Agreement contains certain financial and operating covenants and other restrictions applicable to us and our subsidiaries that are not designated as unrestricted subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. These restrictions include limitations on additional debt, distributions and dividends, guaranties, sales of assets and liens. The Bank Loan Agreements also contain covenants that establish financial tests with which we and our restricted subsidiaries must comply related to total leverage and senior secured leverage, as set forth in the table below. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with each of these covenants.

_______________

(1)    Each component of the ratio as defined in the applicable loan agreement.

(2)    Assumes no change to Adjusted EBITDA.

(3)    Assumes no change to our debt levels.

(4)    Effectively, however, additional Senior Secured Debt under this ratio would be limited to the capacity under the Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio.

The Bank Loan Agreements also contain reporting and information covenants that require us to provide financial and operating information to the lenders within certain time periods. If we are unable to provide the required information on a timely basis, we would be in breach of these covenants.

Failure to comply with the financial maintenance tests and certain other covenants of the Bank Loan Agreements could not only prevent us from being able to borrow additional funds under the revolving credit facilities, but may also constitute a default under these credit facilities, which could result in, among other things, the amounts outstanding, including all accrued interest and unpaid fees, becoming immediately due and payable. If this were to occur, we may not have sufficient cash on hand to repay such indebtedness. The key factors affecting our ability to comply with the debt covenants described above are our financial performance relative to the financial maintenance tests defined in the Bank Loan Agreements and our ability to fund our debt service obligations. Based upon our current expectations, we believe our operating results during the next 12 months will be sufficient to comply with these covenants.

Restrictions Under Agreements Relating to the 2015 Securitization and the Trust Securitizations—The indenture and related supplemental indenture governing the American Tower Secured Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2, Class A (the “Series 2015-2 Notes”) issued by GTP Acquisition Partners I, LLC (“GTP Acquisition Partners”) in the 2015 Securitization and the Trust Loan Agreement (collectively, the “Securitization Loan Agreements”) include certain financial ratios and operating covenants and other restrictions customary for transactions subject to rated securitizations. Among other things, GTP Acquisition Partners and the AMT Asset Subs are prohibited from incurring other indebtedness for borrowed money or further encumbering their assets, subject to customary carve-outs for ordinary course trade payables and permitted encumbrances (as defined in the applicable agreements).

Under the Securitization Loan Agreements, amounts due will be paid from the cash flows generated by the assets securing the Series 2015-2 Notes or the assets securing the Loan, as applicable, which must be deposited into certain reserve accounts, and thereafter distributed, solely pursuant to the terms of the applicable agreement. On a monthly basis, after paying all required amounts under the applicable agreement, subject to the conditions described in the table below, the excess cash flows generated from the operation of these assets are released to GTP Acquisition Partners or the AMT Asset Subs, as applicable, which can then be distributed to us for use. As of December 31, 2023, $76.3 million held in such reserve accounts was classified as restricted cash.

Certain information with respect to the 2015 Securitization and the Trust Securitizations is set forth below. The debt service coverage ratio (“DSCR”) is generally calculated as the ratio of the net cash flow (as defined in the applicable agreement) to the amount of interest, servicing fees and trustee fees required to be paid over the succeeding 12 months on the principal amount of the Series 2015-2 Notes or the Loan, as applicable, that will be outstanding on the payment date following such date of determination.

51

Table of Contents

_______________

(1)    Based on the net cash flow of the applicable issuer or borrower as of December 31, 2023 and the expenses payable over the next 12 months on the Series 2015-2 Notes or the Loan, as applicable.

(2)    If the DSCR were equal to or below 1.30x (the “Cash Trap DSCR”) for any quarter, all cash flow in excess of amounts required to make debt service payments, fund required reserves, pay management fees and budgeted operating expenses and make other payments required under the applicable transaction documents, referred to as excess cash flow, will be deposited into a reserve account (the “Cash Trap Reserve Account”) instead of being released to the applicable issuer or borrower. Once triggered, a Cash Trap DSCR condition continues to exist until the DSCR exceeds the Cash Trap DSCR for two consecutive calendar quarters. Additionally, if the borrower under the 2023 Securitization does not meet certain title insurance policy requirements within the specified time period under the agreements, excess cash flow will also be deposited into the Cash Trap Reserve Account.

(3)    An amortization period commences if the DSCR is equal to or below 1.15x (the “Minimum DSCR”) at the end of any calendar quarter and continues to exist until the DSCR exceeds the Minimum DSCR for two consecutive calendar quarters.

(4)    No amortization period is triggered if the outstanding principal amount of a series has not been repaid in full on the applicable anticipated repayment date. However, in that event, additional interest will accrue on the unpaid principal balance of the applicable series, and that series will begin to amortize on a monthly basis from excess cash flow.

(5)    An amortization period exists if the outstanding principal amount has not been paid in full on the applicable anticipated repayment date and continues to exist until the principal has been repaid in full.

A failure to meet the noted DSCR tests could prevent GTP Acquisition Partners or the AMT Asset Subs from distributing excess cash flow to us, which could affect our ability to fund our capital expenditures, including tower construction and acquisitions and to meet REIT distribution requirements. During an “amortization period,” all excess cash flow and any amounts then in the applicable Cash Trap Reserve Account would be applied to pay the principal of the Series 2015-2 Notes or the Loan, as applicable, on each monthly payment date, and so would not be available for distribution to us. Further, additional interest will begin to accrue with respect to the Series 2015-2 Notes or subclass of the Loan from and after the anticipated repayment date at a per annum rate determined in accordance with the applicable agreement. With respect to the Series 2015-2 Notes, upon the occurrence of, and during, an event of default, the applicable trustee may, in its discretion or at the direction of holders of more than 50% of the aggregate outstanding principal of the Series 2015-2 Notes, declare the Series 2015-2 Notes immediately due and payable, in which case any excess cash flow would need to be used to pay holders of those notes. Furthermore, if GTP Acquisition Partners or the AMT Asset Subs were to default on the Series 2015-2 Notes or the Loan, the applicable trustee may seek to foreclose upon or otherwise convert the ownership of all or any portion of the 3,343 communications sites that secure the Series 2015-2 Notes or the 5,034 broadcast and wireless communications towers and related assets that secure the Loan, respectively, in which case we could lose those sites and their associated revenue.

As discussed above, we use our available liquidity and seek new sources of liquidity to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, satisfy our distribution requirements and repay or repurchase our debt. If we determine that it is desirable or necessary to raise additional capital, we may be unable to do so, or such additional financing may be prohibitively

52

Table of Contents

expensive or restricted by the terms of our outstanding indebtedness. Further, as further discussed under Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors,” market volatility and disruption caused by inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain disruptions may impact our ability to raise additional capital through debt financing activities or our ability to repay or refinance maturing liabilities, or impact the terms of any new obligations. If we are unable to raise capital when our needs arise, we may not be able to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives, satisfy our REIT distribution requirements and debt service obligations, or refinance our existing indebtedness.

In addition, our liquidity depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operating activities. As set forth under Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors,” we derive a substantial portion of our revenues from a small number of customers and, consequently, a failure by a significant customer to perform its contractual obligations to us could adversely affect our cash flow and liquidity.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our policies and estimates on an ongoing basis. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

We have reviewed our policies and estimates to determine our critical accounting policies for the year ended December 31, 2023. We have identified the following policies as critical to an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. This is not a comprehensive list of our accounting policies. See note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for a summary of our significant accounting policies. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP, with no need for management’s judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting any available alternative would not produce a materially different result.

•Impairment of Assets—Assets Subject to Depreciation and Amortization: We review long-lived assets for impairment at least annually or whenever events, changes in circumstances or other indicators or evidence indicate that the carrying amount of our assets may not be recoverable.

We review our tower portfolio, network location intangible and right-of-use assets for indicators of impairment at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows, typically at an individual tower basis. Possible indicators include a tower not having current tenant leases or having expenses in excess of revenues. A cash flow modeling approach is utilized to assess recoverability and incorporates, among other items, the tower location, the tower location demographics, the timing of additions of new tenants, lease rates and estimated length of tenancy and ongoing cash requirements.

We review our tenant-related intangible assets on a tenant by tenant basis for indicators of impairment, such as high levels of turnover or attrition, non-renewal of a significant number of contracts or the cancellation or termination of a relationship. We assess recoverability by determining whether the carrying amount of the tenant-related intangible assets will be recovered primarily through projected undiscounted future cash flows.

If the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows of our long-lived assets is less than the carrying amount of the assets, an impairment loss may be recognized. Key assumptions included in the undiscounted cash flows are future revenue projections, estimates of ongoing tenancies and operating margins. An impairment loss would be based on the fair value of the asset, which is based on an estimate of discounted future cash flows to be provided from the asset. We record any related impairment charge in the period in which we identify such impairment.

In October 2019, the Supreme Court of India issued a ruling regarding the definition of AGR and associated fees and charges, which was reaffirmed in both March 2020 and July 2021 with respect to the total charges, which may (a) have a material financial impact on certain of our customers and (b) affect their ability to perform their obligations under agreements with us. In September 2020, the Supreme Court of India defined the expected timeline of ten years for payments owed under the ruling. In September 2021, the government of India approved a relief package that, among other things, included (i) a four-year moratorium on the payment of AGR fees owed and (ii) a prospective change in the definition of AGR. In the third quarter of 2022, one of our largest customers in India, VIL, communicated that it would make partial payments of its contractual amounts owed to us and indicated that it would continue to make partial payments for the remainder of 2022. In late 2022, VIL had communicated its intent to resume payments in full under its contractual obligations owed to us beginning on January 1, 2023. However, in early 2023, VIL communicated that it would not be able to resume payments in full of its contractual obligations owed to us, and that it

53

Table of Contents

would instead continue to make partial payments, for which we recorded reserves in late 2022 and the first half of 2023. In the second half of 2023, VIL began making payments in full of its monthly contractual obligations owed to us.

We determined that certain fixed and intangible assets had been impaired during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2022, an impairment of $97.0 million was taken on tower and network location intangible assets in India. We also impaired the tenant-related intangible assets for VIL, which resulted in an impairment of $411.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2022.

We will continue to monitor the status of these developments, as it is possible that the estimated future cash flows may differ from current estimates and changes in estimated cash flows from customers in India could have further negative effects on previously recorded tangible and intangible assets, including amounts originally recorded as tenant-related intangible assets, resulting in additional impairments. Events that could negatively affect our India reporting unit’s financial results include increased tenant attrition exceeding our forecast, additional VIL payment shortfalls, carrier tenant bankruptcies and other factors set forth in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors.”

The carrying value of tenant-related intangible assets in India was $344.8 million as of December 31, 2023, which represents 3% of our consolidated balance of $12.2 billion. Additionally, a significant reduction in customer-related cash flows in India could also impact our tower portfolio and network location intangible assets. The carrying values of our tower portfolio and network location intangible assets in India were $916.2 million and $243.6 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2023, which represent 10% and 8% of our consolidated balances of $8.8 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively.

•Impairment of Assets—Goodwill: We review goodwill for impairment at least annually (as of December 31) or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Goodwill is recorded in the applicable segment and assessed for impairment at the reporting unit level. We employ a discounted cash flow analysis when testing goodwill. The key assumptions utilized in the discounted cash flow analysis include current operating performance, terminal revenue growth rate, management’s expectations of future operating results and cash requirements, the current weighted average cost of capital and an expected tax rate. We compare the fair value of the reporting unit, as calculated under an income approach using future discounted cash flows, to the carrying amount of the applicable reporting unit. If the carrying amount exceeds the fair value, an impairment loss would be recognized for the amount of the excess. The loss recognized is limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

In 2023, we initiated a strategic review of our India business, where we evaluated the appropriate level of exposure to the India market within our global portfolio of communications assets, and assessed opportunities to repurpose capital to drive long-term shareholder value and sustained growth. The strategic review concluded in January 2024 with our signed agreement with DIT for the Pending ATC TIPL Transaction. During the process, and based on information gathered therein, we updated our estimate on the fair value of the India reporting unit and determined that the carrying value exceeded fair value. We performed a quantitative goodwill impairment test for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 using, among other things, the information obtained from third parties to compare the fair value of the India reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. The result of our goodwill impairment test indicated that the carrying amount of our India reporting unit exceeded our estimated fair value. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $322.0 million.

We also performed our annual goodwill impairment test as of December 31, 2023. The results of the annual goodwill impairment test indicated that the carrying amount of our Spain reporting unit exceeded its estimated fair value, as calculated under an income approach using future discounted cash flows. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $80.0 million. The key assumptions utilized in the discounted cash flow analysis include current operating performance, terminal revenue growth rate, management’s expectations of future operating results and cash requirements, the current weighted average cost of capital and an expected tax rate. The reduction in the fair value of the Spain reporting unit was due to an increase in the weighted average cost of capital.

The goodwill impairment charges in India and Spain are recorded in Goodwill impairment in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, no other goodwill impairment was identified as the fair value of each of our reporting units was in excess of its carrying amount.

•Acquisitions: We evaluate each of our acquisitions under the accounting guidance framework to determine whether to treat an acquisition as an asset acquisition or a business combination. For those transactions treated as asset acquisitions, the purchase price is allocated to the assets acquired, with no recognition of goodwill. For those acquisitions that meet the definition of a business combination, we apply the acquisition method of accounting where assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at fair value at the date of each acquisition, and the results of

54

Table of Contents

operations are included with our results from the dates of the respective acquisitions. Any excess of the purchase price paid over the amounts recognized for assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. We continue to evaluate acquisitions accounted for as business combinations for a period not to exceed one year after the applicable acquisition date of each transaction to determine whether any additional adjustments are needed to the allocation of the purchase price paid for the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is typically determined by using either estimates of replacement costs or discounted cash flow valuation methods. When determining the fair value of tangible assets acquired, we must estimate the cost to replace the asset with a new asset taking into consideration such factors as age, condition and the economic useful life of the asset. When determining the fair value of intangible assets acquired, we must estimate the applicable discount rate and the timing and amount of future tenant cash flows, including rate and terms of renewal and attrition.

•Revenue Recognition: Our revenue is derived from leasing the right to use our communications sites, the land on which the sites are located and our data center facilities (the “lease component”) and from the reimbursement of costs incurred in operating the communications sites and supporting the tenants’ equipment as well as other services and contractual rights (the “non-lease component”). Most of our revenue is derived from leasing arrangements and is accounted for as lease revenue unless the timing and pattern of revenue recognition of the non-lease component differs from the lease component. If the timing and pattern of the non-lease component revenue recognition differs from that of the lease component, we separately determine the stand-alone selling prices and pattern of revenue recognition for each performance obligation.

Our revenue from leasing arrangements, including fixed escalation clauses present in non-cancellable lease arrangements, is reported on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective leases when collectibility is probable. Escalation clauses tied to a consumer price index or other inflation-based indices, and other incentives present in lease agreements with our tenants, are excluded from the straight-line calculation. Total property straight-line revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 were $472.0 million, $499.8 million and $465.6 million, respectively. Amounts billed upfront in connection with the execution of lease agreements are initially deferred and reflected in Unearned revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and recognized as revenue over the terms of the applicable lease arrangements. Amounts billed or received for services prior to being earned are deferred and reflected in Unearned revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets until the criteria for recognition have been met. Periodically, we provide lease incentives to our tenants. If incentives are present in our leases, they are evaluated to determine proper treatment and, to the extent present, are recorded in Other current assets and Other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets and amortized on a straight line basis over the corresponding lease term as a non-cash reduction to revenue.

We derive the largest portion of our revenues, corresponding trade receivables and the related deferred rent asset from a small number of tenants in the telecommunications industry, with 45% of our revenues derived from three tenants. In addition, we have concentrations of credit risk in certain geographic areas. We mitigate the concentrations of credit risk with respect to notes and trade receivables by actively monitoring the creditworthiness of our borrowers and tenants. In recognizing tenant revenue we assess the collectibility of both the amounts billed and the portion recognized on a straight-line basis. This assessment takes tenant credit risk and business and industry conditions into consideration to ultimately determine the collectibility of the amounts billed. To the extent the amounts, based on management’s estimates, may not be collectible, recognition is deferred until such point as the uncertainty is resolved. Any amounts that were previously recognized as revenue and are subsequently determined to present a risk of collection are reserved as bad debt expense. Accounts receivable are reported net of allowances for doubtful accounts related to estimated losses resulting from a tenant’s inability to make required payments and allowances for amounts invoiced whose collectibility is not reasonably assured.

•Rent Expense and Lease Accounting: Many of the leases underlying our tower sites and data centers have fixed rent escalations, which provide for periodic increases in the amount of ground rent payable over time. In addition, certain of our tenant leases require us to exercise available renewal options pursuant to the underlying ground lease if the tenant exercises its renewal option. Our calculation of the lease liability includes the term of the underlying ground lease plus all periods, if any, for which failure to renew the lease imposes an economic penalty to us such that renewal appears to be reasonably assured.

We recognize a right-of-use lease asset and lease liability for operating and finance leases. The right-of-use asset is measured as the sum of the lease liability, prepaid or accrued lease payments, any initial direct costs incurred and any other applicable amounts.

The calculation of the lease liability requires us to make certain assumptions for each lease, including lease term and discount rate implicit in each lease, which could significantly impact the gross lease obligation, the duration and the

55

Table of Contents

present value of the lease liability. When calculating the lease term, we consider the renewal, cancellation and termination rights available to us and the lessor. We determine the discount rate by calculating the incremental borrowing rate on a collateralized basis at the commencement of a lease or upon a change in the lease term.

•Income Taxes: Accounting for income taxes requires us to estimate the timing and impact of amounts recorded in our financial statements that may be recognized differently for tax purposes. To the extent that the timing of amounts recognized for financial reporting purposes differs from the timing of recognition for tax reporting purposes, deferred tax assets or liabilities are required to be recorded. We measure deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences and carryforwards are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. We do not expect to pay federal income taxes on our REIT taxable income.

We periodically review our deferred tax assets, and we record a valuation allowance if, based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use the existing deferred tax assets. Valuation allowances would be reversed as a reduction to the provision for income taxes, if related deferred tax assets are deemed realizable based on changes in facts and circumstances relevant to the assets’ recoverability.

We recognize the benefit of uncertain tax positions when, in management’s judgment, it is more likely than not that positions we have taken in our tax returns will be sustained upon examination, which are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. We adjust our tax liabilities when our judgment changes as a result of the evaluation of new information or information not previously available. Due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from our current estimate of the tax liabilities. These differences will be reflected as increases or decreases to income tax expense in the period in which additional information is available or the position is ultimately settled under audit.

Accounting Standards Update

For a discussion of recent accounting standards updates, see note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.