Sifting through countless of stocks in the Specialized REITs industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in American Tower Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company

American Tower Corporation one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 148,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities. American Tower Corporation was incorporated in 1995 in Delaware and is based in Massachusetts, Boston.

Lamar Advertising Company is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with over 362,000 displays across the United States and Canada. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboards, interstate logo, transit and airport advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States with over 5,400 displays. Lamar Advertising Company was founded and incorporated in 1902 in Delaware and is based in Baton Rouge, United States.

Latest Specialized REITs and American Tower Corporation, Lamar Advertising Company Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, American Tower Corporation had a $80.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Specialized REITs median of $7.5 million. American Tower Corporation’s stock is up 0.4% in 2026, up 1.2% in the previous five trading days and down 13.75% in the past year.

Currently, American Tower Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 23.8. American Tower Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $10.9 billion with a 31.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.984 per share for the current fiscal year. American Tower Corporation currently has a 4.1% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Lamar Advertising Company had a $15.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 83rd percentile of all stocks. Lamar Advertising Company’s stock is up 19.5% in 2026, up 0.4% in the previous five trading days and up 21.14% in the past year.

Currently, Lamar Advertising Company’s price-earnings ratio is 27.7. Lamar Advertising Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.3 billion with a 23.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.918 per share for the current fiscal year. Lamar Advertising Company currently has a 4.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
American Tower Corporation	AMT	F
Lamar Advertising Company	LAMR	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

American Tower Corporation has a Value Score of 16, which is Ultra Expensive. Lamar Advertising Company has a Value Score of 16, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither American Tower Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if American Tower Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company is the better investment when it comes to value.

American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
American Tower Corporation	AMT	B
Lamar Advertising Company	LAMR	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

American Tower Corporation has a Quality Score of 78, which is Strong. Lamar Advertising Company has a Quality Score of 74, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
American Tower Corporation	AMT	B
Lamar Advertising Company	LAMR	A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

American Tower Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 69, which is Positive. Lamar Advertising Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 99, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Lamar Advertising Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Lamar Advertising Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than American Tower Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Lamar Advertising Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Grades

In addition to Quality, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, American Tower Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company Stock?

Overall, American Tower Corporation stock has a Value Score of 16, Estimate Revisions Score of 69 and Quality Score of 78.

Lamar Advertising Company stock has a Value Score of 16, Estimate Revisions Score of 99 and Quality Score of 74.

Comparing American Tower Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.