AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/ vs WELLTOWER INC., two REIT stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
American Tower and Welltower both trade at GAAP multiples that overstate their expense, AMT's 28.3 and Welltower's 113.1, tower and senior-housing depreciation doing the distorting. Welltower is riding a senior-housing recovery, its funds-from-operations growing as occupancy climbs, which its optically extreme P/E hides; AMT's tower leases grow steadily on contractual escalators. AMT pays the bigger dividend, 3.88% against 1.24%, Welltower having reset its payout to fund growth. Welltower carries 0.4 turns of debt, AMT 0.6. The pair prices defensive tower infrastructure against a recovering healthcare REIT; AMT offers steady contracted cash and a higher yield, Welltower offers growth as senior-housing demographics turn, and both should be read on FFO trajectory, not reported earnings.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | AMT | WELL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $175.33 | $227.28 |
| Market cap | $81.8B | $165.1B |
| Sector | REIT | REIT |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 28.3 | 113.1 |
| P/B | 8.06 | 3.69 |
| P/S | 7.57 | 14.03 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.9 | 80.3 |
| Revenue growth | +6.3% | +37.5% |
| Operating margin | 45.3% | — |
| Net margin | 27.8% | 12.4% |
| Return on equity | 29.6% | 3.3% |
| Return on assets | 4.8% | 2.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 25.6% | — |
| FCF yield | 4.6% | 1.8% |
| Dividend yield | 3.9% | 1.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.60 | 0.40 |
| Current ratio | 0.30 | — |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 0.92 | 4.86 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.