American Tower vs Google: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
American Tower reported $10.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $2.5B of net income. Google reported $402.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $132.2B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
American Tower
- Latest revenue
- $10.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $2.5B
- Net margin
- 23.8%
- Revenue growth
- +7.0% a year, FY2016–FY2025
- Latest revenue
- $402.8B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $132.2B
- Net margin
- 32.8%
- Revenue growth
- +18.1% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
American Tower
American Tower is structured as a REIT, so qualifying US real estate income is distributed to shareholders rather than taxed at the corporate level, while international operations sit in taxable REIT subsidiaries. FY2025 revenue was $10,645 million, up 5.1%, with property revenue of $10,305 million and adjusted EBITDA of $7.1 billion at a 67.0% cash margin. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $2,529.5 million, and attributable AFFO per share, as adjusted, grew about 8% for the year. Net leverage ended 2025 at 4.9 times adjusted EBITDA, and S&P Global raised the company's issuer rating to BBB+ with a stable outlook in July 2025. American Tower also repurchased about $365 million of stock during 2025, its largest annual buyback since 2017.
Alphabet's FY2025 Form 10-K reported $402.836 billion of revenue and $132.170 billion of net income, making it one of the most profitable companies in the world. Growth accelerated in 2026: Q2 2026 revenue rose 24% year over year to $119.8 billion, operating income rose 30% to $40.8 billion and operating margin reached 34.0%. Reported Q2 net income of $112.1 billion was inflated by a $99.0 billion gain, mostly unrealized gains on equity holdings, so operating income is the cleaner measure. The trade-off is spending: management raised 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $195-205 billion, and analysts flagged negative free cash flow in Q2 2026 as data-center investment outpaced operating cash flow.
Revenue and profit by year
American Tower
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $10.6B | $2.5B | 23.8% | +5.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $10.1B | $2.3B | 22.3% | +1.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $10B | $1.5B | 14.8% | +3.8% | Source |
| FY2022 | $9.6B | $1.8B | 18.3% | +3.1% | Source |
| FY2021 | $9.4B | $2.6B | 27.4% | +16.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | $8B | $1.7B | 21.0% | +6.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $7.6B | $1.9B | 24.9% | +1.9% | Source |
| FY2018 | $7.4B | $1.2B | 16.5% | +11.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $6.7B | $1.2B | 17.3% | +15.2% | Source |
| FY2016 | $5.8B | $849.3M | 14.7% | — | Source |
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $402.8B | $132.2B | 32.8% | +15.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $350B | $100.1B | 28.6% | +13.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $307.4B | $73.8B | 24.0% | +8.7% | Source |
| FY2022 | $282.8B | $60B | 21.2% | +9.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | $257.6B | $76B | 29.5% | +41.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $182.5B | $40.3B | 22.1% | +12.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $161.9B | $34.3B | 21.2% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2018 | $136.8B | $30.7B | 22.5% | +23.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $110.9B | $12.7B | 11.4% | +22.8% | Source |
| FY2016 | $90.3B | $19.5B | 21.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
American Tower
- Site Rental~87%
Leasing space on communications sites under long-term contracts with escalators and renewal options. Property revenue excluding data centers was $9,252 million of the $10,645 million FY2025 total.
- Data Center Services~10%
CoreSite data center, power and interconnection revenue, which was $1,053 million in FY2025, up about 14% year over year.
- Services and Other~3%
Site acquisition, zoning, permitting and construction work performed for carriers, plus other revenue. This line was $340 million in FY2025.
- Google Search advertising~12%
Auction-based text and shopping ads served alongside organic search results, generating approximately $198 billion in FY2024 through cost-per-click and cost-per-impression pricing.
- YouTube advertising~12%
Video advertising across pre-roll, mid-roll, display, and Shorts formats, plus subscription revenue from YouTube Premium, Music, and YouTube TV, totaling approximately $36 billion in ad revenue for FY2024.
- Google Cloud~12%
Infrastructure-as-a-service, platform tools, Vertex AI, BigQuery, Mandiant cybersecurity, and Google Workspace subscriptions, generating significant FY2025 revenue.
- Google Network~12%
Ads placed on third-party websites through AdSense, AdMob, and Google Ad Manager, generating approximately $31 billion in FY2024 with revenue shared with publishers.
- Other Bets~12%
Revenue from Waymo autonomous ride-hailing, Verily health technology, hardware sales (Pixel, Nest, Fitbit), Google Play commissions, and other non-advertising sources.
Business model and strategy
American Tower
How it makes money
American Tower owns the tower structure and controls the land beneath it, then leases vertical space to mobile operators such as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon so they can mount antennas. The economics turn on colocation: once a tower stands, adding a second or third tenant costs comparatively little, so incremental rent converts largely into operating profit.
Growth strategy
After selling its India business in 2024, American Tower concentrates capital on developed markets and on data centers. About 85% of planned 2026 discretionary capital spending goes to developed markets, including more than $700 million for CoreSite data center development, where revenue grew about 14% in 2025.
Competitive advantage
The advantage is the site itself. Zoning approval, environmental review and land control make a new macro tower slow and costly to add in a populated area, so a carrier that needs coverage in a specific location usually has to lease space on a structure that already stands there.
How it makes money
Alphabet makes money mainly by selling ads against user intent and attention. Google Search & other, YouTube ads and the Google Network together account for roughly three quarters of revenue. Advertisers bid in real-time auctions to appear next to queries or videos, and Google charges per click, view or conversion.
Growth strategy
Alphabet's growth plan has four parts: put Gemini into Search (AI Overviews and AI Mode), Workspace, Android and Chrome to keep users and advertisers engaged; sell AI infrastructure, TPUs and Gemini models through Google Cloud, backed by the Wiz security platform acquired in March 2026; grow subscriptions such as YouTube Premium, YouTube TV and Google One AI plans;
Competitive advantage
Alphabet's edge is a stack few rivals own end to end: default distribution through Android and Chrome, the largest pool of search-intent data, YouTube's video audience, its own TPU chips and global data centers, and frontier models from Google DeepMind.
Questions about American Tower vs Google
Which company has higher revenue — American Tower Corporation or Alphabet Inc.?
American Tower Corporation reported $10.6B (FY2025), while Alphabet Inc. reported $402.8B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Alphabet Inc. is the larger business, with American Tower Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of American Tower Corporation vs Alphabet Inc.?
American Tower Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $76.6B, while Alphabet Inc.'s is $4.31T. Alphabet Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to American Tower Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — American Tower Corporation or Alphabet Inc.?
American Tower Corporation generates $2.19M / employee in revenue per employee, while Alphabet Inc. generates $2.11M / employee. American Tower Corporation shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do American Tower Corporation and Alphabet Inc. make money?
American Tower Corporation and Alphabet Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. American Tower Corporation: American Tower owns the tower structure and controls the land beneath it, then leases vertical space to mobile operators such as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon so they can mount antennas. Alphabet Inc.: Alphabet makes money mainly by selling ads against user intent and attention.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — American Tower Corporation or Alphabet Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, American Tower Corporation trades at 7.2x P/S and Alphabet Inc. at 10.7x P/S. Alphabet Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to American Tower Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is American Tower Corporation bigger than Alphabet Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Alphabet Inc. ($402.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to American Tower Corporation ($10.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the American Tower vs Google overview