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  "documentTitle": "American Tower (AMT)",
  "authorId": "51_Muddy_Waters",
  "authorName": "Carson C. Block",
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  "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller",
  "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller",
  "presentationDate": "2013-07-17 00:00:00",
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      "text": "This model of “growth” is impossible to sustain.",
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      "kind": "paragraph",
      "text": "growth is to “feed the beast” and make more and more (often value destructive) acquisitions. This model of “growth” is impossible to sustain.",
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      "text": "AMT’s international business is also part carry trade and part levered directional currency bet. AMT’s model is to fund in US dollars and invest in high yielding countries... This bet has resoundingly gone south this year.",
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      "text": "AMT’s international IRRs are generally poor, and far below the cost of capital... AMT is outperforming German government bonds, but is only generating a 4% IRR.",
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      "text": "AMT’s REIT-focused investors will be disappointed by their inability to access AMT’s overseas cash flows. Of all of the international operations, only Mexico is in the REIT structure.",
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      "text": "US tower industry growth has peaked, and we expect limited revenue per tenant growth and stagnant tenancy ratios... We do not expect it to continue to post strong US growth numbers beginning in the near future.",
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      "text": "While wireless data usage will grow, much of this growth will circumvent cellular towers... AMT faces rising ground rents in the US due to the ground rent market becoming more efficient due to the internet and the ubiquity of cellular phones.",
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