Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs American Tower Corporation (AMT): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
As of 2026-11-01, ABT is overvalued at $106, with a DCF intrinsic value of $76 and a margin of safety of -39%. AMT is overvalued at $188, with an intrinsic value of $2 and a margin of safety of -10374%. Of the two, ABT has the wider margin of safety.
Rewards
- ★Abbott Laboratories scores 86/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with margin stability as the strongest competitive dimension.
- ★Altman Z-Score of 5.60 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.
- ★Gross margin of 73.5% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
- ★Free cash flow has grown at a 27.6% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
- ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
Risks
- ⚠Trailing P/E of 39.5x is 45% above the historical average of 27.2x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
- ⚠Insiders have sold $46.9M worth of stock in the past 3 months — significant insider liquidation.
- ⚠High leverage (4.45x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
- ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 6.1x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
- ⚠Altman Z-Score of 1.16 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
Key Valuation Metrics
Learn more →Historical Fundamentals
Learn more →Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.
$1 Retained Earnings Test
Learn more →> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis
Learn more →Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth
Learn more →Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.
What growth rate is the market pricing in at $188?
The market implies +18.8% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.
Standard FCF implies a demanding +18.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.
Economic Moat Score
Learn more →Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. Margin Stability is the standout factor.
Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.
Forensic Accounting
Learn more →M-Score Trend
M-Score Trend
Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
Ownership Breakdown
Learn more →High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
Insider Buying Activity
Learn more →Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.
Insider Selling Activity
Learn more →Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.
🎭 Mr. Market's Mood
Learn more →"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"
Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
⚖️ Buffett Signal
Learn more →The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.
Frequently Asked Questions: ABT vs AMT
Is Abbott Laboratories or American Tower Corporation more undervalued in 2026?▼
Based on our discounted cash flow model, ABT trades at a -39.4% margin of safety (intrinsic value $76 vs. price $106), compared to AMT's -10373.7% margin of safety (intrinsic $2 vs. $188).
Which stock has a wider economic moat, Abbott Laboratories or American Tower Corporation?▼
ABT scores 86/100 (Wide moat), while AMT scores 51/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.
Is American Tower Corporation in financial distress?▼
AMT's Altman Z-Score of 1.2 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. ABT scores 5.6 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.
Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Abbott Laboratories or American Tower Corporation?▼
AMT earns 7.2% ROIC versus ABT's 5.1%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.
Which dividend is safer, Abbott Laboratories's or American Tower Corporation's?▼
ABT's dividend earns a safety score of 84/100 (Very Safe), compared to AMT's 24/100 (Unsafe). ABT has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.