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Compare Stocks › AMT vs DE

American Tower Corporation (AMT) vs Deere & Company (DE): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-06-19, AMT is overvalued at $176, with a DCF intrinsic value of $21 and a margin of safety of -753%. DE is undervalued at $589, with an intrinsic value of $1030 and a margin of safety of 43%. Of the two, DE has the wider margin of safety.

AMT
American Tower Corporation
$176.05
VS
DE
Deere & Company
$589.24

Rewards

AMT
  • ★Gross margin of 74.0% 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.
DE
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 52.5% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.

Risks

AMT
  • ⚠FCF yield of 5.6% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • ⚠High leverage (4.29x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 6.2x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
DE
  • ⚠FCF yield of 2.0% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 33.3x is 87% above the historical average of 17.8x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • ⚠High leverage (3.08x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.

Key Valuation Metrics

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AMT
DE
Valuation
$4.61B
Free Cash Flow
$3.23B
5.63%
FCF Yield
2.03%
28.40
Trailing P/E
33.33
25.49
Forward P/E
25.78
Quality & Moat
7.10%
ROIC
10.65%
29.95%
ROE
18.35%
73.96%
Gross Margin
25.96%
1.93
PEG Ratio
1.78
Balance Sheet Safety
4.29
Net Debt / Equity
3.08
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
6.23
Net Debt / EBITDA
4.60
3.78%
Dividend Yield
1.11%
AMT: 6Ties: 2DE: 4
AMTDE

Historical Fundamentals

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AMT

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.

DE

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

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AMT
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-2.91B
Δ Market Cap
$-16.77B
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
DE
$-0.13
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$17.54B
Δ Market Cap
$-2.23B
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

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

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AMT
753.4% Overvalued
Price is 753.4% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $176.05
Fair Value: $20.63
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
DE
42.8% Margin of Safety
Price is 42.8% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $589.24
Fair Value: $1029.59
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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AMT

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $176?

+18.3%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +11.9%

The market implies +18.3% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +11.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

DE

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $589?

+17.0%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +23.1%

The market implies +17.0% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +23.1%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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AMT
51/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
DE
50/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving revenue predictability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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AMT
-2.49
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

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.
DE
-2.52
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

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.

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

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AMT
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 96.7%Retail & Other 3.2%
No. of Institutional Holders2,401
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
DE
Insiders 0.2%Institutions 82.8%Retail & Other 17.0%
No. of Institutional Holders3,298
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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AMT
0
Buys (3M)
2
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.49M
KALATHUR RAJESH
Director
$494,936
@ $185.30 · 2026-03-10
REILLY EUGENE F
Director
$994,110
@ $178.99 · 2025-10-31
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
DE
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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AMT
1
Sells (3M)
8
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $22.18M
DOWLING RUTH T
Officer
$173,092
@ $178.08 · 2026-04-29
VONDRAN STEVEN OWEN
Chief Executive Officer
$6.31M
@ $188.46 · 2026-03-04
DOWLING RUTH T
General Counsel
$128,564
@ $188.51 · 2026-03-04
NOEL EUGENE M
Chief Operating Officer
$7.87M
@ $191.05 · 2026-03-02
MEYER ROBERT JOSEPH JR
Officer
$831,695
@ $186.73 · 2026-02-27
DOWLING RUTH T
General Counsel
$122,121
@ $186.16 · 2026-02-27
SMITH RODNEY M
Chief Financial Officer
$6.60M
@ $192.09 · 2026-02-17
FONT JUAN HERNANDEZ
Officer
$149,998
@ $208.33 · 2025-07-31
GOEL SANJAY
Officer
$863,680
@ $215.92 · 2025-03-17
MEYER ROBERT JOSEPH JR
Officer
$1.14M
@ $201.67 · 2025-02-27
REEVE PAMELA D A
Director
$1.01M
@ $202.97 · 2025-02-26
SMITH RODNEY M
Chief Financial Officer
$3.14M
@ $189.70 · 2025-02-13
SMITH RODNEY M
Chief Financial Officer
$3.00M
@ $181.10 · 2025-01-16
GOEL SANJAY
Officer
$1.19M
@ $238.00 · 2024-09-13
NOEL EUGENE M
Officer
$7.95M
@ $240.00 · 2024-09-10
PUECH OLIVIER
Officer
$4.37M
@ $230.00 · 2024-09-03
PUECH OLIVIER
Officer
$2.26M
@ $226.35 · 2024-08-26
MEYER ROBERT JOSEPH JR
Officer
$508,020
@ $232.93 · 2024-08-02
VONDRAN STEVEN OWEN
Chief Executive Officer
$4.95M
@ $230.00 · 2024-08-02
PUECH OLIVIER
Officer
$2.33M
@ $233.27 · 2024-08-02
GOEL SANJAY
Officer
$1.13M
@ $235.39 · 2024-08-02
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
DE
0
Sells (3M)
3
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $32.47M
REED CORY J.
Officer
$6.12M
@ $510.00 · 2026-01-14
MAY JOHN C. II
Chief Executive Officer
$20.80M
@ $501.49 · 2026-01-08
MAY JOHN C. II
Chief Executive Officer
$5.55M
@ $500.08 · 2025-11-25
KALATHUR RAJESH
Chief Technology Officer
$12.30M
@ $500.61 · 2025-02-18
REED CORY J.
Officer
$5.05M
@ $377.63 · 2024-06-24
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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AMT
FearGreed
😨Fear(39/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
DE
FearGreed
😏Greed(61/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

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

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AMT
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (39)
DE
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Greed (61)
View AMT Full AnalysisView DE Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: AMT vs DE

Is American Tower Corporation or Deere & Company more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, DE trades at a 42.8% margin of safety (intrinsic value $1030 vs. price $589), compared to AMT's -753.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $21 vs. $176).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, American Tower Corporation or Deere & Company?▼

AMT scores 51/100 (Narrow moat), while DE scores 50/100 (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. DE scores 2.9 (Grey zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which company has better free cash flow, American Tower Corporation or Deere & Company?▼

American Tower Corporation (AMT) generates a 5.6% free cash flow yield, compared to Deere & Company's 2.0%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, American Tower Corporation or Deere & Company?▼

DE earns 10.7% ROIC versus AMT's 7.1%. 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, American Tower Corporation's or Deere & Company's?▼

DE's dividend earns a safety score of 94/100 (Very Safe), compared to AMT's 24/100 (Unsafe). DE has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.