TIP826: American Tower (AMT): The Wide Moat Business Your Phone Can't Live Without w/ Kyle Grieve & Shawn O'Malley

You're listening to TIP. I'm not exactly a huge REIT guy, but when I discovered that Chuck Ocray had this massive position at American Tower, I mean, it piqued my interest. Right? And when I found out how much of a multibagger it had been for him at 280X, I mean, come on, that's just ridiculous. Jack Wolfson (zero fifty seven:thirty seven): Yeah. It's always been a business that I think I really found fascinating specifically because of that Chuck Acry angle. Then the more I dug into the business, the more I saw that the business is still really good, but it's currently in a nearly 40% drawdown, which really excited the value investor in me. Jack Wolf (zero fifty three:thirty seven): Oh, my gosh. And that drawdown has been going out since 2021. What is driving that? Jack Wolf (zero fifty three:thirty seven): Yeah. It's been a while. I think the business is still quite good. They got some really, really good assets. They have some really good switching costs. But over the years, unfortunately, from what I saw, the balance sheet has just gotten a lot uglier. Clay Finck (zero 50 seven:thirty one): So, I didn't even know AMT was a REIT until you told me. But historically, REITs are not known for having the cleanest balance sheets. Right. And I believe this is the first REIT that we've even ever covered on the show. So I think it's going to be a really, really fun business to discuss. All right. Well, if you're ready, let's do it. Since 2014, with more than 200,000,000 downloads, we have interviewed the world's best investors, studied deeply the principles of value investing, and uncovered many compelling investment opportunities. We focus on understanding businesses and intrinsic value, investing accordingly, and sharing everything we learn with you. This show is not investment advice. It's intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. All opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own, and they may have investments in the securities discussed. Now for your hosts, Sean O'Malley and Kyle Grieve. Hey folks, we have covered a handful of businesses with wide moats and high barriers to entry. TransDigm comes to mind as a business that owns several proprietary aerospace components for which customers have very, very few, if any, substitutes and this creates a unique situation where switching becomes nearly impossible. And so today we're gonna discuss American Tower, which is another business with a moat that is really about a mile wide to put it honestly. And so this business is fascinating too because it's been a massive winner in the past. And I know, Kyle, that one of your favorite investors, Chuck Acre, has taken part in a lot of the upside that American Tower has seen. Yes. Chuck Acree is one of my investing icons and has held AMT well past Hunter Baker status. So he actually still holds it in Acree Capital Management, but he's been selling large …