Shares of American Tower Corporation (AMT) climbed roughly 3% in pre-open trading on Friday after a Bloomberg report said SpaceX is seeking access to approximately 80,000 cell sites across the United States. The report lifted tower operators while weighing on the major wireless carriers.

American Tower opened the regular session at $181.62, up 2% on the day. The stock's 52-week range spans from a low of $160.06 to a high of $196.08.

According to Bloomberg, SpaceX is exploring a nationwide wireless network buildout and has been in talks to use about 80,000 U.S. cell sites. A tenant of that scale could open the door to multibillion-dollar leasing agreements for tower companies, which own and manage the physical infrastructure that wireless networks rely on. The economics of that model rest on colocation — once a tower is built, each additional tenant pays recurring rent to mount its own equipment on the same structure — which is why the prospect of a new large-scale tenant ranks among the most direct growth drivers for tower owners. Crown Castle, another major tower operator, rose 0.2% alongside American Tower.

Wireless carriers moved in the opposite direction. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile each fell more than 3% as investors weighed the possibility of SpaceX emerging as a new competitor in the U.S. wireless market. Carriers have historically been the primary tenants on shared tower infrastructure, leaving SpaceX in the unusual position of being both a prospective customer of the tower companies and a potential rival to their biggest tenants.

Market Backdrop and Valuation

The broader market offered little support on the day. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%.

American Tower trades above both its 50-day moving average of $174.42 and its 200-day moving average of $175.63. The company's market capitalization stands at $84.63 billion, and the stock changes hands at roughly 25 times earnings. One recent analysis noted that the valuation discount that once set the stock apart has largely faded.

Sell-side analysts remain broadly constructive on the shares. The consensus rating stands at Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $214.90. Among recent updates, Mizuho raised its price target to $208 while keeping an Outperform rating on the stock, and Bernstein trimmed its target from $214 to $212 while maintaining its Outperform rating.

Insider Moves and Earnings Setup

Insider activity has been mixed in recent months. Director Teresa Clarke made another small open-market purchase on Oct. 20, buying shares at $183.20 apiece. In August, director Rajesh Kalathur spent $500,733 on stock at $177 per share. On the selling side, EVP Ruth Dowling sold roughly $193,506 worth of stock in July under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold a combined $1.2 million worth of stock and currently hold 0.08% of the company. Institutional investors own 92.69% of AMT. Among recent institutional moves, MBL Wealth raised its position by 415.1% in the third quarter, bringing its holding to a value of about $1.34 million.

In its most recent quarter, American Tower reported revenue of $2.75 billion, an increase of 4.6%, along with earnings per share of $2.71. Management has set full-year 2026 EPS guidance in a range of $11.00 to $11.17. The company also paid its quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share on Oct. 20, a payout equal to a 3.9% yield.

The company's third-quarter results are scheduled for release on Oct. 27, with Wall Street expecting EPS of $2.84 on revenue of about $2.77 billion. The release gives investors the next scheduled checkpoint for management commentary on tenant demand and site leasing, with any progression of the SpaceX discussions from exploratory talks toward formal agreements a key open question to track.