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TCW Names American Tower a Q3 Laggard, Reaffirms 5G-Led Growth Case

The investor letter casts tower assets as durable, high-barrier infrastructure with a long runway from 5G adoption.

Overview

  • TCW Global Real Estate Fund reported a +2.37% Q3 return versus +4.50% for the S&P Global REIT Index.
  • An overweight in Telecom Tower REITs hurt relative results, with American Tower and SBA Communications cited as the fund’s two worst performers.
  • TCW described American Tower’s towers as mission-critical, protected by permitting and spectrum constraints, and needing minimal incremental capex for growth.
  • The firm outlined a decade-long 5G deployment tailwind as mobile data use rises an estimated 20%–30% annually, with potential upside from next‑generation applications.
  • As of December 26, 2025, AMT closed at $174.71 for a market cap of $82.59 billion, with a one-month return of -0.89% and a 52-week change of -3.96%, and hedge fund holders rose to 75 from 70 in Q3.