Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) owns, operates, and leases over 40,000 cell towers and approximately 80,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every primary U.S. market. On the other hand, American Tower Corporation (AMT) is one of the largest global REITs, which is a leading independent owner, operator, and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of approximately 219,000 communications sites.
The economy has been under severe inflationary stress, with the Consumer Price Index rising to 8.6% in May, the fastest advance in more than 40 years. The Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates by 0.75%, the most significant move in a single meeting since 1994. Moreover, the stock market is expected to remain under pressure as the Fed leans on higher borrowing costs to dampen demand and slow faster-than-expected inflation through further interest rate hikes this year. Amid this environment, investors could turn toward REIT stocks to hedge their portfolios against short-term market volatility by ensuring a steady income stream. Consequently, we think both CCI and AMT might rally.
