What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2022-02-25 compared with 2021-02-25 · 123 added, 82 removed, 205 unchanged (50% of the section changed)

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These services include site application, zoning and permitting and structural analysis, which primarily support our site leasing business, including the addition of new tenants and equipment on our sites.

Our customers include our tenants, licensees and other payers.

Since inception, we have grown our communications real estate portfolio through acquisitions, long-term lease arrangements and site development.

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In addition to the communications sites in our portfolio, we manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements.

We also hold other telecommunications infrastructure, fiber and property interests that we lease primarily to communications service providers and third-party tower operators.

In 2020, we added approximately 3,000 communications sites to our portfolio, primarily in the United States, and launched operations in Canada and Australia as part of our acquisition of InSite Wireless Group, LLC (“InSite,” and the acquisition, the “InSite Acquisition”).

We also launched operations in Poland through an agreement to acquire communications sites from Electronic Control Systems Spółka Akcyjna, added 530 communications sites to our portfolio in Latin America through our agreement with Entel PCS Telecomunicaciones S.A.

and Entel Peru S.A.

(the “Entel Acquisition”) and added 564 communications sites to our portfolio in Europe through our agreements with Orange S.A.

(the “Orange Acquisition”).

We also hold other telecommunications infrastructure, fiber and property interests that we lease primarily to communications service providers and third-party tower operators, and, as discussed further below, we hold a portfolio of highly interconnected data center facilities and related assets in the United States that we lease primarily to enterprises, network operators, cloud providers and supporting service providers.

In 2021, we added approximately 31,000 communications sites to our portfolios in Latin America and Europe and launched operations in Spain as part of our transaction with Telxius Telecom, S.A.

(“Telxius,” and the acquisition, the “Telxius Acquisition,” as further discussed in Item 7 of this Annual Report under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Executive Overview”).

In addition, we launched operations in the Philippines through the construction of new sites therein and in Bangladesh through the acquisition of a controlling interest in Kirtonkhola Tower Bangladesh Limited (the “Bangladesh Acquisition”).

As of December 31, 2021, our communications real estate portfolio of 220,131 communications sites included 43,308 communications sites in the U.S.

& Canada, 75,772 communications sites in Asia-Pacific, 19,863 communications sites in Africa, 5,331 communications sites in Europe and 41,529 communications sites in Latin America, as well as urban telecommunications assets in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico and South Africa and other property interests in the United States and Australia.

On January 13, 2021, we entered into two agreements with Telxius Telecom, S.A.

(“Telxius”), a subsidiary of Telefónica, S.A., pursuant to which we expect to acquire Telxius’ European and Latin American tower divisions, comprising approximately 31,000 communications sites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Peru and Spain, for approximately 7.7 billion Euros (“EUR”) (approximately $9.4 billion at the date of signing) (the “Pending Telxius Acquisition”), subject to limited adjustments.

The Pending Telxius Acquisition is expected to close in tranches beginning in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approval.

& Canada, 75,725 communications sites in Asia-Pacific, 22,165 communications sites in Africa, 30,041 communications sites in Europe and 48,892 communications sites in Latin America, as well as urban telecommunications assets, including fiber, in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico and South Africa and other property interests in Australia, Canada and the United States.

In December 2021, we completed the acquisition of CoreSite Realty Corporation (“CoreSite”), consisting of over 20 data center facilities and related assets in eight United States markets, for total consideration of $10.4 billion, including the assumption and repayment of CoreSite’s existing debt (the “CoreSite Acquisition”).

As of December 31, 2021, our data center portfolio consisted of 27 data center facilities across ten United States markets, including the assets acquired as part of the CoreSite Acquisition, as well as our previously acquired data center facilities.

In May 2021 and June 2021, in connection with the funding of the Telxius Acquisition, we entered into agreements with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) and Allianz insurance companies and funds managed by Allianz Capital Partners GmbH, including the Allianz European Infrastructure Fund (collectively, “Allianz”), for CDPQ and Allianz to acquire 30% and 18% noncontrolling interests, respectively, in subsidiaries whose holdings consist of our operations in France, Germany, Poland and Spain (such subsidiaries collectively, “ATC Europe,” and the transactions, the “ATC Europe Transactions”).

We completed the ATC Europe Transactions in September 2021 for total aggregate consideration of 2.6 billion Euros (“EUR”) (approximately $3.1 billion at the date of closing).

After the completion of the ATC Europe Transactions, we hold a 52% controlling ownership interest in ATC Europe.

We operate as a real estate investment trust for U.S.

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Accordingly, we generally are not required to pay U.S.

federal income taxes on income generated by our REIT operations, including the income derived from leasing space on our towers, as we receive a dividends paid deduction for distributions to stockholders that generally offsets our REIT income and gains.

federal income taxes on income generated by our REIT operations, including the income derived from leasing space on our towers and in our data centers, as we receive a dividends paid deduction for distributions to stockholders that generally offsets our REIT income and gains.

However, we remain obligated to pay U.S.

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As of December 31, 2021, our REIT-qualified businesses included our U.S.

tower leasing business and a majority of our U.S.

indoor DAS networks business and services segment, as well as most of our operations in Mexico, Germany, Costa Rica, Nigeria, France, Canada and Australia.

During the fourth quarter of 2020, as a result of the InSite Acquisition, we updated our reportable segments to rename U.S.

property and Asia property to U.S.

& Canada property and Asia-Pacific property, respectively.

We continue to report our results in six segments – U.S.

& Canada property, Asia-Pacific property, Africa property, Europe property, Latin America property and services.

This change was made to better align the names of our reportable segments with the geographical areas of our business operations following the InSite Acquisition.

The change of our reportable segments names is solely reflective of the inclusion of Canada and Australia in our business operations, as a result of the InSite Acquisition, and had no impact on our consolidated financial statements for any prior periods.

tower leasing business, a majority of our U.S.

indoor DAS networks business, our Services and Data Centers segments, as well as most of our operations in

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Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Mexico and Nigeria.

In January 2022, a majority of our operations in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda became part of the REIT.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, as a result of the CoreSite Acquisition, we updated our reportable segments to add a Data Centers segment.

The Data Centers segment is included within our property operations.

We will now report our results in seven segments – U.S.

& Canada property (which includes all assets in the United States and Canada, other than our data center facilities and related assets), Asia-Pacific property, Africa property, Europe property, Latin America property, Data Centers and Services.

We believe this change provides greater visibility into our operating segments and aligns our reporting with management’s current approach of allocating costs and resources, managing growth and profitability and assessing the operating performance of our business segments.

This change applies to our business operations results beginning with the fourth quarter of 2021 and had no impact on our consolidated financial statements for any prior periods.

Historical financial information included in this Annual Report has not been adjusted as the amounts attributable to data center assets were insignificant as prior to the fourth quarter of 2021, we owned one data center.

Products and Services

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• Long-term tenant leases with contractual rent escalations.

In general, our tenant leases with wireless carriers have initial non-cancellable terms of five to ten years with multiple renewal terms, with provisions that periodically increase the rent due under the lease, typically annually, based on a fixed escalation percentage (averaging approximately 3% in the United States) or an inflationary index in most of our international markets, or a combination of both.

Based upon foreign currency exchange rates and the tenant leases in place as of December 31, 2020, we expect to generate nearly $59 billion of non-cancellable tenant lease revenue over future periods, before the impact of straight-line lease accounting.

In general, our tenant leases for our communications sites with wireless carriers have initial non-cancellable terms of five to ten years with multiple renewal terms, with provisions that periodically increase the rent due under the lease, typically annually, based on a fixed escalation percentage (averaging approximately 3% in the United States) or an inflationary index in most of our international markets, or a combination of both.

Based upon foreign currency exchange rates and the tenant leases in place as of December 31, 2021, we expect to generate over $61 billion of non-cancellable tenant lease revenue over future periods, before the impact of straight-line lease accounting.

• Consistent demand for our sites.

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As discussed in Item 7 of this Annual Report under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Executive Overview,” we experienced elevated levels of churn in recent years due to carrier consolidation-driven churn in India.

We anticipate that our churn rate in our Asia-Pacific property segment will moderate over time, however, in the immediate term, we believe that our churn rate may remain elevated, primarily due to the recent court rulings by the Indian Supreme Court, as set forth in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors—Our business, and that of our tenants, is subject to laws, regulations and administrative and judicial decisions, and changes thereto, that could restrict our ability to operate our business as we currently do or impact our competitive landscape.” Additionally, we expect that our churn rate in our U.S.

& Canada property segment will be elevated for a period of several years due to contractual lease cancellations and non-renewals pursuant to the terms of our master lease agreement with T-Mobile US, Inc.

We anticipate that our churn rate in our Asia-Pacific property segment will moderate over time, however, in the immediate term, we believe that our churn rate may remain elevated as, among other things, our tenants in India evaluate how best to comply with the recent court rulings by the Supreme Court of India and determine their obligations under payment plans for the adjusted gross revenue (“AGR”) fees and charges prescribed by such court, as further discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors—Our business, and that of our customers, is subject to laws, regulations and administrative and judicial decisions, and changes thereto, that could restrict our ability to operate our business as we currently do or impact our competitive landscape.” Additionally, we expect that our churn rate in our U.S.

& Canada property segment will be elevated for a period of several years due to contractual lease cancellations

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and non-renewals pursuant to the terms of our master lease agreement with T-Mobile US, Inc.

(“T-Mobile,” and the agreement, the “T-Mobile MLA”) entered into in September 2020.

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On average, we require relatively low amounts of annual capital expenditures to maintain our communications sites.

Our property business includes the operation of communications sites and managed networks, the leasing of property interests, and, in select markets, the operation of fiber and the provision of backup power through shared generators.

Our property business includes the operation of communications sites and managed networks, the leasing of property interests and, in select markets, the operation of fiber, the operation of data centers and the provision of backup power through shared generators.

Our presence in a number of markets at different relative stages of wireless development provides us with significant diversification and long-term growth potential.

Our property segments accounted for the following percentage of consolidated total revenue for the years

ended December 31,:

Our property segments accounted for the following percentage of consolidated total revenue for the years ended December 31,:

2021 2020 2019

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Latin America 16 % 16 % 18 %

Data Centers 0 % — % — %

Communications Sites.

Approximately 95%, 95% and 96% of revenue in our property segments was attributable to our communications sites, excluding DAS networks, for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Approximately 95% of revenue in our property segments was attributable to our communications sites, excluding DAS networks, for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

We lease space on our communications sites to tenants providing a diverse range of communications services, including cellular voice and data, broadcasting, mobile video and a number of other applications.

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(“Telefónica”);

and Free accounted for an aggregate of 69% of Europe property segment revenue.

and Bouygues accounted for an aggregate of 74% of Europe property segment revenue.

• Latin America:

and América Móvil accounted for an aggregate of 60% of Latin America property segment revenue.

Accordingly, we are subject to certain risks, as set forth in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors—A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from a small number of tenants, and we are sensitive to changes in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our tenants.” In addition, we are subject to risks related to our international operations, as set forth under the caption “Risk Factors—Our foreign operations are subject to economic, political and other risks that could materially and adversely affect our revenues or financial position, including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.”

Managed Networks, Fiber and Related Assets, Property Interests and Shared Generators.

In addition to our communications sites, we also own and operate several types of managed network solutions, provide communications site management services to third parties, manage and lease property interests under carrier or other third-party communications sites, provide the right to use fiber and provide back-up power sources to tenants at our sites.

Accordingly, we are subject to certain risks, as set forth in Item 1A of this Annual Report under the caption “Risk Factors—A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from a small number of customers, and we are sensitive to adverse changes in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our customers.” In addition, we are subject to risks related to our international operations, as set forth under the caption “Risk Factors—Our foreign operations are subject to economic, political and other risks that could materially and adversely affect our revenues or financial position, including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.”

Managed Networks, Fiber and Related Assets, Data Centers and Related Assets, Property Interests and Shared Generators.

In addition to our communications sites, we also own and operate several types of managed network solutions, provide communications site management services to third parties, manage and lease property interests under carrier or other third-party communications sites, provide the right to use fiber, operate data center facilities and provide back-up power sources to tenants at our sites.

The balance of our property segment revenue not attributable to our communications sites was attributable to these items.

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We obtain rights from property owners to install and operate in-building DAS networks, and we grant rights to wireless service providers to attach their equipment to our installations.

We also offer a small portfolio of outdoor DAS networks as a complementary shared infrastructure solution for our tenants in the United States and in certain international markets.

We also offer a small portfolio of outdoor DAS networks as a complementary shared infrastructure solution for our tenants in the United States and in certain

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international markets.

Typically, we have designed, built and operated our outdoor DAS networks in areas in which zoning restrictions or other barriers may prevent or delay deployment of more traditional wireless communications sites, such as macro tower sites.

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• Fiber and Related Assets.

We own and operate fiber and related assets in the United States and certain international markets.

We own and operate fiber and related assets in certain international markets.

We currently provide the right to use such fiber and related assets to communications and internet service providers and third-party operators to support their telecommunications infrastructure.

We expect to continue to evaluate opportunities to invest selectively in and expand these and other similar assets in the future as part of advanced network deployments.

• Data Centers and Related Assets.

As a result of our recent data center acquisitions, we own and operate data center facilities and related assets in the United States, which consist of specialized and secure buildings that house networking, storage and communications technology infrastructure, including servers, storage devices, switches, routers and fiber optic transmission equipment.

These buildings are designed to provide the power, cooling and network connectivity necessary to efficiently operate this equipment.

Data centers located at points where many communications networks converge can also function as interconnection hubs where customers are able to connect to multiple networks, cloud companies and other service providers to exchange traffic and interoperate with each other.

• Property Interests .

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To capture this demand, our primary operational focus is to (i) increase the occupancy of our existing communications real estate portfolio to support global connectivity, (ii) invest in and selectively grow our communications real estate portfolio, (iii) further improve our operational performance and efficiency, including through platform expansion initiatives, and (iv) maintain a strong balance sheet.

We believe these efforts to meet our tenants’ needs will support and enhance our ability to capitalize on the growth in demand for wireless infrastructure.

In addition, we expect to explore new opportunities to enhance or extend our shared communications infrastructure businesses, including those that may make our assets incrementally more attractive to new tenants, or to existing tenants for new uses, and those that increase our operational efficiency.

We believe these efforts to meet our customers’ needs will support and enhance our ability to capitalize on the growth in demand for wireless infrastructure.

In addition, we expect to explore new opportunities to enhance or extend our shared communications infrastructure businesses, including those that may make our assets incrementally more attractive to new customers, or to existing customers for new uses, and those that increase our operational efficiency.

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• Increase the occupancy of our existing communications real estate portfolio to support global connectivity.

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Therefore, we will continue to target our sales and marketing activities to increase the utilization and return on investment of our existing communications sites.

• Invest in and selectively grow our communications real estate portfolio to meet our tenants’ needs.

We seek opportunities to invest in and grow our operations through our capital expenditure program, new site construction and acquisitions.

We believe we can achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by pursuing such investments.

In addition, we seek to secure property interests under our communications sites to improve operating margins as we reduce our cash operating expense related to ground leases.

• Invest in and selectively grow our communications real estate portfolio to meet our customers’ needs.

We seek opportunities to invest in and grow our operations through our capital expenditure program and acquisitions.

A significant portion of our inorganic growth has been focused on properties with lower initial tenancy because we believe that over time we can significantly increase tenancy levels, and therefore, drive strong returns on those assets.

More recently, we have invested in strategic data center assets, including through the CoreSite Acquisition, which we believe can drive strong, recurring growth and also meaningfully enhance the value of our existing communications tower real estate through emerging edge compute opportunities in the future.

• Further improve our operational performance and efficiency.

We continue to seek opportunities to improve our operational performance throughout the organization.

This includes investing in our systems and people as we strive to improve efficiency and provide superior service to our tenants.

This includes investing in our systems and people as we strive to improve efficiency and provide superior service to our customers.

To achieve this, we intend to continue to focus on customer service initiatives, such as reducing cycle times for key functions, including lease processing and tower structural analysis.

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We expect to continue to invest in and expand our existing communications real estate portfolio through our capital expenditure program.

This includes capital expenditures associated with site maintenance, increasing the capacity of our existing sites and projects such as new site construction, land interest acquisitions and power solutions.

This includes capital expenditures associated with site maintenance, increasing the capacity of our existing sites and projects such as new site and data center facility construction, land interest acquisitions and power solutions.

• Acquisitions.

We intend to pursue acquisitions of communications sites and other telecommunications infrastructure in our existing or new markets where we can meet or exceed our risk-adjusted return on investment criteria.

We intend to continue to pursue acquisitions of communications sites and other telecommunications infrastructure in our existing or new markets where we can meet or exceed our risk-adjusted return on investment criteria.

The risk-adjusted hurdle rates used to evaluate acquisition opportunities consider additional factors such as the country and counterparties involved, investment and economic climate, legal and regulatory conditions and industry risk, among others.

• Return excess capital to stockholders .

If we have excess capital available after funding (i) our required distributions, (ii) capital expenditures, (iii) the repayment of debt consistent with our financial policies and (iv) anticipated future investments, including acquisition and select innovation opportunities, we will seek to return such excess capital to stockholders, including through our stock repurchase programs.

If we have excess capital available after funding (i) our required distributions, (ii) capital expenditures, (iii) the repayment of debt consistent with our financial policies and (iv) anticipated future investments, including acquisition and select platform expansion opportunities, we will seek to return such excess capital to stockholders, including through our stock repurchase programs.

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International Growth Strategy

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Once an investment opportunity is identified within a geographic area with an attractive wireless industry, we conduct a multifaceted opportunity and counterparty analysis.

This includes evaluating (i) the type of transaction, (ii) its ability to meet our risk-adjusted return criteria given the country and the

counterparties involved, including the anticipated anchor tenant and (iii) how the transaction fits within our long-term strategic objectives, including future potential investment and expansion within the region.

This includes evaluating (i) the type of transaction, (ii) its ability to meet our risk-adjusted return criteria given the country and the counterparties involved, including the anticipated anchor tenant and (iii) how the transaction fits within our long-term strategic objectives, including future potential investment and expansion within the region.

Regulatory Matters

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Although the debt is held by another subsidiary of ours and is eliminated in consolidation, ATC TIPL is still subject to the listing requirements of such exchange.

In Africa, our subsidiaries in Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda are required to hold a license in order to establish and maintain passive telecommunications infrastructure services and DAS networks for communications service providers.

In Burkina Faso, a new licensing regime was recently enacted which required our subsidiary there to be licensed.

Additionally, in Uganda, our subsidiary is subject to review for three years commencing in 2020 by a monitoring trustee regarding compliance with certain conditions of approval of our acquisition in 2019 of Eaton Towers Holdings Limited (“Eaton Towers,” and the acquisition, the “Eaton Towers Acquisition”).

In Latin America, our subsidiaries in Chile and Argentina hold licenses for the provision of passive telecommunications infrastructure and, in Argentina, for leasing of fiber.

In Asia-Pacific, our subsidiaries in the Philippines and Bangladesh are required to hold a registration or license in order to establish, manage and operate passive telecommunications infrastructure services.

In Africa, our subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda are required to hold a license in order to establish and maintain passive telecommunications infrastructure services and DAS networks for communications service providers.

In Latin America, our subsidiary in Chile holds a license for the provision of passive telecommunications infrastructure and our subsidiary in Argentina holds a license for the leasing of fiber.

The subsidiaries that hold our fiber business in Mexico and Brazil are also licensed and regulated as concession holders and permit holders authorized to provide telecommunications services.

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For example, in South Africa, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (the “BBBEE Act”) has established a legislative framework for the promotion of economic empowerment of South African citizens disadvantaged by Apartheid.

Accordingly, the BBBEE Act and related codes measure BBBEE Act compliance and good corporate practice by the inclusion of certain ownership, management control, employment equity and other metrics for companies that do business there.

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the BBBEE Act and related codes measure BBBEE Act compliance and good corporate practice by the inclusion of certain ownership, management control, employment equity and other metrics for companies that do business there.

In Kenya, our regulator requires all holders of a commercial license to issue at least 30% of their shares to Kenyans within three years of receiving the license unless a waiver is obtained to extend such period of compliance by a year.

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It also prohibits state or local restrictions based on the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent the facilities comply with FCC regulations.

February 2012, the United States government adopted regulations requiring that local and state governments approve modifications or colocations that qualify as eligible facilities under the regulations.

Further, in February 2012, the United States government adopted regulations requiring that local and state governments approve modifications or colocations that qualify as eligible facilities under the regulations.

Portions of our business are subject to additional regulations, for example, in a number of states throughout the United States, certain of our subsidiaries hold Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) or other status, in connection with the operation of our outdoor DAS networks business.

In addition, we, or our tenants, may be subject to new regulatory policies in certain jurisdictions from time to time that may materially and adversely affect our business or the demand for our communications sites.

In addition, we, or our customers, may be subject to new regulatory policies in certain jurisdictions from time to time that may materially and adversely affect our business or the demand for our communications sites.

Data Centers .

data center facilities and related assets are subject to various federal, state and local regulations, such as state and local fire and life safety regulations and Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) federal requirements.

If one of our properties is not in compliance with these regulations, we may be required to make significant unanticipated expenditures in order to comply with such regulations and/or pay fines or civil damage awards.

Existing regulations may subsequently change or future regulations may be enacted, either of which could have a similar impact as described above, and could materially and adversely affect our operations.

Environmental Matters.

and international operations are subject to various national, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to the management, use, storage, disposal, emission and remediation of, and exposure to, hazardous and non-hazardous substances, materials and wastes and the siting of our towers.

We may be required to obtain permits, pay additional property taxes, comply with regulatory requirements and make certain informational filings related to hazardous substances or devices used to provide power such as batteries, generators and fuel at our sites.

With respect to our data center facilities, the presence of contamination, asbestos, mold or other air quality issues or the failure to remediate contamination, asbestos, mold or other air quality issues at our facilities may expose us to third-party liability or materially adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or develop the real estate or to borrow using the real estate as collateral.

Violations of these types of regulations could subject us to fines or criminal sanctions.

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If a tower or new antenna might have a material adverse impact on the environment, FCC or other governmental approval of the tower or antenna could be significantly delayed.

Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and some of the states and localities in which we operate, have also enacted certain climate change laws and regulations and/or have begun regulating carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions and may adopt new regulations related to the use of fossil fuels or requiring the use of alternative fuel or renewable energy sources to power energy resources that serve our data centers.

Efforts to support and enhance renewable electricity generation may increase our costs of electricity above those that would be incurred through procurement of conventional

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Our data centers require and consume significant amounts of power, including electricity generated by the burning of fossil fuels.

These laws, regulations and stakeholder requests could limit our ability to develop new facilities or result in substantial compliance, maintenance, repair, retrofit and construction costs, including capital expenditures for environmental control facilities and other new equipment.

Changes in regulations that affect electric power providers, such as regulations related to the control of greenhouse gas emissions or other climate change-related matters, could adversely affect the costs of electric power and increase our operating costs, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations or those of our customers.

Health and Safety.

In the United States and in other countries where we operate, we are subject to various national, state and local laws regarding employee health and safety, including protection from radio frequency exposure.

Additionally, and in response to various national, state and local laws and guidance enacted in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented work-from-home arrangements and travel restrictions for our employees where practicable, as well as and other modifications to our business practices.

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and Cellnex Telecom, S.A., wireless carrier tower consortia such as Indus Towers Limited and private tower companies, private equity sponsored firms, carrier-affiliated tower companies, independent wireless carriers, tower owners, broadcasters and owners of non-communications sites, including rooftops, utility towers, water towers and other alternative structures.

We believe that site location and capacity, network density, price, quality and speed of service have been, and will continue to be, significant competitive factors affecting owners, operators and managers of communications sites.

Our data center business also competes with a variety of companies offering similar data center solutions and services, including space, power, interconnection and development services.

We believe that location and capacity, network and/or interconnection density, price, quality and speed of service have been, and will continue to be, significant competitive factors affecting owners, operators and managers of communications sites and data center facilities.

Our services business competes with a variety of companies offering individual, or combinations of, competing services.

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As of December 31, 2021, we employed 6,378 full-time individuals, including 2,291 employees based in the United States and 4,087 employees based internationally.

Our teams representing our over 20 countries around the world are our most important assets and fundamental to our success.

Aligned with our business strategy, our human capital management strategy focuses on developing and delivering solutions to attract, develop, engage and retain top diverse talent in each of the countries where we operate.

We consider our employee relations to be good.

Our teams representing our 22 countries around the world are our most important assets and fundamental to our success.

Aligned with our business strategy, our human capital strategy focuses on developing and delivering solutions to attract, develop, engage and retain top diverse talent in each of the countries where we operate.

Our Chief Sustainability Officer regularly reports to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors on our initiatives related to human capital management.

Employee Engagement .

In 2021, our employees completed our biennial company-wide engagement survey to provide feedback on our company in nine key areas.

The survey was completed by 91% of our employees globally.

All of the nine areas measured scored over 70% in favorability.

Of note, teamwork and leadership both received an 89% favorability score, employee engagement received an 87% favorability score and diversity and inclusion received an 83% favorability score.

Additionally, our COVID-19 response received a 91% favorability score.

The questions with the highest favorable ratings were focused on our culture, values and ethics.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are top priorities for us.

A critical factor in our success is ensuring that each of these remains at the core of our business culture, infusing fresh ideas, helping us remain connected to our tenants in a dynamic global market and ensuring mutual respect guides us in our interactions both internally and externally.

Half of the members of our board of directors are either female or part of a minority group.

In addition, our recruiting efforts consistently include strategies to build diverse candidate pipelines and create an environment that maintains a diverse team of global employees.

As part of our efforts to help employees succeed in their roles and have access to career opportunities, we

create a variety of development opportunities unique to each market.

For example, in the United States, we have programs designed to enhance opportunities for our female leaders, such as Strategies for Success, the Simmons Women’s Leadership Conference and the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum of the Wireless Infrastructure Association.

Additionally, in 2020, we implemented several new initiatives designed to address racial injustice and enhance our diversity.

These include CEO-led listening sessions with employees of color, a pledge of $1.0 million from the American Tower Foundation to counter systemic racism, expanding recruiting efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, increasing diversity and inclusion training for employees and managers and launching an employee-led CEO Advisory Council that will identify diversity action items and next steps for our diversity and inclusion efforts.

Talent Development.

As a critical investment in our capacity to provide tenants with outstanding support and customer service, we offer development programs and on-demand opportunities to cultivate talent throughout our global organization.

We have 7,000 resources in up to five languages that focus on job-specific training and general topics like productivity, collaboration and project management.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental considerations and values for us in conducting business.

A critical factor in our success is ensuring that each of these remains at the core of our business culture, infusing fresh ideas, helping us remain connected to our customers in a dynamic global market and ensuring mutual respect guides us in our interactions both internally and externally.

We have adopted a Global Human Rights Statement, which can be found on our website.

Our Board of Directors is a diverse group with respect to traditional diversity metrics such as gender, race and national origin, as well as professional background and skills, with four members of our board identifying as female and five identifying as part of a minority group.

We are also committed to ensuring diverse representation among our employees.

In 2021, 38% of all

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employees promoted globally were female, which is greater than the female representation in our workforce of 28%.

And as of December 31, 2021, nearly 40% of management-level positions in the United States were also held by women.

Additionally, we have implemented several initiatives designed to help address social injustice and enhance our diversity.

These include pledges from the American Tower Foundation of (i) $1.0 million for grants to organizations recommended by our Social Justice Committee to counter systemic racism and (ii) $1.0 million for scholarship funds at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

In 2021, we created a new senior role, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, tasked with leading our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy by introducing new initiatives and best practices, including working with each region to develop relevant representation, development and recruitment goals and launching a company-wide resource center for our employees.

Talent Development and Recruitment.

As a critical investment in our capacity to provide our customers with outstanding support and customer service, we offer a variety of development opportunities unique to each market to cultivate our talent throughout our global organization.

For individual contributors, we have 8,700 resources in up to five languages that focus on job-specific training and general topics, such as productivity, collaboration and project management.

We create and customize courses to meet regional needs and update these courses regularly to address changing marketplace dynamics and employee interests.

We also have a comprehensive talent-management review process to develop future leaders and ensure effective succession planning.

Our Latin America, Europe and Africa teams use the TalentPrint data analytics solution to enhance performance and talent management assessments, as well as data for targeted individual employee development and organizational succession planning.

Developing our managers is critical to our success, and resources and tools are provided to all levels of management.

Developing our managers is critical to our success, and over 30,000 resources and tools are provided to all levels of management.

For example, the Management Development at American Tower program provides continuous development opportunities through training led by American Tower leaders.

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Our annual Advanced Leadership Development Program, in collaboration with the INSEAD executive education program, provides our next generation leaders in Latin America, Europe and Africa with a twelve-week intensive workshop to enhance management and leadership skills.

Additionally, the Leadership Excellence at American Tower Program supports senior leaders’ development through its partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Leadership Excellence at American Tower Program supports global senior leaders’ development through its partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Participants learn from leading experts on topics like global strategy and leading in uncertain times.

We also have a comprehensive talent-management review process to develop future leaders and ensure effective succession planning.

Our recruiting efforts consistently include strategies to build diverse candidate pipelines and promote a culture that supports a diverse team of global employees.

We are proud of our Leadership Development Program, which provides a recruitment opportunity for business school students, who are able to learn about different aspects of our business through regular rotational assignments.

Further, with respect to our Leadership Development Program, as of December 31, 2021, 67% of our hires identified as part of a minority group and 33% identified as female.

We have also increased our recruiting efforts with Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as other recruiting efforts to build a diverse talent pipeline.

Workplace Safety.

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A key component of our culture is a strong commitment to incident reporting and corrective actions, as well as a comprehensive program for ensuring vendor compliance with safety standards and certifications.

Our strict adherence to the rigorous standards set forth by the relevant government agencies and other authorities, such as the Telecommunications Infrastructure Registered Apprenticeship Program and Telecommunications Industry Association, is critical to ensuring our towers are structurally safe for field personnel, vendors, tenants and communities.

In 2021, we created a new senior role, Chief Security Officer, tasked with helping to ensure the safety and security of our employees globally, as well as implementing best in class security protocols.

Health and Wellness.

As we navigate COVID-19, our top priority continues to be the health and safety of our employees, their families, our tenants, suppliers and surrounding communities.

We have taken a variety of actions to ensure the continued availability of our communications sites, while also focusing on the well-being of our people.

These measures include providing support for our tenants remotely, requiring work-from-home arrangements, restricting travel for our teams where practicable, safety equipment and COVID-19 training for essential employees working to maintain our sites, as well as other modifications to our business practices.

We offer medical and parental leave benefits to full-time employees across all markets, with some local variation.

As a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conduct wellness check-ins and offer resources to support our employees’ mental health and well-being, including access to a free Employee Assistance Program, which offers confidential assistance on a wide range of issues.

We also offer market competitive benefits in all locations and, in 2021, introduced a behavioral health benefit in the United States to support employees’ mental well-being.

Executive Officers

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Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report, and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this Annual Report.

You may access, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, plus amendments to such reports as filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), through the “Investor Relations” portion of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

You may access, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current

Table of Conten ts

Reports on Form 8-K, plus amendments to such reports as filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), through the “Investor Relations” portion of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

We have adopted a written Code of Ethics and Business Conduct Policy (the “Code of Conduct”) that applies to all of our employees and directors, including, but not limited to, our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions.

The Code of Conduct is available on the “Corporate Responsibility” portion of our website and our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of the audit, compensation

and nominating and corporate governance committees of our Board of Directors are available on the “Investor Relations” portion of our website.

The Code of Conduct is available on the “Corporate Responsibility” portion of our website and our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of the audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees of our Board of Directors are available on the “Investor Relations” portion of our website.

In the event we amend the Code of Conduct, or provide any waivers of the Code of Conduct to our directors or executive officers, we will disclose these events on our website as required by the regulations of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and applicable law.

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business