BOSTON (AP) _ American Tower Corp. (AMT) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its third quarter. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Boston, said it had funds from operations of $1.14 billion, or $2.49 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $2.33 per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $723 million, or $1.58 per share.

The wireless communications infrastructure company posted revenue of $2.45 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.4 billion.

The company's shares have increased 27% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 21%. The stock has increased 21% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AMT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AMT

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