One reason I like using Emacs is that I can run it in a terminal - e.g. over ssh. I am skeptical I'll be able to do that with Atom (without using X forwarding).
On top of that I can be up and running with Emacs on a fresh install of just about any linux distro: install via the distro's package manager, drop in my configs, done.
On top of that I can be up and running with Emacs on a fresh install of just about any linux distro: install via the distro's package manager, drop in my configs, done.