Sba Communications Corp (SBAC)
Real Estate · Telecom Tower REITs · US stock · S&P 500 component
$178.39
▲ +4.98 (2.87%)
Fair valueFair
$203 +13.7% to fair value
$101fair band $173–$246$304
Day's range
$172.10 – $178.99
52-week range
$156.60 – $224.46
Red flags⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity⚠ Negative equity
About Sba Communications Corp
SBA Communications owns and operates wireless communications towers and related infrastructure, mainly in the United States and in international markets such as Latin America. It leases space on towers to wireless carriers, which install antennas and equipment on the structures. Revenue comes mostly from long-term lease agreements with carriers, many with scheduled rent escalators, and it can grow when carriers add equipment or new tenants join the sites.
Over the last twelve months Sba Communications Corp reported revenue of $2.9 billion, which expanded at 2.2% a year across three years. Its operating margin is 47.6% and its return on invested capital is 15%. Leverage, measured as net debt to EBITDA, is 7.3 times. Shareholders receive a dividend, yielding 2.7%. The X-Ray Score is 56 out of 100, a summary of these measures.
Price chart
52-wk range $156.60 – $224.46Volume 1,403,794Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$19.0B
52-week range$156.60 – $224.46
Volume (last day)1,403,794
P/E (TTM)19.2
EBIT / EV yield4.4%
Free-cash-flow yield5.5%
Dividend yield2.7%
Revenue (TTM)$2.9B
Net income (TTM)$991M
Operating margin47.6%
Return on capital14.7%
Debt incl. leases$12.7B
Cash & securities$356M
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies that hold large long-term investments). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$203middle half of models $191 – $210
Fair
+13.7% to fair value
Average of the 4 valuation models that pass our checks: multiples, discounted cash flow, dividend discount and earnings power value. A model more than 100% above or 60% below the price is left out as unrealistic. Model uncertainty is Medium, based on how far apart the models are. Undervalued or Overvalued means the gap to fair value is more than 17.5%.
Price $178
Undervalued < $173Fair $173 – $246Overvalued > $246
P/S multiple
$203
P/FFO multiple
$193
P/AFFO multiple
$185
Dividend discount, stable
$231
Dividend discount, multi-stage · not used
$409
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 5.13%, equity risk premium 4.30% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Average business, fairly priced
The price sits inside our fair-value band. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Real Estate peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Strong: 70 to 100Fair: 50 to 69Weak: under 50No score: not enough data
Valuation
Strong
72/100
Cheap against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield4.4%
Free-cash-flow yield5.5%
Fair value vs price1.1×
Growth
Weak
39/100
Growing slower than most of its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)2.2%
EPS growth (3y)32.4%
Growth consistency70%
Profitability
Fair
63/100
Returns on capital are typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital14.7%
Operating margin47.6%
Gross profitability18.4%
Financial health
Weak
42/100
Balance sheet is more stretched than most peers.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score7 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA7.3×
Interest coverNo interest cost
Dividends
Fair
63/100
Dividend is typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield2.7%
Dividends vs free cash flow50%
Dividend growth16.0%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
+1.0%
Mar '25
+5.8%
Jun '25
+9.7%
Sep '25
+3.7%
Dec '25
+5.9%
Mar '26
+2.3%
Jun '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $715M, diluted EPS $1.87.
Compare with peers
AMT American Tower Corp53 CCI Crown Castle Inc.46Other Telecom Tower REITs companies by X-Ray Score.
SWOT analysis: Sba Communications Corp
Strengthsinside the company
- Return on invested capital is 14.7%, against a median of 7.3% for sector peers.
- Operating margin of 47.6% is well above the 32.5% median of sector peers, a sign of pricing power or lower costs.
- Earnings per share have compounded at 32.4% a year over three years.
- Free cash flow equals 5.5% of the market value, which funds dividends, buybacks or debt paydown.
Weaknessesinside the company
- Net debt is 7.3x EBITDA, above the 3x level that lenders usually watch.
Opportunitiesvaluation and setting
- Dividends use only 50% of free cash flow, which leaves room to raise them.
- Trades at 19.1x earnings, 41% below the 32.2x median of sector peers.
Threatsvaluation and setting
- Heavy debt makes profits sensitive to interest rates and refinancing conditions.
- Our Market Compass rates the backdrop for Real Estate as unfavourable.
- Our checks raised: Negative equity; Negative equity.
Written by fixed rules from the figures on this page and the peer table below: filings, our fair value, the sector climate and the price trend. It summarises the data, it is not a forecast or advice.
Compare SBAC with peers and sector
Medians of 28 Real Estate peers and of 28 Real Estate stocks in our universe.
Largest peers (X-Ray Score): WELL 48, PLD 43, EQIX 51, AMT 53, SPG 42, DLR 37.
| Metric | SBAC | Peers | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Score (out of 100) | 56 | 51 | 51 |
| Valuation | 72 | 52 | 52 |
| Growth | 39 | 56 | 56 |
| Profitability | 63 | 50 | 50 |
| Financial health | 42 | 56 | 56 |
| Dividends | 63 | 47 | 47 |
Sector leaders: highest X-Ray Score in Real Estate
SBAC ranks #9 of 29 in Real Estate by X-Ray Score. A higher score is stronger on our five pillars; it is a ranking of facts, not a forecast.
Green means better than the peer median, red worse (only where a higher or lower figure is clearly better). A dash means too few companies report the figure. P/E, EV/EBITDA and price changes are not graded: a different level is not good or bad by itself.
Factor ratings for SBAC
Each factor is rated by where SBAC stands among the 29 Real Estate stocks in our universe.
Rating against the sector
Goodthe top third of these stocks
Averagethe middle third of these stocks
Badthe bottom third of these stocks
"Beats" is the share of those stocks it is ahead of.
Against its own history
The last columns set today's figure against the company's own median of its last five financial years:
▲ Betterbetter than its usual level
▼ Worseworse than its usual level
≈ In linewithin its usual range
For valuation factors Good means cheaper than most of the sector and Better means cheaper than usual for this company, which is not the same as a bargain.
In total: 10 Good · 3 Average · 7 Bad of 20
Growth: 1 · 1 · 1
Profitability: 4 · 0 · 0
Financial strength: 2 · 0 · 2
Valuation: 2 · 2 · 0
Cash flow: 0 · 0 · 4
Efficiency: 1 · 0 · 0
| Factor | SBAC | Rating | Sector median | Own 5-year median | Against own history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | |||||
| Revenue growth, 3 years a year | +2.2% | Bad beats 12% | +6.8% | – | – |
| Revenue growth, last year | +5.1% | Average beats 47% | +5.1% | +5.1% | ≈ In line |
| EPS growth, 3 years a year | +32.4% | Good beats 87% | −1.9% | – | – |
| Profitability | |||||
| Gross margin | 75.2% | Good beats 88% | 47.1% | 76.4% | ≈ In line |
| Operating margin | 47.6% | Good beats 81% | 34.3% | 35.1% | ▲ Better |
| Net margin | 34.5% | Good beats 81% | 21.5% | 18.5% | ▲ Better |
| Return on invested capital | 14.7% | Good beats 90% | 7.5% | – | – |
| Financial strength | |||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 7.3x | Bad beats 3% | 4.6x | 7.7x | ≈ In line |
| Interest cover | 50.0x | Good beats 92% | 3.4x | – | – |
| Current ratio | 0.17 | Bad beats 0% | 1.22 | 0.69 | ▼ Worse |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 / 9 | Good beats 69% | 6 / 9 | – | – |
| Valuation | |||||
| P/E ratio | 19.1x | Good beats 84% | 32.1x | 55.1x | ▲ Better |
| Price / sales | 6.6x | Average beats 60% | 7.0x | 10.2x | ▲ Better |
| EV / EBITDA | 18.6x | Average beats 52% | 18.6x | 24.2x | ▲ Better |
| Free cash flow yield | 5.5% | Good beats 68% | 4.1% | 4.7% | ≈ In line |
| Cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow margin | 36.1% | Bad beats 26% | 44.6% | 41.3% | ▼ Worse |
| Cash from operations / net income | 1.30 | Bad beats 20% | 1.91 | 2.79 | ▼ Worse |
| Free cash flow growth, 3 years a year | −0.1% | Bad beats 27% | +11.7% | – | – |
| Accruals (lower is better) | −2.5% | Bad beats 29% | −3.7% | – | – |
| Efficiency | |||||
| Days sales outstanding | 22 days | Good beats 84% | 53 days | 22 days | ≈ In line |
These ratings compare companies with each other and describe the past; they are not a forecast, a recommendation or part of the X-Ray Score. A factor is left out when its data is missing or meaningless (for example a P/E on negative earnings). A dash in the history columns means fewer than three usable years.
Fundamentals checklist
● 9 Good · ● 1 Average · ● 6 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashBad
Free-cash-flow yieldGood
Risk models
Altman Z''Bad
Piotroski F-ScoreGood
Growth
EPS growth (3y)Good
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)Average
Revenue growth (3y)Bad
Growth consistencyBad
Balance sheet
Current ratioBad
Net debt / EBITDABad
Interest coverGood
Valuation
Fair value vs priceGood
EBIT / EV yieldGood
Profitability
Return on invested capitalGood
Operating marginGood
Gross profitabilityGood
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 54/100.
Financials
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.3B | $2.6B | $2.7B | $2.7B | $2.8B |
| Operating income | $782M | $925M | $924M | $1.4B | $1.3B |
| Net income | $238M | $461M | $502M | $750M | $1.1B |
| Operating cash flow | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.5B | $1.3B | $1.3B |
| Operating margin | 33.9% | 35.1% | 34.1% | 53.6% | 47.7% |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.1B | $1.1B |
| Diluted EPS | $2.14 | $4.22 | $4.61 | $6.94 | $9.80 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Neutral
5 bullish · 4 neutral · 7 bearish
Weekly
Strongly bearish
0 bullish · 1 neutral · 11 bearish
Monthly
Strongly bearish
0 bullish · 1 neutral · 7 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 181.6 | Bearish |
| EMA 10 | 178.6 | Bearish |
| SMA 20 | 172.8 | Bullish |
| EMA 20 | 177.1 | Bullish |
| SMA 50 | 179.0 | Bearish |
| EMA 50 | 178.3 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 182.3 | Bearish |
| EMA 100 | 182.2 | Bearish |
| SMA 200 | 188.4 | Bearish |
| EMA 200 | 187.3 | Bearish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 51.62 | Neutral |
| MACD (12, 26) | 1.19 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | 5.12 | Bullish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 68.98 | Neutral |
| Williams %R (14) | -31.02 | Neutral |
| CCI (20) | 28.46 | Neutral |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 167.1 | S2 169.6 | S1 174.0 | Pivot 176.5 | R1 180.9 | R2 183.4 | R3 187.8 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
4.86 USD
Yield on today's price
2.72%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
Not announced
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 1.2500 | |
| 1.2500 | |
| 1.2500 | |
| 1.1100 | |
| 1.1100 | |
| 1.1100 | |
| 1.1100 | |
| 0.9800 | |
| 0.9800 | |
| 0.9800 | |
| 0.9800 | |
| 0.8500 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
ETFs that hold SBAC
| ETF | Share of the fund |
|---|---|
| DTCR Global X Data Center & Digital Infrast... | 3.62% |
| ICF iShares Cohen & Steers REIT | 2.07% |
| XLRE The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR | 1.94% |
| SCHH Schwab U.S. REIT | 1.53% |
| DFAR DFA Investment Dimensions Group Inc. | 1.40% |
| IYR iShares U.S. Real Estate | 1.38% |
| VNQ Vanguard Real Estate | 1.00% |
| DFGR Dimensional Gloabl Real Estate | 0.94% |
The eight funds with the largest weight in SBAC among the ETFs we cover, from each fund's latest SEC Form N-PORT (quarter-end positions, so they can be months old). All ETFs.
SBAC SEC filings
8-KSEC EDGAR
Current report
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
8-KSEC EDGAR
Entered a material agreement
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
8-KSEC EDGAR
Entered a material agreement
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
8-KSEC EDGAR
Shareholder vote results
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.