Revenue grew 5.9% in 2026Q1, yet NOI margins remain subject to significant volatility, fluctuating from a low of 30.6% in 2025Q4 to 75.6% in 2026Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 |
|---|
| Revenue | 2.85B | 2.82B | 2.68B | 2.71B | 2.63B | 2.31B | 2.08B | 2.01B | 1.87B | 1.73B | 1.63B | 1.64B | 1.53B | 1.3B | 954.08M | 698.17M | 626.62M | 555.51M | 474.95M | 408.2M | 351.1M | 259.99M | 231.48M | 212.06M | 264.67M | 242.89M | 167.91M | 87M | 59.1M |
| Revenue Growth % | 6.27% | 5.06% | -1.18% | 2.97% | 14.06% | 10.83% | 3.4% | 7.98% | 7.99% | 5.79% | -0.33% | 7.3% | 17.02% | 36.77% | 36.66% | 11.42% | 12.8% | 16.96% | 16.35% | 16.26% | 35.04% | 12.32% | 9.16% | -19.88% | 8.97% | 44.66% | 93% | 47.21% | - |
| Property Operating Expenses | 1.04B | 1.64B | 607.67M | 634.29M | 695.46M | 573.11M | 493.11M | 508.26M | 479.76M | 458.68M | 434.04M | 456.26M | 436.28M | 427.45M | 319.94M | 202.92M | 199.44M | 180.54M | 168.16M | 163.35M | 156.59M | 139.95M | 128.68M | 119.83M | 152.11M | 144.65M | 134.4M | 58.4M | 42.5M |
| Net Operating Income (NOI) | 1.82B | 1.17B | 2.07B | 2.08B | 1.94B | 1.74B | 1.59B | 1.51B | 1.39B | 1.27B | 1.2B | 1.18B | 1.09B | 877.41M | 634.14M | 495.25M | 427.18M | 374.97M | 306.79M | 244.85M | 194.52M | 120.04M | 102.8M | 92.23M | 112.56M | 98.24M | 33.51M | 28.6M | 16.6M |
| NOI Margin % | 63.62% | 41.61% | 77.32% | 76.61% | 73.59% | 75.18% | 76.33% | 74.77% | 74.29% | 73.45% | 73.42% | 72.15% | 71.43% | 67.24% | 66.47% | 70.94% | 68.17% | 67.5% | 64.59% | 59.98% | 55.4% | 46.17% | 44.41% | 43.49% | 42.53% | 40.45% | 19.95% | 32.87% | 28.09% |
| Operating Expenses | 456.23M | -198.84M | 636.2M | 1.15B | 1.01B | 953.23M | 956.33M | 922.9M | 841.77M | 810.49M | 811.78M | 869.75M | 754.19M | 647.77M | 533.14M | 371.97M | 336.94M | 311.32M | 260.29M | 214.8M | 175.01M | 115.79M | 126.43M | 132.59M | 137.93M | 121.81M | 62.63M | 57.9M | 39.9M |
| G&A Expenses | 282.1M | 277.61M | 259.46M | 267.14M | 261.85M | 220.03M | 194.27M | 192.72M | 142.53M | 130.7M | 125.21M | 113.19M | 101.83M | 84.66M | 71.05M | 62.83M | 58.21M | 52.78M | 48.84M | 45.57M | 42.28M | 28.18M | 35.98M | 31.24M | 35.6M | 41.34M | 27.8M | 19.3M | 18.3M |
| EBITDA | 1.75B | 1.85B | 1.71B | 1.64B | 1.63B | 1.48B | 1.36B | 1.28B | 1.22B | 1.1B | 1.03B | 972.48M | 963.6M | 762.98M | 562M | 419.81M | 353M | 313.49M | 257.03M | 207.25M | 168.66M | 120.15M | 96.82M | 51.85M | 32.78M | 32.5M | 5.71M | 9.3M | -1.7M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 61.3% | 65.59% | 63.64% | 60.48% | 62.01% | 64.22% | 65.08% | 63.56% | 65.19% | 63.76% | 62.79% | 59.35% | 63.1% | 58.47% | 58.9% | 60.13% | 56.33% | 56.43% | 54.12% | 50.77% | 48.04% | 46.21% | 41.83% | 24.45% | 12.39% | 13.38% | 3.4% | 10.69% | -2.88% |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 390.14M | 476.45M | 269.52M | 716.31M | 707.58M | 700.16M | 721.97M | 697.08M | 672.11M | 643.1M | 638.19M | 660.02M | 627.07M | 533.33M | 408.47M | 309.15M | 278.73M | 258.54M | 211.44M | 177.2M | 149.15M | 115.96M | 120.7M | 94.72M | 135.71M | 80.47M | 34.83M | 38.6M | 21.6M |
| D&A / Revenue % | 13.67% | 16.92% | 10.06% | 26.42% | 26.87% | 30.33% | 34.66% | 34.6% | 36.02% | 37.22% | 39.08% | 40.28% | 41.07% | 40.87% | 42.81% | 44.28% | 44.48% | 46.54% | 44.52% | 43.41% | 42.48% | 44.6% | 52.14% | 44.66% | 51.28% | 33.13% | 20.74% | 44.37% | 36.55% |
| Operating Income | 1.36B | 1.37B | 1.44B | 923.66M | 925.41M | 782.5M | 633.69M | 583.49M | 544.17M | 458.5M | 387.31M | 312.46M | 336.52M | 229.65M | 153.53M | 110.66M | 74.27M | 54.95M | 45.58M | 30.05M | 19.51M | 4.2M | -23.88M | -42.87M | -102.93M | -47.97M | -29.12M | -29.3M | -23.3M |
| Operating Margin % | 47.63% | 48.67% | 53.58% | 34.06% | 35.14% | 33.89% | 30.42% | 28.96% | 29.17% | 26.54% | 23.72% | 19.07% | 22.04% | 17.6% | 16.09% | 15.85% | 11.85% | 9.89% | 9.6% | 7.36% | 5.56% | 1.61% | -10.32% | -20.21% | -38.89% | -19.75% | -17.35% | -33.68% | -39.42% |
| Interest Expense | 3M | 467.91M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Coverage | - | 3.65x | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Non-Operating Income | -327.4M | -339.84M | -89.3M | -151.48M | -42.83M | -31.16M | -39.01M | -29.95M | -25.14M | -32.25M | -42.11M | -89.41M | -23.8M | -28.96M | 0 | 10.91M | 57.7M | 14.83M | -26.93M | 14.56M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.87M | 97.81M | -24.4M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pretax Income | 1.22B | 1.24B | 772.67M | 548.5M | 525.84M | 252.56M | -17.75M | 186.89M | 51.68M | 116.89M | 87.3M | -166.59M | -15.66M | -57.22M | -177.09M | -124.78M | -193.42M | -140.63M | -45.73M | -77.01M | -132.93M | -92.54M | -143.31M | -162.12M | -192.19M | -118.42M | -27.68M | -33.7M | -21.4M |
| Pretax Margin % | 42.68% | 44.12% | 28.83% | 20.23% | 19.97% | 10.94% | -0.85% | 9.28% | 2.77% | 6.77% | 5.35% | -10.17% | -1.03% | -4.38% | -18.56% | -17.87% | -30.87% | -25.31% | -9.63% | -18.87% | -37.86% | -35.6% | -61.91% | -76.45% | -72.61% | -48.75% | -16.49% | -38.74% | -36.21% |
| Income Tax | 196.68M | 187.58M | 23.99M | 51.09M | 66.04M | 14.94M | -41.8M | 39.6M | 4.23M | 13.24M | 11.06M | 9.06M | 8.63M | -1.31M | 6.59M | 2.11M | 1M | 492K | 1.04M | 868K | 517K | 2.1M | 710K | 1.82M | 383K | 1.65M | 1.23M | -300K | -1.5M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 16.15% | 15.1% | 3.1% | 9.31% | 12.56% | 5.92% | 235.48% | 21.19% | 8.19% | 11.32% | 12.67% | -5.44% | -55.14% | 2.29% | -3.72% | -1.69% | -0.52% | -0.35% | -2.27% | -1.13% | -0.39% | -2.27% | -0.5% | -1.12% | -0.2% | -1.4% | -4.46% | 0.89% | 7.01% |
| Net Income | 1.02B | 1.05B | 749.54M | 501.81M | 461.43M | 237.62M | 24.1M | 146.99M | 47.45M | 103.65M | 76.24M | -175.66M | -24.3M | -55.91M | -183.33M | -126.46M | -194.67M | -140.87M | -46.76M | -77.88M | -133.45M | -94.71M | -147.28M | -172.17M | -273.17M | -125.14M | -28.92M | -34.5M | -19.9M |
| Net Margin % | 35.66% | 37.43% | 27.97% | 18.51% | 17.52% | 10.29% | 1.16% | 7.3% | 2.54% | 6% | 4.67% | -10.72% | -1.59% | -4.28% | -19.22% | -18.11% | -31.07% | -25.36% | -9.85% | -19.08% | -38.01% | -36.43% | -63.62% | -81.19% | -103.21% | -51.52% | -17.22% | -39.66% | -33.67% |
| Net Income Growth % | 24.76% | 40.57% | 49.37% | 8.75% | 94.18% | 885.83% | -83.6% | 209.77% | -54.22% | 35.96% | 143.4% | -623.01% | 56.55% | 69.5% | -44.98% | 35.04% | -38.19% | -201.24% | 39.95% | 41.64% | -40.9% | 35.69% | 14.46% | 36.97% | -118.28% | -332.8% | 16.19% | -73.37% | - |
| Funds From Operations (FFO) | 1.41B | 1.53B | 1.02B | 1.22B | 1.17B | 937.78M | 746.07M | 844.07M | 719.56M | 746.75M | 714.43M | 484.37M | 602.78M | 477.43M | 225.13M | 182.69M | 84.05M | 117.67M | 164.68M | 99.32M | 15.7M | 21.25M | -26.58M | -77.46M | -137.45M | -44.68M | 5.92M | 4.1M | 1.7M |
| FFO Margin % | 49.32% | 54.35% | 38.03% | 44.92% | 44.39% | 40.62% | 35.81% | 41.9% | 38.57% | 43.22% | 43.75% | 29.56% | 39.47% | 36.59% | 23.6% | 26.17% | 13.41% | 21.18% | 34.67% | 24.33% | 4.47% | 8.17% | -11.48% | -36.53% | -51.93% | -18.39% | 3.52% | 4.71% | 2.88% |
| FFO Growth % | 143.8% | 50.15% | -16.34% | 4.2% | 24.66% | 25.7% | -11.61% | 17.3% | -3.64% | 4.52% | 47.5% | -19.64% | 26.26% | 112.06% | 23.23% | 117.35% | -28.57% | -28.55% | 65.81% | 532.66% | -26.11% | 179.94% | 65.69% | 43.65% | -207.64% | -855.23% | 44.29% | 141.18% | - |
| FFO per Share | 13.27 | 14.23 | 9.43 | 11.18 | 10.69 | 8.44 | 6.58 | 7.36 | 6.18 | 6.17 | 5.71 | 3.79 | 4.68 | 3.74 | 1.87 | 1.64 | 0.73 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 0.95 | 0.16 | 0.29 | -0.45 | -1.48 | -2.72 | -0.94 | 0.14 | 0.24 | 0.20 |
| FFO Payout Ratio % | 34.94% | 31.31% | 41.63% | 30.37% | 26.24% | 27.04% | 27.84% | 9.88% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| EPS (Diluted) | 9.59 | 9.80 | 6.94 | 4.61 | 4.22 | 2.14 | 0.21 | 1.28 | 0.41 | 0.86 | 0.61 | -1.37 | -0.19 | -0.44 | -1.51 | -1.13 | -1.68 | -1.20 | -0.43 | -0.74 | -1.36 | -1.28 | -2.52 | -3.30 | -5.41 | -2.64 | -0.70 | -2.00 | -2.33 |
| EPS Growth % | 25.79% | 41.21% | 50.54% | 9.24% | 97.2% | 919.05% | -83.59% | 212.2% | -52.33% | 40.98% | 144.53% | -621.05% | 56.82% | 70.86% | -33.63% | 32.74% | -40% | -179.07% | 41.89% | 45.59% | -6.25% | 49.21% | 23.64% | 39% | -104.92% | -277.14% | 65% | 14.16% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 9.83 | 6.96 | 4.64 | 4.27 | 2.17 | 0.22 | 1.30 | 0.41 | 0.86 | 0.61 | -1.37 | -0.19 | -0.44 | -1.51 | -1.13 | -1.68 | -1.20 | -0.43 | -0.74 | -1.36 | -1.28 | -2.52 | -3.30 | -5.41 | -2.64 | -0.70 | -2.00 | -2.33 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 106.11M | 107.53M | 108.08M | 108.91M | 109.39M | 111.18M | 113.47M | 114.69M | 116.52M | 121.02M | 125.14M | 127.79M | 128.92M | 127.77M | 120.28M | 111.59M | 115.59M | 117.17M | 109.88M | 104.74M | 98.19M | 73.82M | 58.42M | 52.2M | 50.49M | 47.32M | 41.16M | 17.25M | 8.53M |
Elevated carrier churn headwinds
According to reported financial data, SBAC achieved a 5.9% revenue increase in 2026Q1, yet the trajectory remains inconsistent as the company navigates the lingering impact of carrier consolidation, which continues to pressure organic growth despite the ongoing demand for 5G infrastructure densification across its macro tower portfolio.
The revenue growth appears to be struggling for consistent momentum, oscillating between negative and positive territory over the last ten quarters. This volatility suggests that while the macro tower business model is inherently defensive, the company is currently unable to fully offset the churn from the T-Mobile/Sprint merger through new leasing activity alone.
As indicated by the quarterly income statements, NOI margins have shown notable volatility, dropping to 30.6% in 2025Q4 before recovering to 75.6% in 2026Q1, which warrants further investigation into whether these fluctuations represent one-time accounting adjustments or a fundamental shift in property-level operating cost structures.
The sharp margin contraction observed in late 2025 suggests that the company's operating leverage may be more sensitive to cost spikes than previously anticipated. Investors should monitor whether the recent return to historical margin levels is sustainable or if rising ground lease and maintenance costs will continue to exert downward pressure on property-level profitability.
Based on the provided financial statements, FFO per share has exhibited significant instability, falling to 2.51 in 2026Q1 from a peak of 4.99 in 2025Q4, a trend that complicates the assessment of long-term dividend safety and the company's ability to fund future capital allocation through internal cash generation.
The wide variance in FFO suggests that headline earnings are heavily influenced by non-recurring items or financing costs rather than pure operational performance. This inconsistency may indicate that the company's reliance on debt-funded growth is becoming increasingly difficult to manage in the current interest rate environment.
Analysis of the reported figures suggests that the divergence between FFO and AFFO, particularly the significant drop in AFFO to 217.7M in 2026Q1, may imply that capitalized leasing commissions and maintenance CAPEX are consuming a larger portion of cash flow than the headline FFO metrics would suggest.
The persistent gap between FFO and AFFO warrants caution, as it may indicate that the company is aggressively capitalizing costs that are essentially recurring in nature. This practice could be artificially inflating FFO, potentially masking the true cash-generating capacity of the tower portfolio and the actual cost of maintaining tenant relationships.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying SBAC stock.
For fiscal year 2025, SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC) reported total revenue of $2.82B. This represents a 4663.3% increase compared to $59.1M in 1998.
SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC) is profitable, generating $1.05B in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 37.4%.
SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC) reported an operating income of $1.37B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 48.7%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC) generated $1.17B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 41.6%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.