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View the full Nov 3, 2026 version

Price: $183.72 → $184.69(+0.5%)
Next earnings: Nov 2, 2026 → Feb 2, 2027
Next earnings is estimate: No → Yes
About: SBA Communications owns and leases wireless towers and other sites, such as rooftops and small cells. At removed: June added: September 30, 2026, it owned or operated removed: 46,390 added: 45,252 sites: removed: 17,362 added: 17,340 in the United States and its territories and removed: 29,028 added: 27,912 in other countries, mostly in Latin America and Africa. Mobile network operators rent space on the towers for their antennas under long leases with yearly rent increases. More tenants on a tower add revenue at little extra cost, so site leasing gives about 98% of operating profit. SBA also builds towers and does site development work for carriers. It is a real estate investment trust, and it pays a quarterly dividend. For 2026, it expects site leasing revenue of removed: $2,651 added: $2,643 million to removed: $2,676 added: $2,658 million.
Thesis: The market prices SBA for slow US growth and high debt costs. US site leasing revenue fell removed: 3.7% added: 3.4% in removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026 from a year earlier, because Sprint and EchoStar ended leases. SBA expects removed: $132 added: $133 million to $136 million of US churn in 2026. Net debt was 6.4 times annualized adjusted EBITDA at removed: June added: September 30, 2026, so higher interest rates raise its costs and lower the price investors pay for steady rent. Investors also ask if satellite phone service, such as SpaceX's Starlink Mobile, will reduce the need for towers. For the gap to close, three things must be true. US leasing revenue must grow again in 2027, after the Sprint and EchoStar churn ends, from new leases and amendments as carriers use new spectrum such as the spectrum of FCC Auction removed: 115. added: 115 and the upper C-band auction. AFFO per share must reach the 2026 guidance of removed: $11.95 added: $12.15 to removed: $12.40 added: $12.37, which SBA raised in November 2026, and then grow. SBA must refinance the debt due in 2026 and 2027 at rates near the 5.1% of its July 2026 bonds while it keeps its BBB rating. The SpaceX purchase of 800 MHz spectrum in October 2026, with a plan for a ground network, can also make SpaceX a new tenant. The removed: first test is the Q3 2026 report on November 2, 2026, added: kept US churn inside the plan. The next tests are the refinancing of the 2021-1C Tower Securities by November 9, 2026, and the 2027 outlook removed: comes with the Q4 report in about February 2027. The gap can close slowly, over 2027 and 2028, as churn ends and new carrier work starts.
Risks: US churn is high. Sprint and EchoStar leases end, and SBA expects removed: $132 added: $133 million to $136 million of US churn in 2026. US site leasing revenue fell removed: 3.7% added: 3.4% in removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026. If carriers spend less on their networks, US growth stays weak after 2026. Debt is high at 6.4 times annualized adjusted EBITDA. About removed: $3.6 added: $3.56 billion of debt was removed: due within 12 months of June added: current at September 30, 2026, removed: before added: including the removed: July added: $1,165 million 2021-1C Tower Securities with an anticipated repayment date of November 9, 2026 removed: refinancing. added: and the $1.5 billion 2020 Senior Notes due February 15, 2027. Higher interest rates raise the cost of new debt and lower the value of tower rent. Satellite phone services, such as SpaceX's Starlink Mobile, can reduce the need for towers in rural areas. SpaceX can also become a tower tenant if it builds a ground network. About a third of site leasing revenue comes from outside the US, mostly in Latin America and Africa. Weak currencies lower this revenue in dollars, and the wireline churn of Oi in Brazil adds to international churn. A merger of wireless carriers, or the exit of a carrier, can end many leases at once, as the Sprint and EchoStar churn shows.
Balance sheet: Cash: removed: $327M added: $455M Debt: removed: $12.8B added: $13.0B Net debt: $12.5B EBITDA, last 12 months: removed: $1.9B added: $2.0B Net debt / EBITDA: 6.4× (high) Interest cover: removed: 2.7× added: 2.8× Undrawn credit line: $2.5B, to July 2031 Debt due within 12 months: $3.6B Ratings: S&P BBB SBA funds itself mostly with secured tower securities of its subsidiaries and unsecured senior notes of the parent. At removed: June added: September 30, 2026, total debt was removed: $12.8 billion, added: $12.98 billion: $6.48 billion of removed: which $9.8 added: secured tower securities and $6.5 billion removed: was secured. added: of unsecured senior notes. Cash, short-term restricted cash and short-term investments were $455 million. Net debt was 6.4 times annualized removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026 adjusted EBITDA, in the middle of the target range of 6.0 to 7.0 times, and net secured debt was removed: 4.9 added: 3.1 times. EBITDA is removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026 adjusted EBITDA times four. Interest cover is operating income divided by interest expense for removed: H1 2026. Debt due within 12 added: the first nine months added: of 2026. Current debt was $3.56 billion and included the removed: revolving credit borrowings, the term loan, the added: $1,165 million 2021-1C Tower Securities with an anticipated repayment date of November 9, removed: 2026, added: 2026 and the $1.5 billion 2020 Senior Notes due February 15, 2027. removed: On July 23, 2026, SBA issued $3.5 billion of unsecured notes at a blended 5.113% and repaid added: SBA's outlook assumes that it refinances the removed: $2.2 billion term loan and $1.0 billion of revolving credit borrowings. added: 2021-1C Tower Securities in Q4 2026 at 5.25%. The removed: new $2.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, due July 23, 2031, added: and the $2.5 billion commercial paper program that it backs had nothing drawn on removed: August 3, added: November 2, 2026. added: In Q3 2026, SBA removed: set up a $2.5 added: bought back $300 million of its shares and paid $131.3 million of dividends, and $0.8 billion removed: commercial paper program added: of buyback authority remained on removed: September 25, added: November 2, 2026. The rating is S&P's upgrade to BBB, reported on August 3, 2026. As of removed: Jun added: Sep 30, 2026.
Checkpoints: Nov 2, 2026: Q3 2026 results: US leasing and churn. removed: Pending. added: Passed. Watch: US churn within the guided $132 million to $136 million and AFFO per share guidance kept or raised pass; more churn or a lower outlook fails. added: Outcome: US churn for 2026 stayed inside the range at $133 million to $136 million, and SBA raised the midpoint of its AFFO per share outlook by $0.08 to $12.15 to $12.37. Nov 9, 2026: Refinancing of the 2021-1C Tower Securities. Pending. Watch: Repayment or refinancing of the $1,165 million 2021-1C Tower Securities by the anticipated repayment date at a fixed rate near the 5.25% that SBA assumed passes; a much higher rate fails. Feb added: 2, 2027 (estimate): FY 2026 results and 2027 outlook. Pending. Watch: A 2027 outlook with US site leasing revenue that grows again and higher AFFO per share passes; a further fall in US leasing revenue fails.
Recent events: added: Nov 2, 2026: SBA reported Q3 2026 results. Site leasing revenue rose 1.4% to $665.4 million, with international revenue up 13.3% and US revenue down 3.4%. AFFO per share fell 3.3% to $3.19. SBA raised its 2026 AFFO per share outlook to $12.15 to $12.37 from $11.95 to $12.40, a rise of $0.08 at the midpoint. Its revenue bridge now shows $133 million to $136 million of US churn in 2026. It bought back 1.7 million shares for $300 million in the quarter and declared a dividend of $1.25 per share. Oct 9, 2026: Tower stocks rose after SpaceX agreed to buy Grain Management's 800 MHz spectrum and said that it will pair Starlink Mobile with a ground network. SBA shares rose about 6% that morning. Sep 25, 2026: SBA set up a commercial paper program of up to $2.5 billion of short-term unsecured notes, backed by its unsecured revolving credit facility. added: Sep 10, 2026: SBA sold all its towers in Chile and Ecuador and agreed to sell all its towers in Peru. The Peru sale needs regulatory approval and should close in Q4 2026. The Chile and Ecuador sale lowers 2026 site leasing revenue by about $10 million. Aug 3, 2026: SBA reported Q2 2026 results. Site leasing revenue rose 5.1% to $663.9 million, with international revenue up 30.5% and US revenue down 3.7% from Sprint, EchoStar and other lease non-renewals. AFFO per share fell 3.8% to $3.05. S&P raised SBA's rating to BBB. SBA declared a dividend of $1.25 per share. Jul 23, 2026: SBA closed its first investment-grade bond offering, $3.5 billion of unsecured notes due 2030, 2031 and 2033 at a blended rate of 5.113%. It repaid its $2.2 billion term loan and its $1.0 billion revolving credit borrowings, and it signed a new $2.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility due July 2031. Apr 29, 2026: SBA reported Q1 2026 results and its updated outlook for 2026.