SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. SBA Communications had a net margin of 29.69% and a negative return on equity of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $719.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from SBA Communications’ conference call:

• Q4 FFO was $3.19 per share and management raised the quarterly cash dividend to $1.25 (payable March 27), a ~13% year-over-year increase and ~41% of midpoint 2026 FFO guidance.
• SBA repurchased $213 million of stock in Q4 (1.1M shares) and $500 million in 2025 total (2.5M shares), with $1.1 billion remaining on its buyback authorization.
• Bad-debt expense exceeded forecasts due to EchoStar/DISH; management has removed EchoStar recurring revenue from guidance, terminated the contract and has filed a lawsuit to recover amounts.
• 2026 outlook assumes U.S. new leasing roughly in line with 2025 (approximately $35M incremental), Sprint-related churn of $55–56M in 2026 (anticipated to fall < $20M in 2027+), and international new leases of $19–21M with churn of $36–40M that includes a one-time $14M Oi wireline impact.
• Balance-sheet moves include paying off $750M of ABS with the revolver, plans to use free cash flow to pay down the revolver, an assumed refinancing of a $1.2B ABS in Nov 2026 at ~5.25%, and intent to issue an inaugural investment-grade bond.

SBA Communications Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC traded down $5.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $192.17. 2,027,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 893,688. SBA Communications has a fifty-two week low of $177.49 and a fifty-two week high of $245.16. The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.42.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SBA Communications by 105.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 164 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,000. 97.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SBAC shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SBA Communications from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.18.

SBA Communications Company Profile

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.