SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The technology company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 29.69%.The firm had revenue of $719.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBAC traded down $5.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $192.17. 2,027,130 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 893,688. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.40. The firm has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.87. SBA Communications has a twelve month low of $177.49 and a twelve month high of $245.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Key Headlines Impacting SBA Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting SBA Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SBA flagged roughly $35 million of new U.S. leasing revenue expected in 2026 and reiterated expansion in its Central America footprint — evidence of organic growth opportunities that support future cash flow upside. SBA signals $35M in new U.S. leasing revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: The company issued FY2026 revenue guidance roughly in line with Street expectations ($2.8B–$2.9B), which limits downside from surprises but does not provide upside surprise to lift the stock materially. SBA Q4 press release / slides
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slides are available for more detail on lease cadence, capex, and leverage plans — useful for modeling but no headline change versus the prepared remarks. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 FFO/EPS of $3.19 missed consensus of $3.25 and revenue of $719.6M missed the ~$725.8M estimate; FFO declined versus prior year — results that typically pressure the stock. Q4 Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Domestic site-leasing revenue declined, a near-term operational headwind that undermines core U.S. tower cash flow and is likely the main driver of intraday weakness. Domestic site leasing revenue declines
• Negative Sentiment: Key metrics show YoY pressure (FFO/EPS down from prior year and a negative ROE figure flagged in filings), which increases sensitivity to telecom carrier demand and could keep valuation under pressure until leasing trends stabilize. Zacks: FFO and revenues miss

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBAC. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Worth Venture Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $251,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $232,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.