SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) executives said the company finished 2025 with fourth-quarter results in line with internal expectations, highlighted by domestic leasing momentum and continued capital returns, while also updating investors on churn drivers and an initial 2026 outlook that removes all future recurring revenue from EchoStar.
Fourth-quarter performance and leasing activity
Chief Financial Officer Marc Montagner described the fourth quarter as “a solid finish to the year,” noting that results were in line with estimates despite higher-than-forecasted bad debt expense related to EchoStar. SBA reported fourth-quarter FFO per share of $3.19 and paid a cash dividend of $1.11 per share, which management said was a 13% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
SBA’s services business “continues to perform well,” Montagner said, with revenue up 13% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, largely due to construction-related projects focused on network expansion.
Churn trends: Sprint, international headwinds, and EchoStar removal
On churn, management said the U.S. business is moving closer to the end of consolidation-driven churn. Sprint-related churn was approximately $17 million in the quarter, and SBA’s 2026 outlook assumes Sprint churn of $55 million to $56 million, slightly higher than the prior quarter’s estimate due to timing. Management also said it now expects Sprint churn in 2027 and beyond to be less than the $20 million previously provided.
Internationally, SBA added approximately $6 million of new leases and abandoned buildings in the fourth quarter, but churn remained elevated. Montagner said SBA lost approximately $8 million of revenue in the quarter due to carrier consolidation, bankruptcy, restructuring, and network optimization activity by wireless operators.
For 2026, SBA’s churn outlook also removes “all future recurring revenue from EchoStar.” Management said it will continue to pursue legal rights to recover those revenues. During the Q&A, management said it had recently filed a lawsuit, terminated the contract, and accelerated rents due under the agreement, citing default and lack of payment.
2026 outlook: domestic stability, Millicom contribution, and services guidance
Montagner said SBA’s initial 2026 outlook for domestic operations reflects a similar level of new revenue growth from carrier leasing activity as in 2025, with a stated assumption of $35 million of incremental revenue from new leases and amendments in the U.S. On the call, management said it expects leasing to be “pretty steady throughout the year,” potentially somewhat heavier in the beginning of the year.
Internationally, the 2026 outlook includes a full-year contribution from SBA’s acquisition of sites from Millicom in Central America and assumes “steady network investment” from customers. SBA guided to $19 million to $21 million for international new leases and abandonments, and $36 million to $40 million of international churn. Management said the churn range includes $14 million related to Oi wireline that will not continue into 2027, and, barring unforeseen events, international churn is expected to trend down over the next couple of years.
For services, SBA guided to revenue of $190 million to $210 million in 2026. Montagner said that range is higher than the company’s initial outlook for 2025, but lower than the “extremely strong results” delivered last year, adding that services backlog supports continued carrier network activity in 2026.
Capital allocation, balance sheet, and dividend update
SBA continued to return capital to shareholders through repurchases and dividends. In the fourth quarter, the company spent $213 million to buy back 1.1 million shares at an average price of $191.07. For full-year 2025, SBA said it repurchased $500 million of shares, totaling 2.5 million shares, and had $1.1 billion remaining on its repurchase authorization as of the call.
On the balance sheet, management said SBA paid off $750 million of ABS debt in January using its revolving credit facility and expects to use free cash flow over time to pay down outstanding revolver balances. The outlook also assumes SBA’s $1.2 billion November ABS maturity will be refinanced in November 2026 at 5.25%. Management said it expects the related issuers to be “community investment grade issuers,” and the company said it aims to issue its inaugural investment-grade bond at some point in 2026 depending on market conditions.
SBA also increased its quarterly dividend. Montagner said the board declared a first-quarter dividend of $1.25 per share, payable March 27, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2026. Management said the dividend represents an increase of approximately 13% over the dividend paid in the first quarter of 2025 and equates to approximately 41% of the midpoint of SBA’s full-year FFO outlook.
Montagner noted that SBA’s outlook does not assume any additional share repurchases or acquisitions beyond those already under contract or expected to close by year-end, but said the company anticipates it could invest in additional assets, repurchase shares, or both during the year, which could affect full-year results.
Strategic themes: network investment, Brazil opportunities, and 6G/edge compute
President and CEO Brendan Cavanagh emphasized that in a “stabilized three-carrier market” in the U.S., carriers must continue investing to maintain end-user experience. He cited CTIA data showing Americans consumed more than 132 trillion megabytes of mobile data in 2024, up 35% year over year, calling it the largest annual jump on record. Cavanagh said carriers typically begin with amendments to upgrade existing towers (including adding or swapping equipment and deploying spectrum bands) and then shift toward densification. He said SBA is seeing upgrades such as Massive MIMO tied to spectrum including C-band and DOD, and “initial Massive MIMO deployments” in legacy AWS and PCS bands.
He also discussed fixed wireless access, citing approximately 15 million total subscribers and estimating that more than half of overall wireless network capacity is being used to support fixed wireless access. Looking ahead, Cavanagh pointed to an expected auction of at least 100 MHz of upper C-band by mid-2027 as an additional growth driver, while noting later in the Q&A that it could be “around the turn of the decade” before upper C-band meaningfully impacts SBA given clearing and deployment timelines, which he suggested could be 2029 to 2030.
Internationally, Cavanagh highlighted Brazil as SBA’s second-largest market with a portfolio of more than 12,000 sites. He said the company plans to “harvest and grow cash flow organically” in Brazil while working through elevated churn tied to consolidation and network rationalization. He cited a UBS research statistic from October 2025 estimating Brazil has about four sites per 10,000 people versus roughly 16 per 10,000 in the U.S., which he said supports the long-term opportunity as carriers densify. He also pointed to potential future spectrum auctions of 450 MHz and 700 MHz in Brazil, with timing uncertain but recent estimates suggesting 2027.
During Q&A, management addressed currency assumptions, saying SBA used an assumed BRL/USD rate of 5.20 in its outlook and expects the real to be relatively strong in 2026, citing high short-term interest rates and Brazil’s net export position, while acknowledging uncertainty in currency forecasting.
On longer-term growth, Cavanagh said he expects domestic net organic growth could be in the 4% to 5% range over time, driven by roughly 3% escalators, around 1% churn, and 2% to 3% organic lease-up. He also said SBA expects to be “moving partially back” toward a roughly 5% growth profile in 2027 and more fully in 2028 and 2029 as remaining churn items diminish.
Finally, management discussed edge compute as AI shifts closer to the radio access network, suggesting a potential role for SBA’s tower portfolio. While the company said it does not intend to expand into large standalone data centers, Cavanagh said SBA expects to participate in evolving edge compute opportunities and believes its distributed U.S. tower footprint could be advantageous as compute needs move closer to end users.
About SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC)
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.
