SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

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

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%

NASDAQ SBAC traded down $5.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $192.17. 2,027,130 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 893,688. The company has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.87. SBA Communications has a fifty-two week low of $177.49 and a fifty-two week high of $245.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBAC. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 105.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter worth $74,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $252.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $235.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays cut their price target on SBA Communications from $219.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on SBA Communications from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.18.

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.