AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 6/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat63
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 3/4 · Site-specific leases, five-to-fifteen-year initial terms and $11.55 billion of committed rental income demonstrate meaningful contractual protection. The evidence supports a narrow incumbent advantage; it does not establish superior economics against named rivals.
durability · 2/4 · Long commitments and frequent renewals support persistence, but tenant-controlled renewal options, realized consolidation churn and elevated forecast churn limit confidence beyond committed terms.
customer dependency · 3/4 · Non-cancelable, site-specific commitments and disclosed frequent renewals demonstrate customer dependency. Historical low ordinary termination is an issuer characterization, and concentrated carriers retain substantial negotiating power.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Contractual protection coexists with actual churn and international competitive pressure. First-half leasing revenue and consolidated operating income grew, but domestic operating income declined; aggregate growth does not prove organic resilience.
Pricing power50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 2/4 · Existing lease schedules incorporate fixed escalations, while disclosures acknowledge competitive pressure affecting lease agreements and pricing terms. This supports mixed pricing protection. Neither aggregate revenue growth nor expected monetary amendments establishes realized discretionary price increases.
retention · 2/4 · High renewal frequency directly supports repeat demand, supplemented by management's historical low ordinary termination characterization. Actual consolidation churn and elevated expected churn make overall retention mixed; no retention percentage is inferred.
margin resilience · 2/4 · Escalators and some international cost pass-through provisions offer protection. Nevertheless, first-half 2026 site-leasing costs grew faster than leasing revenue and second-quarter domestic operating income fell. Consolidated operating income growth provides a counterweight, but acquisition and segment mix prevent clean attribution to pricing.
contractual freedom · 2/4 · Contracts specify site-level pricing, annual escalators and some pass-through charges, providing defined pricing rights. Long commitments also constrain repricing, tenant-controlled renewals limit unilateral extension, and competitive master agreements can alter discounts and equipment rights.
Predictability38
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 50.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 40.81
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 137.59
Financial strength4
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 0.00
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 0.00
- interestCoverageGrade
- 16.03
- currentRatioGrade
- 0.00
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 12.10
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 9.41
- Current ratio (x)
- 0.29
- cashInterestPaid
- 467.40
- cashInterestCoverage
- 2.76
Capital allocation66
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 16.13
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -0.23
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 41.60
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management56
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Actual acquisitions, construction, land purchases and repurchases establish active allocation rather than intentions alone. Repurchases slowed markedly in first-half 2026, but higher average debt and financing costs and issuer-defined ROIC declining from 10.8% in 2023 to 9.9% in 2025 temper the assessment. The passages do not establish repurchase undervaluation or acquisition value creation.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Actual RSU and PSU grants, vesting and performance-related adjustments demonstrate an operating equity incentive program. Multiyear vesting and three-year performance periods support long-term alignment. Individual ownership and the rigor of all targets remain unestablished.
execution · 2/4 · Completed geographic exits and tower acquisitions demonstrate delivery. First-half 2026 leasing revenue and consolidated operating income increased, while domestic operating income declined and financing costs rose. This is an assessment from documented transactions and operating outcomes, not proof that every acquisition achieved its projected return.
governance · 2/4 · A predominantly independent board and lead independent director provide substantive oversight arrangements, and officers concluded disclosure controls were effective. A classified board limits annual director accountability. These disclosed structures support a mixed assessment rather than proof of exceptional oversight effectiveness.
Evidence
Wireless service providers enter into (1) individual tenant site leases with us, each of which relates to the lease or use of space at an individual site or (2) master lease agreements (“MLAs”) with us, which provide for the material terms and conditions that will apply to multiple sites; although, in most cases, each individual site under an MLA is also governed by its own site leasing agreement which sets forth pricing and other site specific terms.
Business / Site Leasing Services / site-specific leases and master agreements · Filed 27/02/2026
Our tenant leases are generally for an initial term of five years to fifteen years with multiple renewal periods at the option of the tenant.
MD&A / tenant lease initial terms and tenant renewal options · Filed 05/05/2026
The annual minimum lease payments, including fixed rate escalations as of December 31, 2025 are as follows: Finance Leases Operating Leases (in thousands) 2026 $ 2,869 $ 309,764 2027 2,276 306,654 2028 1,978 301,837 2029 1,077 291,756 2030 3 273,512 Thereafter — 3,020,519 Total minimum lease payments 8,203 4,504,042 Less: amount representing interest (1,233) (2,092,150) Present value of future payments 6,970 2,411,892 Less: current obligations (2,489) (297,115) Long-term obligations $ 4,481 $ 2,114,777 Tenant Leases The annual minimum tower lease income to be received for tower space rental under non-cancelable operating leases, including fixed rate escalations, as of December 31, 2025 is as follows: (in thousands) 2026 $ 2,221,703 2027 2,025,952 2028 1,801,133 2029 1,472,341 2030 1,035,148 Thereafter 2,993,522 Total $ 11,549,799 Litigation The Company is involved in various claims, lawsuits, and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business.
Lease commitments / Tenant Leases / non-cancelable rental income · Filed 27/02/2026
Despite high frequency of renewal of options to extend the lease by its tenants, the Company has concluded that the exercise of a renewal option by a tenant is generally not a reasonably certain occurrence; therefore, only the current committed term is included in the determination of the lease term.
Lease accounting / renewal frequency and committed lease terms · Filed 27/02/2026
Furthermore, because our towers are strategically positioned, we have historically experienced low tenant lease terminations as a percentage of revenue other than in connection with customer consolidation or cessations of a specific technology.
MD&A / historical tenant lease terminations · Filed 06/08/2026
Our tenant leases typically either (1) contain specific annual rent escalators, (2) escalate annually in accordance with an inflationary index, or (3) escalate using a combination of fixed and inflation adjusted escalators.
MD&A / fixed and inflation-linked tenant rent escalators · Filed 05/05/2026
Competition Domestic Site Leasing – In the U.S., our primary competitors for our site leasing activities are (1) large independent tower companies including American Tower Corporation and Crown Castle International; (2) a number of regional independent tower owners; (3) wireless service providers that own and operate their own towers and lease, or may in the future decide to lease, antenna space to other providers; (4) owners and operators of alternative facilities such as rooftops, outdoor and indoor distributed antenna system (“DAS”) networks, billboards, utility poles, and electric transmission towers; and (5) owners and operators of alternative wireless technology systems and architectures.
Business / Competition / named domestic competitors and substitutes · Filed 27/02/2026
During 2020, the consolidation of T-Mobile and Sprint was completed, and we began to experience non-renewal (“churn”) of certain leases as a result of overlapping and adjacent Sprint leases.
Risk Factors / realized Sprint consolidation-related non-renewals · Filed 27/02/2026
In our domestic markets, we currently expect churn to represent an aggregate of between $132.0 million and $136.0 million of cash site leasing revenue due in part to Sprint and EchoStar churn.
MD&A / expected domestic churn including Sprint and EchoStar · Filed 06/08/2026
In our international markets, we currently expect churn to represent an aggregate of between $36.0 million and $40.0 million of cash site leasing revenue due in part to Oi wireline churn.
MD&A / expected international churn including Oi wireline · Filed 06/08/2026
However, competitive pricing pressure for tenants on towers from our competitors have and may in the future result in us entering into MLAs that may impact certain terms of existing or future individual site lease agreements.
Risk Factors / competitive pressure affecting master lease agreements · Filed 27/02/2026
Terms that may be impacted include pricing discounts, term concessions, and equipment rights.
Risk Factors / discounts, term concessions and equipment rights · Filed 27/02/2026
Client percentages of total revenue in each of the segments are as follows: For the year ended December 31, Percentage of Domestic Site Leasing Revenue 2025 2024 2023 T-Mobile 36.8% 38.1% 40.2% AT&T Wireless 30.6% 29.6% 28.6% Verizon Wireless 20.4% 20.1% 19.7% For the year ended December 31, Percentage of International Site Leasing Revenue 2025 2024 2023 Telefonica 19.7% 21.3% 22.5% Claro 18.9% 19.2% 20.2% TIM 13.4% 15.9% 15.7% Tigo (1) 11.3% 5.8% 5.6% (1)The increase in site leasing revenue derived from Tigo was due to the sites purchased from Millicom during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Concentration of Credit Risk / domestic and international leasing customers · Filed 27/02/2026
From time to time, we experience disputes with landowners regarding the terms of the agreements for the land under our tower structures, which can affect our ability to access and operate such towers.
Risk Factors / actual landowner disputes affecting site access · Filed 27/02/2026
1 Table of Contents SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited) (in thousands, except per share amounts) For the three months For the six months ended June 30, ended June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Revenues: Site leasing $ 663,885 $ 631,788 $ 1,320,034 $ 1,247,997 Site development 51,389 67,193 98,678 115,232 Total revenues 715,274 698,981 1,418,712 1,363,229 Operating expenses: Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation, accretion, and amortization shown below): Cost of site leasing 134,076 118,571 265,987 234,049 Cost of site development 41,926 53,525 81,350 91,714 Selling, general, and administrative expenses (1) 77,548 71,022 148,096 137,241 Acquisition and new business initiatives related adjustments and expenses 5,926 5,887 14,016 13,266 Asset impairment and decommission costs 22,566 45,231 51,867 82,257 Depreciation, accretion, and amortization 81,371 69,964 162,686 135,012 Total operating expenses 363,413 364,200 724,002 693,539 Operating income 351,861 334,781 694,710 669,690 Other income (expense): Interest income 5,631 8,155 10,838 18,935 Interest expense (127,754) (119,658) (256,282) (223,805) Non-cash interest expense (2,486) (1,233) (3,259) (9,581) Amortization of deferred financing fees (5,269) (5,415) (10,528) (10,849) Other income, net 10,482 44,123 33,004 76,286 Total other expense, net (119,396) (74,028) (226,227) (149,014) Income before income taxes 232,465 260,753 468,483 520,676 Provision for income taxes (35,995) (35,059) (87,107) (77,078) Net income 196,470 225,694 381,376 443,598 Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 2,307 100 2,235 2,927 Net income attributable to SBA Communications Corporation $ 198,777 $ 225,794 $ 383,611 $ 446,525 Net income per common share attributable to SBA Communications Corporation: Basic $ 1.87 $ 2.10 $ 3.62 $ 4.15 Diluted $ 1.87 $ 2.09 $ 3.61 $ 4.14 Weighted-average number of common shares Basic 106,073 107,531 105,945 107,637 Diluted 106,264 107,797 106,188 107,968 (1)Includes non-cash compensation of $26,051 and $20,839 for the three months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively, and $44,337 and $35,914 for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively.
Consolidated Statements of Operations / first-half 2026 comparative results · Filed 06/08/2026
Operating Income (Expense): For the three months ended Constant June 30, Foreign Constant Currency 2026 2025 Currency Impact Currency Change % Change (in thousands) Domestic site leasing $ 292,109 $ 307,387 $ — $ (15,278) (5.0%) International site leasing 77,640 35,471 4,873 37,296 105.1% Total site leasing $ 369,749 $ 342,858 $ 4,873 $ 22,018 6.4% Site development 4,877 9,739 — (4,862) (49.9%) Other (22,765) (17,816) — (4,949) 27.8% Total $ 351,861 $ 334,781 $ 4,873 $ 12,207 3.6% Domestic site leasing operating income decreased $15.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to the factors described above.
MD&A / second-quarter 2026 segment operating income · Filed 06/08/2026
In addition, our international site leases may include pass-through charges, such as rent related to ground leases and other property interests, utilities, property taxes, and fuel.
MD&A / international lease cost pass-through provisions · Filed 05/05/2026
Investing Activities A detail of our investing activities is as follows: For the six months ended June 30, 2026 2025 (in thousands) Acquisitions of towers and related assets (1) $ (141,921) $ (634,097) Land buyouts and other assets (2) (30,363) (18,513) Construction and related costs (61,607) (47,151) Augmentation and tower upgrades (20,642) (26,808) Tower maintenance (25,702) (25,218) General corporate (2,865) (2,861) Purchase of investments (1,252,128) (434,307) Proceeds from sale of investments 1,226,598 685,840 Repayment of loan from unconsolidated joint venture — 115,000 Proceeds from sale of assets 5,048 40,469 Other investing activities (6,910) 4,950 Net cash used in investing activities $ (310,492) $ (342,696) 35 Table of Contents (1)During the six months ended June 30, 2026, we acquired 16 towers and related assets and liabilities, as well as the rights to land underneath approximately 3,900 communication sites in Guatemala.
Liquidity and Capital Resources / actual investing expenditures · Filed 06/08/2026
The following is a summary of the Company’s share repurchases: For the year ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 Total number of shares purchased (in millions) (1) 2.5 0.9 0.5 Average price per share (1) $ 200.73 $ 213.85 $ 197.89 Total purchase price (in millions) (1) $ 497.8 $ 200.0 $ 100.0 (1)Amounts reflected are based on the trade date and may differ from the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows which reflects share repurchases based on the settlement date.
Shareholders' Equity / 2023–2025 share repurchases · Filed 27/02/2026
16 Table of Contents The following is a summary of the Company’s share repurchases: For the three months For the six months ended June 30, ended June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Total number of shares purchased (in thousands) (1) — 617.5 11.9 617.5 Average price per share (1) $ — $ 211.63 $ 188.66 $ 211.63 Total purchase price (in millions) (1) $ — $ 130.7 $ 2.2 $ 130.7 (1)Amounts reflected are based on the trade date and may differ from the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows which reflects share repurchases based on the settlement date.
Shareholders' Equity / first-half 2026 share repurchases · Filed 06/08/2026
For the quarter ended December 31, 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 (in thousands) Annualized Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,636,212 $ 1,842,880 $ 1,922,644 $ 1,957,000 $ 1,944,104 Less: TCF from in-Period Acquisitions – – – – (19,703 ) Less: Annualized cash taxes (21,872 ) (36,944 ) (28,392 ) (29,304 ) (48,681 ) Numerator $ 1,614,340 $ 1,805,936 $ 1,894,252 $ 1,927,696 $ 1,875,720 Historical Gross Property and Equipment(1) 6,997,330 7,435,070 7,744,579 8,056,193 8,749,940 Historical Gross Intangibles(2) 8,854,284 9,816,033 9,835,442 10,054,503 10,497,015 Less: Gross PPE and Intangibles from in-Period Acquisitions(1)(3) – – – – (316,754 ) Denominator $ 15,851,614 $ 17,251,103 $ 17,580,021 $ 18,110,696 $ 18,930,201 Return on Invested Capital 10.2% 10.5% 10.8% 10.6% 9.9% (1) Calculated using historical foreign currency exchange rates in effect at date of investment and excludes impact of Disposals and Impairments.
Appendix A / issuer-defined return on invested capital reconciliation · Filed 09/04/2026
This change was primarily due to a higher average principal amount of our cash-interest bearing debt accruing interest at a higher weighted-average interest rate as compared to the prior year.
MD&A / higher average debt principal and weighted-average interest rate · Filed 06/08/2026
Subsequent to June 30, 2026, the Company declared the following cash dividends: Payable to Shareholders Cash to of Record at the Close be Paid Date Declared of Business on Per Share Date to be Paid August 2, 2026 August 20, 2026 $1.25 September 17, 2026 12.STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION Restricted Stock Units and Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units The following table summarizes the Company’s RSU and PSU activity for the six months ended June 30, 2026: RSUs PSUs (1) Weighted-Average Weighted-Average Number of Grant Date Fair Number of Grant Date Fair Shares Value per Share Shares Value per Share (in thousands) (in thousands) Outstanding at December 31, 2025 480 $ 221.37 206 $ 245.29 Granted 320 $ 196.13 76 $ 209.37 PSU adjustment (2) — $ — 5 $ 262.67 Vested (216) $ 225.47 (93) $ 256.19 Forfeited/canceled (22) $ 207.72 — $ — Outstanding at June 30, 2026 562 $ 205.92 194 $ 222.65 (1)PSUs represent the target number of shares granted that are issuable at the end of the three year performance period.
Stock-Based Compensation / actual RSU and PSU grants and vesting · Filed 06/08/2026
(2)PSU adjustment represents the net PSUs awarded above or below their target grants resulting from the achievement of performance targets established at the grant date.
Stock-Based Compensation / PSU adjustments for achieved performance targets · Filed 06/08/2026
The majority of equity awards are performance-based over a three-year period; all equity awards have multi-year vesting
Executive Compensation / performance periods and multiyear vesting · Filed 09/04/2026
> All directors, other than our CEO and former-CEO, are independent.
Governance Highlights / director independence · Filed 09/04/2026
> Lead Independent Director ensures independent oversight.
Governance Highlights / lead independent director · Filed 09/04/2026
Our Board is divided into three classes.
Corporate Governance / classified board · Filed 09/04/2026
Based on such evaluation, such officers have concluded that, as of June 30, 2026, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Controls and Procedures / officers' effectiveness conclusion · Filed 06/08/2026
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold all of our towers and ended our operations in both the Philippines and Colombia and sold substantially all of our operations in Canada.
Business / completed geographic portfolio exits during 2025 · Filed 27/02/2026
During the six months ended June 30, 2025, we acquired 4,673 towers and related assets and liabilities, including 4,644 sites related to the Millicom transaction.
Investing Activities / completed first-half 2025 tower acquisitions · Filed 06/08/2026
These pressures have resulted, and may continue to result, in increases in consolidation of wireless service providers, financial instability of wireless service providers, increased pricing pressures on tower operators and the termination or non-renewal of site leasing agreements.
Risk Factors / realized international competitive pressures and non-renewals · Filed 27/02/2026
Consequently, we expect to grow our cash flows by (1) adding tenants to our towers at minimal incremental costs by using existing tower capacity or requiring wireless service providers to bear all or a portion of the cost of tower modifications and (2) executing monetary amendments as wireless service providers add or upgrade their equipment.
MD&A / expected incremental tenant economics and monetary amendments · Filed 06/08/2026
As part of the Millicom transaction, we have agreed to a seven-year exclusivity right for us to build up to 2,500 build-to-suit sites in Central America with each site built having an initial lease term of 15 years.
Business Strategy / seven-year build-to-suit exclusivity and prospective site terms · Filed 27/02/2026
