Sba Communications Corp (SBAC) · Nov 2, 2026 · Earnings
Beat — AFFO/share $3.19 vs ~$3.08 consensus
SBA Communications earnings beat the AFFO consensus, but domestic churn and weaker site-development revenue pressured results and trimmed core guidance.
SBA Communications is a highly leveraged wireless-tower owner trying to offset U.S. carrier churn with international growth, new builds, and a tighter focus on markets where it has scale. The quarter shows that strategy working internationally, but not yet overcoming domestic pressure. The published consensus called for roughly $721 million of revenue and about $3.08 of AFFO per share; actual AFFO cleared that bar, while revenue fell short.
The earnings beat was real, but cash earnings still declined year over year. AFFO per share came in at $3.19 versus $3.30 a year ago, while adjusted EBITDA fell 1.1% and total tower cash flow was essentially flat. The beat was helped by a lower comparison base and share repurchases, not by broad-based operating acceleration. 〔0〕
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus / prior guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (Operating Results) | $713.9M (-2.5%) | $732.3M | ~$721.1M |
| Diluted EPS (Operating Results) | $2.19 (-0.6%) | $2.20 | ~$2.09 |
| AFFO/share (Operating Results) | $3.19 (-3.3%) | $3.30 | ~$3.08 |
| FY AFFO/share midpoint (Outlook) | $12.26 | — | $12.18 prior guide |
| FY Adjusted EBITDA midpoint (Outlook) | $1,923M | — | $1,930M prior guide |
International growth is carrying the operating story while the domestic franchise contracts. International site-leasing revenue rose 13.3% and international tower cash flow increased 14.7%, but domestic site-leasing revenue dropped 3.4% and domestic tower cash flow declined 4.6%. The filing’s own bridge identifies Sprint consolidation churn, EchoStar churn, and regular churn as major offsets to new leases and escalators. 〔1〕
Guidance is mixed rather than cleanly raised. The midpoint for full-year AFFO per share increased by $0.08, and the company says the outlook improves by $0.11 excluding foreign exchange and the Chile/Ecuador asset sales. But full-year site-leasing revenue, tower cash flow, and adjusted EBITDA midpoints were reduced from the August outlook, with the reported cuts partly reflecting the South American disposals and currency. That is better viewed as resilience amid portfolio cleanup than a stronger underlying growth trajectory.
Capital returns remain aggressive despite substantial leverage. SBA repurchased $300 million of stock during the quarter and has $800 million remaining under its authorization, while ending with $12.5 billion of net debt and 6.4x net leverage. The company also must refinance $1.165 billion of tower securities anticipated to mature on November 9, 2026, with the outlook assuming a 5.25% refinancing rate that has not yet been finalized.
Bottom line: This was an earnings beat, but not a clean acceleration: international growth and buybacks helped offset domestic churn, while core revenue and EBITDA guidance moved lower. The event modestly improves the near-term earnings picture without changing the broader transition story.
Refinancing $1.165B Tower Securities, due November 9
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