SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORP (SBAC)
SIC breadcrumb: Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate > Holding And Other Investment Offices > SIC 6798 Real Estate Investment Trusts
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1034054. Latest filing source: 0001034054-26-000002.
Informational only. Descriptive public-record data — not a rating, forecast, or investment advice. See Disclaimer.
At a glance
- Revenue
- 2,815,139,000 USD verified
- Net income
- 1,053,632,000 USD verified
- Assets
- 11,575,012,000 USD verified
- Free cash flow
- 1,066,509,000 USD computed
- Net margin
- 37.43% computed
- Operating margin
- 47.70% computed
- Revenue YoY
- +5.06% computed
Peer & cluster context
Peer percentile fingerprint
Percentile = share of the N covered peers reporting that ratio whose value is lower (ties counted half); computed among grepcent-covered companies in SIC industry 6798 Real Estate Investment Trusts, not the whole market. A higher percentile means a higher value of the ratio, not a better company. Ratios with fewer than 8 reporting peers are omitted. Latest reported values per company; fiscal periods may differ. Descriptive arithmetic - not a score, rating, or ranking.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,815,139,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
| Net income | 1,053,632,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
| Assets | 11,575,012,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-27 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-27. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001034054.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,633,125,000 | 1,727,674,000 | 1,865,695,000 | 2,014,645,000 | 2,083,138,000 | 2,308,834,000 | 2,633,454,000 | 2,711,584,000 | 2,679,634,000 | 2,815,139,000 |
| Net income | 76,238,000 | 103,654,000 | 47,451,000 | 146,991,000 | 24,104,000 | 237,624,000 | 461,429,000 | 501,812,000 | 749,536,000 | 1,053,632,000 |
| Operating income | 387,308,000 | 458,501,000 | 544,166,000 | 583,488,000 | 633,694,000 | 782,495,000 | 925,408,000 | 923,659,000 | 1,435,763,000 | 1,342,786,000 |
| Gross profit | 1,212,228,000 | 1,281,362,000 | 1,396,900,000 | 1,521,614,000 | 1,606,610,000 | 1,763,350,000 | 1,964,804,000 | 2,098,962,000 | 2,097,907,000 | 2,124,167,000 |
| Diluted EPS | 0.61 | 0.86 | 0.41 | 1.28 | 0.21 | 2.14 | 4.22 | 4.61 | 6.94 | 9.80 |
| Operating cash flow | 742,525,000 | 818,470,000 | 850,618,000 | 970,045,000 | 1,126,033,000 | 1,189,896,000 | 1,285,700,000 | 1,544,393,000 | 1,334,866,000 | 1,291,328,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 139,982,000 | 147,044,000 | 149,812,000 | 154,236,000 | 128,566,000 | 133,694,000 | 214,443,000 | 236,698,000 | 228,149,000 | 224,819,000 |
| Dividends paid | 83,387,000 | 207,689,000 | 253,580,000 | 306,766,000 | 369,960,000 | 424,191,000 | 479,012,000 | |||
| Share buybacks | 545,689,000 | 854,534,000 | 795,581,000 | 466,982,000 | 859,335,000 | 582,578,000 | 431,666,000 | 100,010,000 | 200,019,000 | 497,805,000 |
| Assets | 7,360,945,000 | 7,320,205,000 | 7,213,707,000 | 9,759,941,000 | 9,158,018,000 | 9,801,699,000 | 10,585,041,000 | 10,178,441,000 | 11,417,336,000 | 11,575,012,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | -1,995,921,000 | -2,599,114,000 | -3,376,823,000 | -3,667,007,000 | -4,824,382,000 | -5,283,404,000 | -5,276,315,000 | -5,170,882,000 | -5,109,938,000 | -4,853,519,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 146,109,000 | 68,783,000 | 143,444,000 | 108,309,000 | 308,560,000 | 367,278,000 | 143,708,000 | 208,547,000 | 189,841,000 | 264,568,000 |
| Free cash flow | 602,543,000 | 671,426,000 | 700,806,000 | 815,809,000 | 997,467,000 | 1,056,202,000 | 1,071,257,000 | 1,307,695,000 | 1,106,717,000 | 1,066,509,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 4.67% | 6.00% | 2.54% | 7.30% | 1.16% | 10.29% | 17.52% | 18.51% | 27.97% | 37.43% |
| Operating margin | 23.72% | 26.54% | 29.17% | 28.96% | 30.42% | 33.89% | 35.14% | 34.06% | 53.58% | 47.70% |
| Return on assets | 1.04% | 1.42% | 0.66% | 1.51% | 0.26% | 2.42% | 4.36% | 4.93% | 6.56% | 9.10% |
| Current ratio | 0.37 | 0.93 | 0.31 | 0.32 | 0.77 | 1.00 | 0.69 | 0.36 | 1.10 | 0.29 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept Revenues; source concepts us-gaap:Revenues | Gross profit: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept NetIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001034054-26-000002; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: PaymentsOfDividends. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividends.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001034054-26-000002; filed 2026-02-27. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
As-reported value updates
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-08-06. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001034054.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 0.91 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.93 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 1.87 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 682,544,000 | 87,419,000 | 0.80 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 675,024,000 | 109,528,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 657,862,000 | 154,543,000 | 1.42 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 660,477,000 | 162,830,000 | 1.51 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 667,595,000 | 258,534,000 | 2.40 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 693,700,000 | 173,630,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 664,248,000 | 220,732,000 | 2.04 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 698,981,000 | 225,794,000 | 2.09 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 732,327,000 | 236,816,000 | 2.20 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 719,583,000 | 370,290,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 703,438,000 | 184,830,000 | 1.74 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-06-30 | 715,274,000 | 198,777,000 | 1.87 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-06-30; accession 0001034054-26-000011; filed 2026-08-06. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-06-30; accession 0001034054-26-000011; filed 2026-08-06. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-06-30; accession 0001034054-26-000011; filed 2026-08-06. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Business
Read SBAC's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read SBAC's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001034054-26-000011.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We are a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including tower structures, rooftops, and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications, which we collectively refer to as “towers” or “sites.” Our principal operations are in the United States and its territories. In addition, we own and operate towers in South America, Central America, and Africa. Our primary business line is our site leasing business, which contributed 98.4% of our total segment operating profit for the six months ended June 30, 2026. In our site leasing business, we (1) lease space to wireless service providers and other customers on assets that we own or operate and (2) manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of June 30, 2026, we owned 46,390 towers, a substantial portion of which have been built by us or built by other tower owners or operators who, like us, have built such towers to lease space to multiple wireless service providers. Our other business line is our site development business, through which we assist wireless service providers in developing and maintaining their own wireless service networks.
Site Leasing
Our primary focus is the leasing of antenna space on our multi-tenant towers to a variety of wireless service providers under long-term lease contracts in the United States, South America, Central America, and Africa. As of June 30, 2026, no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total tower portfolio by tower count, and no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2026. In addition, as of June 30, 2026, approximately 30% and 10% of our total towers are located in Brazil and Guatemala, respectively, and no other international market (each country is considered a market) represented more than 5% of our total towers.
We derive site leasing revenues primarily from wireless service provider tenants. 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 (“MLA”) with us, which provide for the material terms and conditions that will apply to multiple sites; although, in most cases, each individual site under a MLA is also governed by its own site leasing agreement which sets forth pricing and other site specific terms. 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. 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. 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.
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Table of Contents
Cost of site leasing revenue primarily consists of:
Cash and non-cash rental expense on ground leases, right-of-use, and other underlying property interests;
Property taxes;
Site maintenance and monitoring costs (exclusive of employee related costs);
Utilities;
Property insurance;
Fuel (primarily in those international markets that do not have an available electric grid at our tower sites); and
Lease initial direct cost amortization.
Ground leases and other property interests are generally for an initial term of five years or more with multiple renewal periods, which are at our option. Our ground leases typically either (1) contain specific annual rent escalators or (2) escalate annually in accordance with an inflationary index. As of June 30, 2026, approximately 71% of our tower structures were located on parcels of land that we own, land subject to perpetual easements, or parcels of land in which we have a leasehold interest that extends beyond 20 years. For any given tower, costs are relatively fixed over a monthly or an annual time period. As such, operating costs for owned towers do not generally increase as a result of adding additional customers to the tower. The amount of property taxes varies from site to site depending on the taxing jurisdiction and the height and age of the tower. The ongoing maintenance requirements are typically minimal and include replacing lighting systems, painting a tower, or upgrading or repairing an access road or fencing.
In Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, substantially all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures arising from our activities are denominated in U.S. dollars. Specifically, most of our ground leases and other property interests, tenant leases, and tower-related expenses are paid in U.S. dollars. In most of our Central American markets, our local currency obligations are principally limited to (1) permitting and other local fees, (2) utilities, and (3) taxes. In Brazil, Chile, and South Africa, substantially all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases and other property interests, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in local currency. In Costa Rica, Peru, and Tanzania, our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases and other property interests, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars.
As indicated in the table below, our site leasing business generates substantially all of our total segment operating profit. For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 14 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this quarterly report.
| For the three months ended | For the six months ended | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment operating profit as a percentage of | June 30, | June 30, | ||||||||||
| total operating profit | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||
| Domestic site leasing | 70.6% | 76.0% | 71.0% | 76.4% | ||||||||
| International site leasing | 27.6% | 21.4% | 27.4% | 21.3% | ||||||||
| Total site leasing | 98.2% | 97.4% | 98.4% | 97.7% |
We believe that the site leasing business continues to be attractive due to its long-term contracts, built-in rent escalators, high operating margins, and low customer churn (which refers to a lease that is non-renewed, cancelled, or discounted prior to the end of its term) other than in connection with customer consolidation or cessations of specific technology. We believe that over the long-term, site leasing revenues will continue to grow as wireless service providers lease additional antenna space on our towers due to increasing minutes of network use and data transfer, network expansion, and network coverage requirements.
During the remainder of 2026, we expect core leasing revenue to increase over 2025 levels, on a currency neutral basis, due in part to contractual escalators and wireless carriers deploying additional capacity and increasing geographical coverage, the full year impact of towers acquired and built during 2025 and 2026, and the revenues from towers expected to be acquired and built during the remainder of 2026, partially offset by increased churn primarily driven by Sprint and EchoStar. Generally, we believe our site leasing business is characterized by stable and long-term recurring revenues, predictable operating costs, and minimal non-discretionary capital expenditures. Due to the nature and mix of our tower portfolio, we expect future expenditures required to maintain these towers to be minimal. 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. 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.
We expect churn to be elevated through 2026 due to churn in some of our markets. 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. 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.
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Table of Contents
Site Development
Our site development business, which is conducted in the United States only, is complementary to our site leasing business and provides us the ability to keep in close contact with the wireless service providers who generate substantially all of our site leasing revenue and to capture ancillary revenues that are generated by our site leasing activities, such as antenna and equipment installation at our tower locations. Site development revenues are earned primarily from providing a full range of end-to-end services to wireless service providers or companies providing development or project management services to wireless service providers. Our services include: (1) network pre-design; (2) site audits; (3) identification of potential locations for towers and antennas on existing infrastructure; (4) support in leasing of the location; (5) assistance in obtaining zoning approvals and permits; (6) tower and related site construction; (7) antenna installation; and (8) radio equipment installation, commissioning, and maintenance. We provide site development services at our towers and at towers owned by others on a local basis, through regional, market, and project offices. The market offices are responsible for all site development operations.
For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 14 to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this quarterly report.
Capital Allocation Strategy
Our capital allocation strategy is aimed at increasing shareholder value through investment in quality assets that meet our return criteria, stock repurchases, and by returning cash generated by our operations in the form of cash dividends. In addition, in a high interest rate environment and when we believe interest rates may stay higher for longer, we believe that debt repayments, especially of our variable rate debt, may be an accretive use of our excess capital. Key elements of our capital allocation strategy include:
Portfolio Growth. We intend to continue to grow our asset portfolio, domestically and internationally, through tower acquisitions to the extent that opportunities meet our internal return on invested capital criteria and through the construction of new towers, especially in Central America pursuant to our build-to-suit agreement with Millicom International Cellular S.A. (“Millicom”).
Stock Repurchase Program. We currently utilize stock repurchases as part of our capital allocation policy. We believe that share repurchases, when purchased at the right price, will facilitate our goal of increasing our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share.
Dividend. Cash dividends are an additional component of our strategy of returning value to shareholders. We do not expect our dividend to require any changes in our leverage and believe that, due to our low dividend payout ratio, we can continue to focus on building and buying quality assets and opportunistically buying back our stock. While the timing and amount of future dividends will be subject to approval by our Board of Directors, w
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A (excerpt)
Latest 10-K Item 7 source: 0001034054-26-000002. The complete FY 2025 MD&A is published at /company/SBAC/mda/fy2025/.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the information contained in our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A. Risk Factors. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed below. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 1A. Risk Factors.
We are a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including tower structures, rooftops, and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications, which we collectively refer to as “towers” or “sites.” Our principal operations are in the United States and its territories. In addition, we own and operate towers in South America, Central America, and Africa. 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. Our primary business line is our site leasing business, which contributed 97.9% of our total segment operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2025. In our site leasing business, we (1) lease space to wireless service providers and other customers on assets that we own or operate and (2) manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of December 31, 2025, we owned 46,328 towers, a substantial portion of which have been built by us or built by other tower owners or operators who, like us, have built such towers to lease space to multiple wireless service providers. Our other business line is our site development business, through which we assist wireless service providers in developing and maintaining their own wireless service networks.
Site Leasing
Our primary focus is the leasing of antenna space on our multi-tenant towers to a variety of wireless service providers under long-term lease contracts in the United States, South America, Central America, and Africa. As of December 31, 2025, no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total tower portfolio by tower count, and no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2025. In addition, as of December 31, 2025, approximately 30% and 10% of our total towers are located in Brazil and Guatemala, respectively, and no other international market (each country is considered a market) represented more than 5% of our total towers.
We derive site leasing revenues primarily from wireless service provider tenants. 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) 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 a MLA is also governed by its own site leasing agreement which sets forth pricing and other site specific terms. 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. 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. 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.
Cost of site leasing revenue primarily consists of:
•Cash and non-cash rental expense on ground leases, right-of-use, and other underlying property interests;
•Property taxes;
•Site maintenance and monitoring costs (exclusive of employee related costs);
•Utilities;
•Property insurance;
•Fuel (primarily in those international markets that do not have an available electric grid at our tower sites); and
•Lease initial direct cost amortization.
Ground leases and other property interests are generally for an initial term of five years or more with multiple renewal periods, which are at our option. Our ground leases typically either (1) contain specific annual rent escalators or (2) escalate annually in accordance with an inflationary index. As of December 31, 2025, approximately 71% of our tower structures were located on parcels of land that we own, land subject to perpetual easements, or parcels of land in which we have a leasehold interest that extends beyond 20 years. For any given tower, costs are relatively fixed over a monthly or an annual time period. As such, operating costs for owned towers do not generally increase as a result of adding additional customers to the tower. The amount of property taxes varies from site to site depending on the taxing jurisdiction and the height and age of the tower. The ongoing maintenance requirements are typically minimal and include replacing lighting systems, painting a tower, or upgrading or repairing an access road or fencing.
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Table of Contents
In Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, substantially all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures arising from our activities are denominated in U.S. dollars. Specifically, most of our ground leases and other property interests, tenant leases, and tower-related expenses are paid in U.S. dollars. In most of our Central American markets, our local currency obligations are principally limited to (1) permitting and other local fees, (2) utilities, and (3) taxes. In Brazil, Chile, and South Africa, substantially all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases and other property interests, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in local currency. In Costa Rica, Peru, and Tanzania, our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases and other property interests, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars.
As indicated in the table below, our site leasing business generates substantially all of our total segment operating profit. For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 15 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.
| For the year ended | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment operating profit as a percentage of | December 31, | ||||||||
| total operating profit | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Domestic site leasing | 74.7% | 75.9% | 75.2% | ||||||
| International site leasing | 23.2% | 22.5% | 22.2% | ||||||
| Total site leasing | 97.9% | 98.4% | 97.4% |
We believe that the site leasing business continues to be attractive due to its long-term contracts, built-in rent escalators, high operating margins, and low customer churn (which refers to a lease that is non-renewed, cancelled, or discounted prior to the end of its term) other than in connection with customer consolidation or cessations of specific technology. We believe that over the long-term, site leasing revenues will continue to grow as wireless service providers lease additional antenna space on our towers due to increasing minutes of network use and data transfer, network expansion, and network coverage requirements.
During 2026, we expect core leasing revenue to increase over 2025 levels, on a currency neutral basis, due in part to wireless carriers deploying unused spectrum, the full year impact of towers acquired and built during 2025, and the revenues from towers expected to be acquired and built during 2026, partially offset by increased churn primarily driven by Sprint and EchoStar. Generally, we believe our site leasing business is characterized by stable and long-term recurring revenues, predictable operating costs, and minimal non-discretionary capital expenditures. Due to the nature and mix of our tower portfolio, we expect future expenditures required to maintain these towers to be minimal. 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. 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.
We expect churn to be elevated through 2026 due to churn in some of our markets. 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. 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.
Site Development
Our site development business, which is conducted in the United States only, is complementary to our site leasing business and provides us the ability to keep in close contact with the wireless service providers who generate substantially all of our site leasing revenue and to capture ancillary revenues that are generated by our site leasing activities, such as antenna and equipment installation at our tower locations. Site development revenues are earned primarily from providing a full range of end-to-end services to wireless service providers or companies providing development or project management services to wireless service providers. Our services include: (1) network pre-design; (2) site audits; (3) identification of potential locations for towers and antennas on existing infrastructure; (4) support in leasing of the location; (5) assistance in obtaining zoning approvals and permits; (6) tower and related site construction; (7) antenna installation; and (8) radio equipment installation, commissioning, and maintenance. We provide site development services at our towers and at towers owned by others on a local basis, through regional, market, and project offices. The market offices are responsible for all site development operations.
For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 15 of our Consolidated Financial Statements in this annual report.
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Capital Allocation Strategy
Our capital allocation strategy is aimed at increasing shareholder value through investment in quality assets that meet our return criteria, stock repurchases, and by returning cash generated by our operations in the form of cash dividends. In addition, in a high interest rate environment and when we believe interest rates may stay higher for longer, we believe that debt repayments, especially of our variable rate debt, may be an accretive use of our excess capital. Key elements of our capital allocation strategy include:
Portfolio Growth. We intend to continue to grow our asset portfolio, domestically and internationally, primarily through tower acquisitions to the extent that opportunities meet our internal return on invested capital criteria and through the construction of new towers.
Stock Repurchase Program. We currently utilize stock repurchases as part of our capital allocation policy. We believe that share repurchases, when purchased at the right price, will facilitate our goal of increasing our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share.
Dividend. Cash dividends are an additional component of our strategy of returning valu
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MD&A history
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