US$337.3 million AFFO as SBA lowers 2026 revenue outlook

Site leasing grows while AFFO retreats

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) produced a mixed third quarter, with its core site-leasing revenue rising 1.4% year on year to US$665.4 million while adjusted funds from operations, a non-GAAP measure, fell 5% to US$337.3 million. Net income attributable to SBA was US$231.3 million, or US$2.19 a diluted share, compared with US$236.8 million and US$2.20 a share a year earlier.

The split between domestic and international operations was stark. Domestic site-leasing revenue fell 3.4% to US$454.4 million, while international revenue rose 13.3% to US$211.0 million, or 9.8% excluding foreign-exchange effects. International site-leasing tower cash flow increased 11.0% excluding foreign exchange, but total tower cash flow was broadly flat at US$526.9 million and the overall margin narrowed to 79.7% from 80.4%.

2026 outlook absorbs portfolio disposals

SBA now expects full-year site-leasing revenue of US$2.643 billion to US$2.658 billion, a range that reflects the completed sale of its Chilean and Ecuadorian towers. The company said those disposals reduced its 2026 outlook by about US$10 million for site-leasing revenue, US$6 million for tower cash flow and US$4 million for adjusted EBITDA.

The updated outlook still calls for US$1.284 billion to US$1.308 billion of AFFO, or US$12.15 to US$12.37 per share. That per-share range was raised by US$0.11 at the midpoint against the August outlook, although the calculation assumes 105.7 million diluted shares and does not include further buybacks. Site development revenue, by contrast, is now expected at US$190 million to US$200 million, down US$5 million at the midpoint from the previous forecast.

South American retreat narrows international footprint

SBA completed the sale of its towers and related assets in Chile and Ecuador on September 10 and has agreed to sell its Peruvian assets, subject to regulatory approval. If completed, the Peru transaction would finish the company’s withdrawal from South America outside Brazil. The portfolio stood at 45,252 communication sites at September 30, including 27,912 international sites, after 1,358 sites were decommissioned, reclassified or sold during the quarter.

The company is not abandoning international expansion altogether. It built 213 towers in the quarter, including 210 internationally, and said new tower builds in markets where it retains scale more than doubled. That claim sits alongside a clear portfolio question: whether the stronger growth in remaining international markets can offset the revenue removed by the South American disposals.

Buybacks and refinancing compete with leverage

SBA repurchased 1.7 million shares for US$300 million during the quarter at an average US$179.68 per share, leaving US$800 million under its current authorisation. It also declared a quarterly dividend of US$1.25 a share, payable on December 10 to shareholders recorded on November 12.

Those distributions come against total debt of US$13.0 billion and net debt of US$12.5 billion, equivalent to 6.4 times annualised adjusted EBITDA. SBA has no borrowings outstanding under its US$2.5 billion revolving facility or newly established US$2.5 billion commercial paper programme, but its outlook assumes that US$1.165 billion of tower securities due for anticipated repayment on November 9 will be refinanced at 5.25%. The actual refinancing rate and timing remain subject to market conditions, making that execution a key variable for the final quarter.