MeritValue

SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORP

SBACdata completeness 100%18 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORP earns about 3% on invested capital, and has bought back 3% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $48.36 a share.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$204.7M1$296.9M2$194.6M3$152.9M3$244.5M3
Net income$237.6M4$461.4M5$501.8M6$749.5M6$1.05B6
Operating cash flow$1.19B7$1.29B8$1.54B9$1.33B9$1.29B9
Capital expenditure$133.7M10$214.4M11$236.7M12$228.1M12$224.8M12
Free cash flow (derived)$1.06B7$1.07B8$1.31B9$1.11B9$1.07B9
Total debt$24.6B13$25.7B14$24.6B15$27.2B16$25.8B16
Cash & equivalents$367.3M17$143.7M18$208.5M19$189.8M19$264.6M19
Diluted shares111.2M109.4M108.9M108.1M107.5M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
−$451.35
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$97.98
Free cash flow it threw off
$99.18
Debt you’d be carrying
$2,399.31

10 shares is a claim on −$451.35 of net worth that earned you $97.98 and generated $99.18 of cash last year, against $2,399.31 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
3% avg · 5y
FY21 1%FY22 2%FY23 3%FY24 3%FY25 5%

It earned an average 3% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−3% shares · 5y

Share count is down 3% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has held roughly steady.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth1.6%
  • fcfBase$1.11B
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth1.6%
  • fcfBase$1.11B
Earnings Power Value
$48.36
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$501.8M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
book value / share count missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-23-000002 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001034054-24-000002 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001034054-25-000002 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001034054-26-000002 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)