Lamar Advertising
Lamar Advertising's revenue rose 2.7% to $2.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 34.2%, up from 24.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $683 million, down 8.7%. It paid out $814 million in dividends and buybacks, 119% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.9%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 7.3% a year and net income 7.8% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 4% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value Lamar Advertising yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Lamar Advertising's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Lamar Advertising's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $683M, net cash of −$3.4B at December 31, 2025 and 102 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Lamar Advertising: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 3.7% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 9% for a business of moderate risk (Other Specialized REITs); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $157.01
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from Lamar Advertising's earnings per share of $5.48 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 28.7×, the middle of Lamar Advertising's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (Lamar Advertising's own P/E today) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 10%, 9% and 8%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $157.01
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- Lamar Advertising's P/E at the last close
- 28.7×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron MountainIRM | $113.08 | $1.40 | 80.8× |
| American Healthcare REITAHR | $53.55 | $0.68 | 78.7× |
| Lamar AdvertisingLAMR | $157.01 | $5.48 | 28.7× |
| EPR PropertiesEPR | $56.40 | $3.12 | 18.1× |
| Gaming and Leisure PropertiesGLPI | $39.39 | $3.42 | 11.5× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 100 | 53 | 45 | 50 | 65 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 3,032 | 3,330 | 3,357 | 3,226 | 3,432 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 2,932 | 3,278 | 3,312 | 3,176 | 3,367 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.7x | 3.5x | 3.4x | 3.2x | 3.1x |
| Debt to equity | 2.5x | 2.8x | 2.8x | 3.1x | 3.4x |
| Interest coverage | 4.9x | 4.5x | 3.9x | 3.1x | 4.8x |
| Current ratio | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
| Quick ratio | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Lamar Advertising shares on the open market, and 3 insiders sold $3.7 million.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2026 | Thomas Reifenheiser VDirector | Sold | 8,099 | $149.03 | $1.2 million | Form 4 |
| May 11, 2026 | Jay LeCoryelle JohnsonCFO, Treasurer, EVP | Sold | 10,000 | $157.02 | $1.6 million | Form 4 |
| Mar 23, 2026 | Ross Lamar ReillyEVP, President, Outdoor Div | Sold | 5,969 | $128.65 | $767,912 | Form 4 |
| Mar 5, 2026 | Jay LeCoryelle JohnsonCFO, Treasurer, EVP | Sold | 1,260 | $137.56 | $173,326 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| F-score | 6 of 9 | 7 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −4.4% | −7.8% | −4.1% |
Compare
Put Lamar Advertising side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Advertising | FY25 | 2.7% | 34.2% | 30.1% | 17.3% | 3.1x | 8 | |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties | FY25 | 4.1% | 75.3% | 51.7% | 10.2% | 4.7x | — | Compare |
| Iron Mountain | FY25 | 12.2% | 16.9% | −13.5% | 5.6% | 7.7x | 5 | Compare |
| EPR Properties | FY25 | 2.9% | 57.7% | 37.5% | 8.0% | 4.9x | — | Compare |
| American Healthcare REIT | FY25 | 9.2% | 18.4% | — | — | — | — | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 1,500 | 1,541 | 1,627 | 1,754 | 1,569 | 1,787 | 2,032 | 2,111 | 2,207 | 2,266 |
| Revenue growth | — | 2.7% | 5.6% | 7.8% | −10.5% | 13.9% | 13.7% | 3.9% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
| Gross profit | 975 | 1,000 | 1,065 | 1,164 | 1,011 | 1,211 | 1,365 | 1,414 | 1,479 | 1,519 |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 439 | 455 | 461 | 518 | 410 | 521 | 578 | 675 | 532 | 774 |
| Net income | 299 | 318 | 305 | 372 | 243 | 388 | 439 | 496 | 362 | 587 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 3.05 | 3.23 | 3.08 | 3.71 | 2.41 | 3.83 | 4.31 | 4.85 | 3.52 | 5.77 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 98 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 101 | 102 | 102 | 103 | 102 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 522 | 507 | 565 | 631 | 570 | 734 | 782 | 784 | 874 | 864 |
| Capital expenditure | 108 | 109 | 118 | 141 | 62 | 126 | 167 | 178 | 125 | 181 |
| Free cash flow | 414 | 398 | 447 | 490 | 508 | 608 | 615 | 605 | 748 | 683 |
| Dividends paid | 294 | 244 | 443 | 385 | 252 | 405 | 509 | 511 | 579 | 656 |
| Share buybacks | 6 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 158 |
| Acquisitions | 585 | 297 | 477 | 226 | 46 | 312 | 480 | 139 | 45 | 191 |
| Stock-based compensation | 29 | 10 | 29 | 30 | 19 | 37 | 23 | 23 | 44 | 34 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 36 | 116 | 22 | 26 | 122 | 100 | 53 | 45 | 50 | 65 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 2,349 | 2,557 | 2,889 | 2,980 | 2,906 | 3,032 | 3,330 | 3,357 | 3,226 | 3,432 |
| Total assets | 3,899 | 4,214 | 4,545 | 5,941 | 5,791 | 6,048 | 6,475 | 6,564 | 6,586 | 6,932 |
| Total liabilities | 2,829 | 3,111 | 3,413 | 4,761 | 4,589 | 4,830 | 5,280 | 5,347 | 5,538 | 5,907 |
| Shareholders' equity | 1,070 | 1,104 | 1,132 | 1,180 | 1,203 | 1,217 | 1,195 | 1,217 | 1,048 | 1,025 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 65.0% | 64.9% | 65.5% | 66.3% | 64.5% | 67.8% | 67.2% | 67.0% | 67.0% | 67.0% |
| Operating margin | 29.3% | 29.6% | 28.3% | 29.5% | 26.1% | 29.2% | 28.4% | 32.0% | 24.1% | 34.2% |
| Net margin | 19.9% | 20.6% | 18.8% | 21.2% | 15.5% | 21.7% | 21.6% | 23.5% | 16.4% | 25.9% |
| Free cash flow margin | 27.6% | 25.8% | 27.5% | 27.9% | 32.4% | 34.0% | 30.2% | 28.7% | 33.9% | 30.1% |
| Return on capital | 13.4% | 12.8% | 11.8% | 12.7% | 9.9% | 12.5% | 12.9% | 14.7% | 12.0% | 17.3% |
| Return on equity | 28.6% | 29.2% | 27.3% | 32.2% | 20.4% | 32.1% | 36.4% | 41.1% | 32.0% | 56.6% |
| Return on assets | 8.2% | 7.8% | 7.0% | 7.1% | 4.2% | 6.6% | 7.0% | 7.6% | 5.5% | 8.7% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.6x | 3.7x | 4.2x | 3.9x | 4.2x | 3.7x | 3.5x | 3.4x | 3.2x | 3.1x |