American Tower vs SBA Communications
American Tower reported revenue of $10.6 billion in fiscal 2025, 3.8 times SBA Communications' $2.8 billion in fiscal 2025. American Tower's revenue grew 5.1% in its latest year, and SBA Communications' grew 5.1%. American Tower had an operating margin of 45.5%, against 47.7% at SBA Communications. Free cash flow was $3.8 billion at American Tower and $1.1 billion at SBA Communications.
Side by side
| American Tower | SBA Communications | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $10.6B | $2.8B |
| Revenue growth | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| Gross margin | — | 75.5% |
| Operating margin | 45.5% | 47.7% |
| Net margin | 24.7% | 37.4% |
| Free cash flow | $3.8B | $1.1B |
| Free cash flow margin | 35.5% | 37.9% |
| Return on capital | 9.3% | 14.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.2x | 7.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.5B | $977M |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.1% | −0.5% |
| Last close | $188.28 | $185.92 |
| P/E at the last close | 25.9× | 20.0× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $2.0 million, sold $23.2 million | sold $54,801 |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 8 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
American TowerSBA Communications
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
American TowerSBA Communications
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
American TowerSBA Communications
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the American Tower and SBA Communications pages.