AMT vs SBAC: American Tower and SBA Communications compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- American Tower is the larger company, worth $83.3B, about 4.3 times SBA Communications.
- American Tower grew revenue faster over the last year (+4.7% vs -23.5%).
- SBA Communications keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (600.1% vs 44.8%).
- On earnings, SBA Communications is the cheaper stock (19.7x vs 28.9x).
- American Tower's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 6% a year, against 4% for SBA Communications (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | AMT | SBAC |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $83.3B | $19.3B |
| Share price | $182.24 | $182.49 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $10.6B | $244M |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $3.8B | $1.1B |
| Revenue growth, last year | +4.7% | -23.5% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +3.3% | +4.5% |
| Operating margin | 44.8% | 600.1% |
| Net margin | 31.1% | 434.6% |
| Return on equity | 91.4% | — |
| P/E (trailing) | 28.9x | 19.7x |
| Price / free cash flow | 22.0x | 18.1x |
| EV / EBITDA | 17.5x | 23.5x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 6.3% | 3.7% |
| Dividend yield | 3.9% | 2.6% |
| Debt / equity | 14.3x | — |
| Fundamental grade | C | C |
| Superinvestors holding it | 6 | 6 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 10 | 8 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
American Tower
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $9.4B | $3.4B | 33.5% |
| 2022 | $9.6B | $1.8B | 28.4% |
| 2023 | $10.0B | $2.9B | 31.2% |
| 2024 | $10.1B | $3.7B | 44.6% |
| 2025 | $10.6B | $3.8B | 45.5% |
SBA Communications
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $205M | $1.1B | 382.2% |
| 2022 | $297M | $1.1B | 311.7% |
| 2023 | $195M | $1.3B | 474.5% |
| 2024 | $153M | $1.1B | 939.2% |
| 2025 | $244M | $1.1B | 549.2% |
Where the revenue comes from
American Tower · by segments, 2025
U.S. & Canada$5.2B49%
Latin America$1.6B15%
Africa & APAC$1.4B13%
Data Centers$1.1B10%
Europe$938M9%
Services$340M3%
SBA Communications · by segments, 2025
Domestic Site Leasing$1.9B66%
International Site Leasing$705M25%
Site Development$244M9%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open AMT in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, American Tower or SBA Communications?
American Tower (AMT), at $83.3B against $19.3B.
Is AMT or SBAC cheaper?
By trailing P/E, SBA Communications (19.7x) is cheaper than American Tower (28.9x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, AMT or SBAC?
American Tower: revenue grew +4.7% over the last year, against -23.5%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.