SBAC vs AMT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SBA Communications and American Tower are both cell tower REITs benefiting from wireless carrier infrastructure demand, but at very different scales. AMT is the global tower leader with 220,000+ towers across all regions; SBAC is smaller, Americas-focused, and known for highly efficient capital allocation with no dividend (returns capital through buybacks). Both benefit from 5G densification and global mobile data growth.
SBAC vs AMT is the Americas-focused capital-efficient tower operator (SBA Communications) versus the global tower scale leader with data center diversification (American Tower) — SBAC's smaller size and buyback focus appeal to pure-play tower investors; AMT's global scale and CoreSite diversification appeal to investors wanting broader digital infrastructure exposure.
AMT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AMT has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-9.87% vs -10.18%), though SBAC has the better forward P/E setup (23.08x vs 25.37x for AMT). On fundamentals, AMT is growing revenue faster (4.70%), while SBAC maintains the higher operating margin (52.16%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +19.51% for SBAC and +21.28% for AMT.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer a focused Americas tower REIT with best-in-class capital efficiency and no dividend (return via buybacks)
- value SBA's disciplined approach — avoiding the complexity of India market challenges and data center diversification
- want pure-play wireless infrastructure exposure concentrated in US, Canada, Latin America, and South Africa
- are comfortable with no dividend income (SBA returns capital through share repurchases rather than distributions)
- prefer the global tower leader with 220,000+ towers across all major wireless markets including Africa and India
- value CoreSite data centers as a complementary digital infrastructure diversification alongside towers
- want REIT income from the world's largest tower portfolio with Africa and India providing long-duration growth exposure
- are comfortable with India write-down risk, CoreSite integration complexity, and elevated leverage from acquisition activity
| Metric | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 40.3 | 40.5 |
| AI ranki | #1161 | #1139 |
| Latest closei | $178.59 | $173.98 |
| 1M returni | -2.10% | -0.29% |
| 6M returni | -2.02% | -4.80% |
| 1Y returni | -10.18% | -9.87% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.98K (-10.2%) started 2025-09-18 | $9.01K (-9.9%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $5.58K (-44.2%) started 2021-09-20 | $7.5K (-25.0%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $18.44K (+84.4%) started 2016-09-19 | $24.75K (+147.5%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $20.1B | $82.87B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.44 | 24.46 |
| Forward P/Ei | 23.08 | 25.37 |
| Price/Salesi | 9.03 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 12.21 | 12.12 |
| Analyst targeti | $226.40 | $215.70 |
| Target upsidei | +19.51% | +21.28% |
| Metric | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 2.30% | 4.70% |
| Earnings growthi | -10.50% | 138.50% |
| EPS growthi | -10.50% | +138.50% |
| FCF margini | +26.20% | +26.69% |
| Operating margini | 52.16% | 45.41% |
| Profit margini | 34.51% | 31.08% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | 33.91% |
| Return on equityi | N/A | 33.91% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.64% | 3.92% |
| Payout ratioi | 50.92% | 96.01% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.98 | 0.90 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | 438.72 |
| Current ratioi | 0.17 | 0.35 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.12 | 0.30 |
Over the past year, SBAC and AMT have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.68), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -10.18% | -9.87% |
| CAGRi | -10.18% | -9.88% | |
| Volatilityi | 34.12% | 26.08% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.28 | -0.44 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.48 | -0.61 | |
| Max drawdowni | 22.86% | 16.67% | |
| Current drawdowni | 20.18% | 10.57% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.73% | 7.89% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.91% | 8.76% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.06% | 4.10% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.90% | 8.81% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -46.94% | -33.27% |
| CAGRi | -11.92% | -7.78% | |
| Volatilityi | 30.04% | 26.98% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.42 | -0.33 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.61 | -0.47 | |
| Max drawdowni | 55.50% | 43.81% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.87% | 34.20% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 35.24% | 24.56% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 37.88% | 26.23% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.81% | 7.66% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.61% | 13.55% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +72.57% | +96.35% |
| CAGRi | +5.61% | +6.98% | |
| Volatilityi | 28.32% | 26.45% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.18 | 0.22 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.26 | 0.31 | |
| Max drawdowni | 55.50% | 45.34% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.87% | 36.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 20.59% | 16.08% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.35% | 20.57% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.93% | 15.16% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.65% | 18.24% |
| Category | SBAC | AMT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | SBA Communications Corporation | American Tower Corporation |
| Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
| Industry | REIT - Specialty | REIT - Specialty |
| Core business | SBA Communications owns and operates 40,000+ wireless communication towers in the US, Canada, Central and South America, and South Africa. SBA generates revenue through long-term leases to wireless carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) who co-locate their antennas on SBA towers. The tower model is highly capital-efficient — additional tenant antennas on existing towers generate nearly pure incremental margin. SBA does not pay dividends, instead using cash for debt repayment and share buybacks. | American Tower is the world's largest cell tower REIT, owning 220,000+ towers across the US, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its CoreSite data center acquisition added a complementary digital infrastructure business alongside towers. AMT's international scale in Africa and India provides exposure to mobile data adoption waves that are earlier-stage than mature US and European markets. |
| Investor focus | Investors track same-tower organic revenue growth, new leasing activity (first-time and co-location), tower count additions, international market penetration, and AFFO per share growth as the primary return metric. | Investors track US tower organic revenue growth, international tower same-tower growth by region, CoreSite data center performance, dividend coverage from AFFO, and leverage reduction after elevated acquisition debt. |
- Tower model is one of the most capital-efficient real estate models: each additional tenant co-locating on an existing tower generates 90%+ margin incremental revenue
- Long-term leases with annual escalators (typically 3% in the US) provide predictable, inflation-linked revenue from creditworthy carrier tenants
- International exposure (Central/South America, South Africa) provides growth in mobile data markets still earlier in their 4G/5G adoption curve
- Largest global tower portfolio with 220,000+ towers providing unmatched scale in both US and international emerging markets
- Africa and India portfolios benefit from some of the highest mobile data growth rates globally as smartphone penetration expands
- CoreSite data center acquisition diversifies AMT beyond towers into digital infrastructure adjacent to the cloud and edge computing markets
- T-Mobile and Sprint merger reduced US tower tenants from four to three major carriers — carrier consolidation reduces tower leasing demand
- US carrier spending cycles (capital constraints post-5G buildout investment) can slow new co-location and amendment activity
- International markets carry currency, political, and regulatory risks not present in the US tower business
- India tower market is highly competitive with low lease rates — AMT wrote down India tower value significantly
- CoreSite data center integration adds operational complexity outside AMT's core tower competency
- Elevated debt from acquisitions (CoreSite, data centers) requires deleveraging that prioritizes debt over dividend growth
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.