Which Is a Better Investment, Lamar Advertising Co or SBA Communications Corporation Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 05, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Specialized REITs industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including tower structures, rooftops and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications. In our site leasing business, we lease space to wireless service providers and other customers on assets we own or operate, and manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of December 31, 2025, we owned 46,328 towers, a substantial portion of which were built by us or by other tower owners or operators who, like us, build towers to lease space to multiple wireless service providers. As of December 31, 2025, each of our towers had an average of 1.8 tenants. SBA Communications Corporation was established in 1989 and was incorporated in Florida.

Lamar Advertising Company is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with over 362,000 displays across the United States and Canada. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboards, interstate logo, transit and airport advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States with over 5,400 displays. Lamar Advertising Company was founded and incorporated in 1902 in Delaware and is based in Baton Rouge, United States.

Latest Specialized REITs and SBA Communications Corporation, Lamar Advertising Company Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, SBA Communications Corporation had a $20.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Specialized REITs median of $7.5 million. SBA Communications Corporation’s stock is down 2.1% in 2026, down 0.8% in the previous five trading days and down 2.94% in the past year.

Currently, SBA Communications Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 20.4. SBA Communications Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.9 billion with a 34.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.719 per share for the current fiscal year. SBA Communications Corporation currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, Lamar Advertising Company had a $15.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 83rd percentile of all stocks. Lamar Advertising Company’s stock is up 19.1% in 2026, up 0.3% in the previous five trading days and up 17.77% in the past year.

Currently, Lamar Advertising Company’s price-earnings ratio is 27.5. Lamar Advertising Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $2.3 billion with a 23.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.918 per share for the current fiscal year. Lamar Advertising Company currently has a 4.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
SBA Communications Corporation SBAC D
Lamar Advertising Company LAMR F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

SBA Communications Corporation has a Value Score of 29, which is Expensive. Lamar Advertising Company has a Value Score of 16, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company is the better investment when it comes to value.

SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
SBA Communications Corporation SBAC D
Lamar Advertising Company LAMR C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

SBA Communications Corporation has a Momentum Score of 32, which is Weak. Lamar Advertising Company has a Momentum Score of 50, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
SBA Communications Corporation SBAC D
Lamar Advertising Company LAMR A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

SBA Communications Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 36, which is Negative. Lamar Advertising Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 99, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Lamar Advertising Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Lamar Advertising Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than SBA Communications Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Lamar Advertising Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Value and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

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Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, SBA Communications Corporation or Lamar Advertising Company Stock?

Overall, SBA Communications Corporation stock has a Value Score of 29, Momentum Score of 32 and Estimate Revisions Score of 36.

Lamar Advertising Company stock has a Value Score of 16, Momentum Score of 50 and Estimate Revisions Score of 99.

Comparing SBA Communications Corporation and Lamar Advertising Company’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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