By Kit Norton
SBA Communications soared on Thursday, making it the top S&P 500 performer on the day, following a report that the communications tower operator is considering a sale after receiving takeover interest.
The company told Barron's it isn't commenting at this time on the report.
Bloomberg reported Thursday afternoon that SBA is exploring options, including a sale, citing people familiar with the matter. Large infrastructure funds are eyeing the telecommunications and wireless communications infrastructure company, according to the report, which says that SBA is currently evaluating interest from parties and is in discussions with advisors.
SBA shares vaulted higher on the news, ending Thursday up 19% at $204.04. That made the stock the best performer in the S&P 500, well above the second-best Lumentum Holdings.
SBA could be an attractive target for a takeover due to a combination of its large infrastructure portfolio, recent stock underperformance, and the long-term growth potential of 5G infrastructure and AI.
The Boca Raton, Fla.,-based company is one of the largest independent wireless communications infrastructure companies in the U.S. SBA operates and owns towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS), and small cells. The company has more than 46,000 communications sites throughout the Americas and Africa, according to its most recent earnings report.
SBA is also a top real estate investment trust, or REIT, and leases antenna space to service carriers. SBA has a dividend yield of 2.7%.
Some analysts believe wireless infrastructure companies, such as SBA, will benefit from the continued rollout of AI services.
However, SBA shares are down 48% from their record closing high of $389.02 on Dec. 31 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Analysts have also noted that SBA's valuation, including its price-to-earnings ratio, has been trading near 10-year lows.
The stock's enterprise value to last twelve months EBITDA as of Thursday is 19.77, well below its 10-year average of 25.19 and its 15-year average of 24.02, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
This measurement, commonly used when assessing mergers and acquisitions, represents the total cost to take over a business. A lower ratio usually means a company is undervalued while a higher ratio signals a company is overvalued.
SBA could make an attractive option for infrastructure funds looking for value.
The reported interest in SBA also comes amid a period of consolidation in the infrastructure investment space. Blackstone has been expanding its digital infrastructure portfolio, driven by AI demand, with data centers and tower investments. KKR & Co, in a strategic partnership, acquired a stake in Vantage Towers Vodafone in 2022.
KKR, in its recent 2026 infrastructure outlook report, wrote that telecom towers are part of the essential infrastructure for the U.S. and economic security.
"The future economy will not be built solely upon code or spreadsheets or language models. It will be enabled by data centers, fiber optic networks, telecom towers, transmission lines, renewable assets, natural gas pipelines, and transportation networks," the investment firm wrote.
Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2026 13:44 ET (17:44 GMT)
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