SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORP Stock Compensation Disclosure
On February 25, 2020, the Company’s 2010 Plan expired by its terms. On May 14, 2020, the Company’s shareholders approved the 2020 Plan which provides for the issuance of up to 3.0 million shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (of which approximately 1.6 million shares remain available for future issuance as of December 31, 2025), plus additional shares of Class A common stock (a) subject to awards granted under the 2010 Plan that may become available for issuance or reissuance, as applicable, under the 2020 Plan if such awards are forfeited or are settled in cash or otherwise expire or terminate without the delivery of the shares or (b) which become issuable under the 2020 Plan by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock.
Commencing with the 2020 equity award, the Company modified the type of equity granted to certain employees to align long-term compensation with Company performance. Under the new structure, the Company continued to issue RSUs; however, RSUs will now vest ratably over three years rather than four years. The Company further replaced stock options with PSUs which will cliff vest at the end of three years. PSUs have performance metrics for which threshold, target, and maximum parameters are established at the time of the grant. The performance metrics are used to calculate the number of shares that will be issuable when the awards vest, which may range from zero to 200% of the target amounts. At the end of each three year performance period, the number of shares that vest will depend on the results achieved against the pre-established performance metrics. Furthermore, effective with the 2020 grant, RSUs and PSUs will accrue dividend equivalents prior to vesting, which will be paid out only in respect to shares that actually vest.
Restricted Stock Units and Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units
The following table summarizes the Company’s RSU and PSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2025:
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| RSUs |
| PSUs (1) | ||||||
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| Weighted-Average |
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| Weighted-Average | ||
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| Number of |
| Grant Date Fair |
| Number of |
| Grant Date Fair | ||
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| Shares |
| Value per Share |
| Shares |
| Value per Share | ||
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| (in thousands) |
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Outstanding at December 31, 2024 |
| 393 |
| $ | 234.50 |
| 275 |
| $ | 314.52 |
Granted |
| 290 |
| $ | 218.98 |
| 66 |
| $ | 237.91 |
PSU adjustment (2) |
| — |
| $ | — |
| 10 |
| $ | 386.22 |
Vested |
| (173) |
| $ | 246.77 |
| (137) |
| $ | 339.43 |
Forfeited/canceled |
| (30) |
| $ | 223.32 |
| (8) |
| $ | 246.05 |
Outstanding at December 31, 2025 |
| 480 |
| $ | 221.37 |
| 206 |
| $ | 245.29 |
(1)PSUs represent the target number of shares granted that are issuable at the end of the three year performance period. Fair value for a portion of the PSUs was calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation model.
(2)PSU adjustment represents the net PSUs awarded above or below their target grants resulting from the achievement of performance targets established at the grant date.
Stock Options
The Company records compensation expense for employee stock options based on the estimated fair value of the options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the assumptions included in the table below. The Company uses a combination of historical data and historical volatility to establish the expected volatility, as well as to estimate the expected option life. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for the estimated life of the option. The following assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of options granted using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model:
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| For the year ended | |
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| December 31, 2023 | |
Risk free interest rate |
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| 3.96% |
Dividend yield |
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| 1.50% |
Expected volatility |
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| 30.0% |
Expected lives |
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| 4.4 years |
There were no options granted during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
The following table summarizes the Company’s activities with respect to its stock option plans for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 as follows (dollars and shares in thousands, except for per share data):
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| Weighted- |
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| Average |
| Remaining |
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| Number |
| Exercise Price |
| Contractual |
| Aggregate | ||
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| of Shares |
| Per Share |
| Life (in years) |
| Intrinsic Value | ||
Outstanding at December 31, 2022 |
| 1,673 |
| $ | 161.02 |
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Granted |
| 20 |
| $ | 224.24 |
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Exercised |
| (339) |
| $ | 132.70 |
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Forfeited/canceled |
| (14) |
| $ | 238.10 |
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Outstanding at December 31, 2023 |
| 1,340 |
| $ | 168.32 |
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Exercised |
| (250) |
| $ | 140.18 |
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Forfeited/canceled |
| (2) |
| $ | 197.91 |
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Outstanding at December 31, 2024 |
| 1,088 |
| $ | 174.74 |
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Exercised |
| (541) |
| $ | 162.24 |
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Forfeited/canceled |
| (1) |
| $ | 198.72 |
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Outstanding at December 31, 2025 |
| 546 |
| $ | 187.07 |
| 0.6 |
| $ | 5,660 |
Exercisable at December 31, 2025 |
| 530 |
| $ | 185.16 |
| 0.4 |
| $ | 5,660 |
Unvested at December 31, 2025 |
| 16 |
| $ | 250.43 |
| 7.1 |
| $ | — |
The weighted-average per share fair value of options granted during the year December 31, 2023 was $58.95.
The total intrinsic value for options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $27.5 million, $19.5 million, and $40.0 million, respectively. Cash received from option exercises under all plans for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 was approximately $48.0 million, $29.4 million, and $38.6 million, respectively. The Company realized a $1.0 million tax provision, a $1.5 million tax provision, and a $4.9 million tax benefit for the tax deductions from option exercises under all plans for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
The aggregate intrinsic value for stock options in the preceding table represents the total intrinsic value based on the Company’s closing stock price of $193.43 as of December 31, 2025. The amount represents the total intrinsic value that would have been received by the holders of the stock-based awards had these awards been exercised and sold as of that date.
The following table summarizes the activity of options outstanding that had not yet vested:
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| Weighted- | |
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| Average | |
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| Number |
| Fair Value | |
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| of Shares |
| Per Share | |
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Unvested as of December 31, 2024 |
| 22 |
| $ | 65.61 |
Vested |
| (6) |
| $ | 66.73 |
Unvested as of December 31, 2025 |
| 16 |
| $ | 64.78 |
As of December 31, 2025, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock options outstanding under the Plans is $0.8 million. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.1 years.
The total fair value of options vested during 2025, 2024, and 2023 was $0.4 million, $0.4 million, and $8.7 million, respectively.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Board of Directors of the Company adopted the 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“2018 Purchase Plan”) which reserved 300,000 shares of Class A common stock for purchase. The 2018 Purchase Plan permits eligible employee participants to purchase Class A common stock at a price per share which is equal to 85% of the fair market value of Class A common stock on the last day of an offering period. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, 41,719 shares and 36,675 shares, respectively, of Class A common stock were issued under the 2018 Purchase Plan, which resulted in cash proceeds to the Company of approximately
$7.6 million and $6.6 million, respectively. At December 31, 2025, 79,303 shares remained available for issuance under the 2018 Purchase Plan.
In addition, the Company recorded $1.3 million, $1.2 million, and $1.0 million of non-cash compensation expense relating to the shares issued under the 2018 Purchase Plan for each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Non-Cash Compensation Expense
The table below reflects a breakout by category of the non-cash compensation expense amounts recognized on the Company’s Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively:
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| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||
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| 2025 |
| 2024 |
| 2023 | |||
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| (in thousands) | |||||||
Cost of revenues |
| $ | 2,653 |
| $ | 2,737 |
| $ | 2,869 |
Selling, general and administrative |
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| 73,081 |
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| 71,637 |
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| 85,050 |
Total cost of non-cash compensation included |
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in income before provision for income taxes |
| $ | 75,734 |
| $ | 74,374 |
| $ | 87,919 |
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 27, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 26, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 1, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 1, 2022 | |
About Stock Compensation Disclosures
Stock-based compensation disclosures detail the equity awards granted to employees and executives — including stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), and performance shares — along with the valuation methods and assumptions used to expense them. This section reveals the true cost of talent retention and the alignment between management incentives and shareholder interests.
Key signals: total unrecognized compensation expense and its expected recognition period signal future earnings headwinds from already-granted awards. For stock options, examine Black-Scholes assumptions — expected volatility, risk-free rate, and expected term — as understating any of these reduces reported compensation expense. Compare stock compensation expense as a percentage of revenue against peers to assess dilution cost. Watch vesting schedules for acceleration clauses tied to change-of-control events. Performance-based awards with undemanding targets may indicate weak governance. Add back stock compensation to operating cash flow to calculate a more conservative free cash flow figure.