DLR vs. SBAC: Digital Realty Trust vs. SBA Communications Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and SBA Communications (SBAC) both belong to the Specialized REITs industry, though DLR is classified under Data Center REITs while SBAC falls under Telecom Tower REITs.

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) and SBA Communications (SBAC) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Digital Realty Trust (DLR) earns 3.34% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; SBA Communications (SBAC) has no ROE this period.

Neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor SBA Communications (SBAC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and SBA Communications (SBAC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.04% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while SBA Communications (SBAC) at 5.06% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for DLR.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or SBA Communications (SBAC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.58 and SBA Communications (SBAC) at 0.19 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Digital Realty Trust (DLR) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69 against its industry range, while SBA Communications (SBAC) reports no figure this period.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Both Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.79% and SBA Communications (SBAC) at 2.52% offer bottom-quartile dividend income relative to share price versus industry peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor SBA Communications (SBAC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or SBA Communications (SBAC) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

SBA Communications (SBAC) at 6.94 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 9.47 sits in the pricier quartile — DLR costs more per dollar of sales.

SBA Communications (SBAC) reports a negative P/B ratio of -4.09, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Digital Realty Trust (DLR) reports 2.39, ranking against industry peers normally.

Valuation Metrics