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O vs. SBAC: Realty Income vs. SBA Communications Stock Comparison

How do Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC) both fall under the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group, but O is classified in Retail REITs while SBAC is classified in Specialized REITs.

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

Company profile comparison for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
Profile ItemOSBAC
NameRealty Income Corp.SBA Communications Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorReal EstateReal Estate
GICS Industry GroupEquity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
GICS IndustryRetail REITsSpecialized REITs
GICS Sub-IndustryRetail REITsTelecom Tower REITs
Market Capitalization56.31 billion USD19.78 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENasdaq
Listing DateOctober 18, 1994June 16, 1999
Security TypeREITREIT

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

O
SBAC
GSPC
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Total Return (1Y)10.34%-0.77%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)11.84%-2.37%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)2.34%-9.88%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

O
SBAC
GSPC
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)16.95%36.62%
Beta (5Y)0.630.96
Max Drawdown (5Y)-34.47%-55.90%
Avg. Volume (3M)7.39M1.01M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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O and SBAC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.36-0.14
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.52-0.24

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Realty Income (O) earns 3.48% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; SBA Communications (SBAC) has no ROE this period.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.48%

Max
22.74%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
O
3.48%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

--

Max
22.74%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%
SBAC
--
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): SBAC does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; O is benchmarked against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Neither Realty Income (O) 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.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Realty Income (O) 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

Profitability metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
ROE (TTM)3.48%--
ROA (TTM)2.44%8.17%
Net Margin (TTM)----
Operating Margin (TTM)----
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Realty Income (O) at 9.07% and SBA Communications (SBAC) at 5.06% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Revenue Growth (YoY)9.07%5.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)19.80%2.25%
EPS Growth (YoY)----
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)----

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Realty Income (O) at 2.17 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while SBA Communications (SBAC) at 0.19 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

2.17

Max
4.19
O
2.17
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
Min
0.06

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.19

Max
4.19
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
SBAC
0.19
Min
0.06
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Realty Income (O) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75 against its industry range, while SBA Communications (SBAC) reports no figure this period.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.75

Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
O
0.75
Q1
0.72
Min
0.20

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

--

Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
Q1
0.72
Min
0.20
SBAC
--
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): SBAC does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; O is benchmarked against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Current Ratio (MRQ)2.170.19
Debt / Equity (MRQ)0.75--
Net Debt / EBITDA5.778.14

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Realty Income (O) at 5.45% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while SBA Communications (SBAC) at 2.52% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

5.45%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
O
5.45%
Median
4.34%
Q1
3.26%
Min
0.00%

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

2.52%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
Median
4.34%
Q1
3.26%
SBAC
2.52%
Min
0.00%
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Realty Income (O) 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

Dividend metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
Dividend Yield (TTM)5.45%2.52%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)----

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Realty Income (O) 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.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

SBA Communications (SBAC) at 6.94 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Realty Income (O) at 9.06 sits in the pricier quartile — O costs more per dollar of sales.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

9.06

Max
14.47
O
9.06
Q3
8.02
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.94

Max
14.47
Q3
8.02
SBAC
6.94
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

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 Realty Income (O) reports 1.42, ranking against industry peers normally.

O

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

1.42

Max
4.06
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
O
1.42
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21

SBAC

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

-4.09

Max
4.06
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21
SBAC
-4.09
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Realty Income (O) vs. SBA Communications (SBAC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Realty Income (O) and SBA Communications (SBAC)
MetricOSBAC
P/E Ratio (TTM)----
P/S Ratio (TTM)9.066.94
P/B Ratio (MRQ)1.42-4.09
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----