SBA Communications Corp

Humana shares surged 15% in premarket trading after the health insurer said 95% of its Medicare Advantage members would be enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher in 2027, up sharply from 20% in 2026, well above J.P. Morgan's expected 60% to 70%. Delta Air Lines fell around 3.3% after cutting its annual profit forecast by nearly a quarter at the midpoint as surging fuel costs outweighed strong travel demand. Lumentum rose 3.8% after Chief Executive Michael Hurlston told Bloomberg Television in Tokyo that demand for its optoelectronic components had effectively booked out manufacturing capacity through early 2029, saying the company could not meet approximately 70% of demand for some products through next year and roughly 30% for certain others through 2028; Coherent gained 3.5% in sympathy. American Express fell almost 2% in after-hours trading after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed a $350 million penalty over compliance failures that let approximately $13 billion of suspected money laundering go undetected between 2014 and 2025. SpaceX gained 3.7% on a deal to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, sending T-Mobile US, Verizon Communications and AT&T down between 5% and 6%, while tower operators American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications advanced between 6% and 10%.

OpenAI expects to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, according to a Bloomberg News report, after a Financial Times report said its annualized revenue stood at about $50 billion at the end of September, short of the $70 billion previously signaled. The growth is expected to be driven chiefly by its enterprise business, Bloomberg said, though a path to profitability remained unclear, with recent reports indicating the company was still on track to slip to a full-year loss and has projected it will burn $280 billion by 2030. Delta Air Lines is due to report third-quarter results before the opening bell, with Bloomberg consensus estimates pointing to adjusted revenue of $17.66 billion and adjusted per-share income of $1.82, as the carrier grapples with an uptick in fuel costs and has predicted its fuel bill will be roughly $4 billion higher this year compared to the prior year. The University of Michigan's October consumer sentiment index is tipped to edge down to a reading of 47.5 from a four-month low of 48.1 in September. U.S. mobile tower stocks rose in extended hours trading after SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of low-band spectrum from private equity firm Grain Management for about $8 billion in cash, a deal Bernstein said keeps alive the possibility that the satellite company builds a ground network; American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications rose between 3% and 4.5% after-hours.

SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of low-band spectrum for about $8 billion in cash from private equity firm Grain Management, a deal that sent U.S. cell tower stocks higher in aftermarket trade on Thursday. American Tower Corp, Crown Castle International Corp, and SBA Communications Corp, three of the country's largest phone tower operators, rose between 3% and 4.5% in afterhours trade. Bernstein analysts called the move positive for tower operators, saying it keeps the terrestrial network build option very much alive, though they noted that buying spectrum is not a commitment to build more towers. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the spectrum is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America, and the acquisition is aimed at improving its Starlink satellite-to-cellular service by letting its signal pass through obstacles. Shares of major American telecommunications providers fell on the prospect of more competition from Starlink, with AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, and T-Mobile US Inc sliding between 5% and 7% in aftermarket trade, while SpaceX shares rose 2.3%.

SBA Communications raised its full-year 2026 site leasing revenue guidance to $2.651-$2.676 billion while maintaining its services revenue outlook of $190-$210 million. The tower operator reported a company-wide tower cash flow margin of 79.5% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 81% a year earlier, and said its 2026 bridge includes $52-$58 million from new leases and amendments and $71-$74 million from escalators, offset by Sprint, EchoStar and regular churn. In the second quarter of 2026, SBA acquired six communication sites for $10.5 million and built 109 towers, up from 80 builds in the first quarter, bringing its owned or operated portfolio to 46,390 sites as of June 30, 2026, including 29,028 internationally. After quarter-end, it purchased or was under contract to purchase 58 sites for $28.8 million, expected to close by year-end 2026. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, paid Sept. 17, 2026, roughly 13% above the prior-year level, and management plans to resume share repurchases in the second half of 2026 with $1.1 billion of authorization remaining. Domestic site leasing revenues fell 3.7% year over year to $452.5 million, with T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless representing 36.2%, 32.4% and 22.2% of that total, respectively, while total debt stood at $12.78 billion and net debt at $12.39 billion as of June 30, 2026.

SBA Communications reported second-quarter results that showed a stronger balance sheet but softer per-share profit, earning its first-ever investment-grade credit rating from S&P at BBB while net income attributable to the company fell 12.9% year over year to $198.8 million. Diluted earnings per share dropped to $1.87 from $2.09 a year earlier. The company issued $3.5 billion of senior unsecured notes across three tranches maturing between January 2030 and July 2033 at a blended rate of 5.113%, using proceeds to pay down debt and replace its secured credit line with a new $2.5 billion unsecured revolving facility. International site leasing revenue climbed 30.5% to $211.4 million, while domestic revenue fell 3.7% to $452.5 million, and the company raised its full-year 2026 outlook for site leasing revenue and AFFO per share to $11.95 to $12.40. However, AFFO per share fell 3.8% to $3.05, total AFFO dropped 5.2% to $324.4 million, and net cash interest expense rose 9.5% to $122.1 million, with domestic churn from Sprint and EchoStar weighing on results.

SBA Communications Corp delivered solid second-quarter 2026 results, posting funds from operations of $3.05 per share and increasing its quarterly dividend by 13% to $1.25 per share. The company issued $3.5 billion in investment-grade bonds, reducing secured debt below 50% and strengthening balance sheet flexibility, and plans to resume share buybacks in the second half of the year, citing current valuations as a low-risk, high-return opportunity. International new tower builds accelerated to 99 in the quarter, up from 75 in the first quarter, while U.S. leasing activity is expected to be lower in the second half. The FCC's stricter buildout requirements for the upper C-band spectrum auction are seen as a long-term organic growth driver, and about half of the U.S. portfolio is suited for edge data centers. International churn remains elevated due to carrier consolidations and bankruptcies, particularly in Brazil, and the company faces ongoing litigation with EchoStar over lease payment claims.