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Side-by-side financial comparison of MSCI Inc. (MSCI) and SBA Communications (SBAC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MSCI Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($822.5M vs $703.4M, roughly 1.2× SBA Communications). MSCI Inc. runs the higher net margin — 34.6% vs 26.3%, a 8.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MSCI Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.6% vs -1.6%). Over the past eight quarters, MSCI Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (10.0% CAGR vs 3.2%).

MSCI Inc. is an American finance company headquartered in New York City. MSCI is a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indices, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate finance products. It operates the MSCI World, MSCI Emerging Markets, and MSCI All Country World (ACWI) indices, among others.

SBA Communications Corporation is a real estate investment trust which owns and operates wireless infrastructure in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, and South Africa. It was founded in 1989 as Steven Bernstein and Associates by Steven Bernstein.

MSCI vs SBAC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MSCI
MSCI
1.2× larger
MSCI
$822.5M
$703.4M
SBAC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MSCI
MSCI
+12.2% gap
MSCI
10.6%
-1.6%
SBAC
Higher net margin
MSCI
MSCI
8.3% more per $
MSCI
34.6%
26.3%
SBAC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
MSCI
MSCI
Annualised
MSCI
10.0%
3.2%
SBAC

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Revenue
$822.5M
$703.4M
Net Profit
$284.7M
$184.9M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
56.4%
48.7%
Net Margin
34.6%
26.3%
Revenue YoY
10.6%
-1.6%
Net Profit YoY
-6.8%
-15.1%
EPS (diluted)
$3.81
$1.74

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$703.4M
Q4 25
$822.5M
$719.6M
Q3 25
$793.4M
$732.3M
Q2 25
$772.7M
$699.0M
Q1 25
$745.8M
$664.2M
Q4 24
$743.5M
$693.7M
Q3 24
$724.7M
$667.6M
Q2 24
$707.9M
$660.5M
Net Profit
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$184.9M
Q4 25
$284.7M
$370.4M
Q3 25
$325.4M
$236.8M
Q2 25
$303.6M
$225.8M
Q1 25
$288.6M
$220.7M
Q4 24
$305.5M
$178.8M
Q3 24
$280.9M
$258.5M
Q2 24
$266.8M
$162.8M
Gross Margin
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
Q4 25
75.6%
Q3 25
74.1%
Q2 25
75.4%
Q1 25
76.9%
Q4 24
78.1%
Q3 24
77.5%
Q2 24
78.6%
Operating Margin
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
48.7%
Q4 25
56.4%
41.5%
Q3 25
56.4%
51.1%
Q2 25
55.0%
47.9%
Q1 25
50.6%
50.4%
Q4 24
54.5%
55.1%
Q3 24
55.4%
56.3%
Q2 24
54.0%
53.7%
Net Margin
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
26.3%
Q4 25
34.6%
51.5%
Q3 25
41.0%
32.3%
Q2 25
39.3%
32.3%
Q1 25
38.7%
33.2%
Q4 24
41.1%
25.8%
Q3 24
38.8%
38.7%
Q2 24
37.7%
24.7%
EPS (diluted)
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$1.74
Q4 25
$3.81
$3.47
Q3 25
$4.25
$2.20
Q2 25
$3.92
$2.09
Q1 25
$3.71
$2.04
Q4 24
$3.89
$1.61
Q3 24
$3.57
$2.40
Q2 24
$3.37
$1.51

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$515.3M
$269.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$6.2B
$2.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$-2.7B
Total Assets
$5.7B
$11.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$269.1M
Q4 25
$515.3M
$271.2M
Q3 25
$400.1M
$431.1M
Q2 25
$347.3M
$276.8M
Q1 25
$360.7M
$702.2M
Q4 24
$409.4M
$444.4M
Q3 24
$501.0M
$202.6M
Q2 24
$451.4M
$250.9M
Total Debt
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$2.7B
Q4 25
$6.2B
$12.9B
Q3 25
$5.5B
$12.7B
Q2 25
$4.5B
$12.5B
Q1 25
$4.5B
$12.4B
Q4 24
$4.5B
$13.6B
Q3 24
$4.5B
$12.3B
Q2 24
$4.5B
$12.3B
Stockholders' Equity
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-2.7B
$-4.9B
Q3 25
$-1.9B
$-4.9B
Q2 25
$-886.2M
$-4.9B
Q1 25
$-958.6M
$-5.0B
Q4 24
$-940.0M
$-5.1B
Q3 24
$-751.0M
$-5.2B
Q2 24
$-734.5M
$-5.3B
Total Assets
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$11.7B
Q4 25
$5.7B
$11.6B
Q3 25
$5.4B
$11.3B
Q2 25
$5.4B
$10.8B
Q1 25
$5.3B
$10.4B
Q4 24
$5.4B
$11.4B
Q3 24
$5.4B
$10.2B
Q2 24
$5.5B
$9.8B

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$501.1M
$255.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$488.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
59.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.5%
9.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.76×
1.38×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.5B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
$255.1M
Q4 25
$501.1M
$1.3B
Q3 25
$449.4M
$318.0M
Q2 25
$336.1M
$368.1M
Q1 25
$301.7M
$301.2M
Q4 24
$430.6M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$421.6M
$304.7M
Q2 24
$349.2M
$425.6M
Free Cash Flow
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$488.7M
$833.3M
Q3 25
$445.5M
$258.0M
Q2 25
$324.7M
$312.2M
Q1 25
$290.2M
$255.0M
Q4 24
$416.4M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$415.0M
$239.9M
Q2 24
$340.6M
$375.6M
FCF Margin
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
Q4 25
59.4%
115.8%
Q3 25
56.2%
35.2%
Q2 25
42.0%
44.7%
Q1 25
38.9%
38.4%
Q4 24
56.0%
179.9%
Q3 24
57.3%
35.9%
Q2 24
48.1%
56.9%
Capex Intensity
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
9.5%
Q4 25
1.5%
63.7%
Q3 25
0.5%
8.2%
Q2 25
1.5%
8.0%
Q1 25
1.5%
7.0%
Q4 24
1.9%
12.6%
Q3 24
0.9%
9.7%
Q2 24
1.2%
7.6%
Cash Conversion
MSCI
MSCI
SBAC
SBAC
Q1 26
1.38×
Q4 25
1.76×
3.49×
Q3 25
1.38×
1.34×
Q2 25
1.11×
1.63×
Q1 25
1.05×
1.36×
Q4 24
1.41×
7.47×
Q3 24
1.50×
1.18×
Q2 24
1.31×
2.61×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MSCI
MSCI

Recurring Subscriptions$246.4M30%
Asset Based Fees$211.7M26%
Analytics Segment$182.3M22%
Sustainability And Climate Segment$90.3M11%
Other$70.9M9%
Non Recurring$21.1M3%

SBAC
SBAC

Site leasing$656.1M93%
Site development$47.3M7%

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