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

SBA Communications is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($703.4M vs $604.5M, roughly 1.2× STEPAN CO). SBA Communications runs the higher net margin — 26.3% vs 3.3%, a 23.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STEPAN CO posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.9% vs -1.6%). Over the past eight quarters, STEPAN CO's revenue compounded faster (4.2% CAGR vs 3.2%).

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.

Stepan Company is an American manufacturer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Alfred C. Stepan, Jr., and has approximately 2,000 employees. It is currently run by his grandson, F. Quinn Stepan, Jr. The company describes itself as the largest global merchant manufacturer of anionic surfactants, which are used to enhance the foaming and cleaning capabilities of detergents, shampoos, toothpastes, and cosmetics.

SBAC vs SCL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SBAC
SBAC
1.2× larger
SBAC
$703.4M
$604.5M
SCL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SCL
SCL
+3.5% gap
SCL
1.9%
-1.6%
SBAC
Higher net margin
SBAC
SBAC
23.0% more per $
SBAC
26.3%
3.3%
SCL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SCL
SCL
Annualised
SCL
4.2%
3.2%
SBAC

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Revenue
$703.4M
$604.5M
Net Profit
$184.9M
$19.7M
Gross Margin
10.7%
Operating Margin
48.7%
4.7%
Net Margin
26.3%
3.3%
Revenue YoY
-1.6%
1.9%
Net Profit YoY
-15.1%
EPS (diluted)
$1.74
$0.86

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
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$703.4M
$604.5M
Q4 25
$719.6M
$553.9M
Q3 25
$732.3M
$590.3M
Q2 25
$699.0M
$594.7M
Q1 25
$664.2M
$593.3M
Q4 24
$693.7M
$525.6M
Q3 24
$667.6M
$546.8M
Q2 24
$660.5M
$556.4M
Net Profit
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$184.9M
$19.7M
Q4 25
$370.4M
$5.0M
Q3 25
$236.8M
$10.8M
Q2 25
$225.8M
$11.3M
Q1 25
$220.7M
$19.7M
Q4 24
$178.8M
$3.4M
Q3 24
$258.5M
$23.6M
Q2 24
$162.8M
$9.5M
Gross Margin
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
10.7%
Q4 25
75.6%
9.3%
Q3 25
74.1%
12.0%
Q2 25
75.4%
12.1%
Q1 25
76.9%
12.7%
Q4 24
78.1%
10.8%
Q3 24
77.5%
13.8%
Q2 24
78.6%
12.5%
Operating Margin
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
48.7%
4.7%
Q4 25
41.5%
1.9%
Q3 25
51.1%
3.7%
Q2 25
47.9%
3.0%
Q1 25
50.4%
4.8%
Q4 24
55.1%
1.5%
Q3 24
56.3%
4.4%
Q2 24
53.7%
3.4%
Net Margin
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
26.3%
3.3%
Q4 25
51.5%
0.9%
Q3 25
32.3%
1.8%
Q2 25
32.3%
1.9%
Q1 25
33.2%
3.3%
Q4 24
25.8%
0.6%
Q3 24
38.7%
4.3%
Q2 24
24.7%
1.7%
EPS (diluted)
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$1.74
$0.86
Q4 25
$3.47
$0.22
Q3 25
$2.20
$0.47
Q2 25
$2.09
$0.50
Q1 25
$2.04
$0.86
Q4 24
$1.61
$0.14
Q3 24
$2.40
$1.03
Q2 24
$1.51
$0.42

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$269.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.7B
$328.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.2B
Total Assets
$11.7B
$2.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.28×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$269.1M
Q4 25
$271.2M
$132.7M
Q3 25
$431.1M
$118.5M
Q2 25
$276.8M
$88.9M
Q1 25
$702.2M
$107.5M
Q4 24
$444.4M
$99.7M
Q3 24
$202.6M
$147.3M
Q2 24
$250.9M
$124.7M
Total Debt
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$2.7B
$328.4M
Q4 25
$12.9B
$626.7M
Q3 25
$12.7B
$655.5M
Q2 25
$12.5B
$658.0M
Q1 25
$12.4B
$659.3M
Q4 24
$13.6B
$625.4M
Q3 24
$12.3B
$688.5M
Q2 24
$12.3B
$657.1M
Stockholders' Equity
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$1.2B
Q4 25
$-4.9B
$1.2B
Q3 25
$-4.9B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$-4.9B
$1.2B
Q1 25
$-5.0B
$1.2B
Q4 24
$-5.1B
$1.2B
Q3 24
$-5.2B
$1.2B
Q2 24
$-5.3B
$1.2B
Total Assets
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$11.7B
$2.3B
Q4 25
$11.6B
$2.4B
Q3 25
$11.3B
$2.4B
Q2 25
$10.8B
$2.4B
Q1 25
$10.4B
$2.4B
Q4 24
$11.4B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$10.2B
$2.4B
Q2 24
$9.8B
$2.3B
Debt / Equity
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
0.28×
Q4 25
0.50×
Q3 25
0.53×
Q2 25
0.53×
Q1 25
0.55×
Q4 24
0.53×
Q3 24
0.56×
Q2 24
0.55×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$255.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
9.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.38×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
$255.1M
Q4 25
$1.3B
$60.0M
Q3 25
$318.0M
$69.8M
Q2 25
$368.1M
$11.2M
Q1 25
$301.2M
$6.9M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$68.3M
Q3 24
$304.7M
$22.7M
Q2 24
$425.6M
$29.5M
Free Cash Flow
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$833.3M
$25.4M
Q3 25
$258.0M
$40.2M
Q2 25
$312.2M
$-14.4M
Q1 25
$255.0M
$-25.8M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$32.1M
Q3 24
$239.9M
$-4.0M
Q2 24
$375.6M
$-208.0K
FCF Margin
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
Q4 25
115.8%
4.6%
Q3 25
35.2%
6.8%
Q2 25
44.7%
-2.4%
Q1 25
38.4%
-4.3%
Q4 24
179.9%
6.1%
Q3 24
35.9%
-0.7%
Q2 24
56.9%
-0.0%
Capex Intensity
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
9.5%
Q4 25
63.7%
6.3%
Q3 25
8.2%
5.0%
Q2 25
8.0%
4.3%
Q1 25
7.0%
5.5%
Q4 24
12.6%
6.9%
Q3 24
9.7%
4.9%
Q2 24
7.6%
5.3%
Cash Conversion
SBAC
SBAC
SCL
SCL
Q1 26
1.38×
Q4 25
3.49×
11.99×
Q3 25
1.34×
6.44×
Q2 25
1.63×
0.99×
Q1 25
1.36×
0.35×
Q4 24
7.47×
20.38×
Q3 24
1.18×
0.96×
Q2 24
2.61×
3.10×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

SBAC
SBAC

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

SCL
SCL

Surfactants$453.7M75%
Polymers$130.0M22%
Specialty Products$20.8M3%

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