SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORP - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



FORM 10-K



☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

OR



☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



For the transition period from                       to                     



Commission file number: 001-16853



SBA COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)











Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (561) 995-7670



Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:





Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None





Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐ 



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒ 



Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐ 



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ☒   No  ☐



Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☐



Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,”  and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.





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If an emerging growth company, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act)    Yes  ☐    No  ☒ 



The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $16.2 billion as of June 30, 2017.  

The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock (as of February 21, 2018): Class A common stock — 116,507,867.



Documents Incorporated By Reference



Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, which proxy statement will be filed no later than 120 days after the close of the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, are hereby incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.



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Table of Contents 







 

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS 

General

We are a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including tower structures, rooftops, and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications, which we collectively refer to as “towers” or “sites.” Our principal operations are in the United States and its territories. In addition, we own and operate towers in South America, Central America, and Canada. Our primary business line is our site leasing business, which contributed 98.7% of our total segment operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2017. In our site leasing business, we (1) lease antenna space to wireless service providers on towers that we own or operate and (2) manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of December 31, 2017, we owned 27,909 towers, a substantial portion of which have been built by us or built by other tower owners or operators who, like us, have built such towers to lease space to multiple wireless service providers. We also managed or leased approximately 9,000 actual or potential sites, approximately 500 of which were revenue producing as of December 31, 2017. Our other business line is our site development business, through which we assist wireless service providers in developing and maintaining their own wireless service networks.

Site Leasing Services

Our primary focus is the leasing of antenna space on our multi-tenant towers to a variety of wireless service providers under long-term lease contracts in the United States, Canada, Central America, and South America. We derive site leasing revenues primarily from wireless service provider tenants. Wireless service providers enter into tenant leases with us, each of which relates to the lease or use of space at an individual site. Our site leasing business generates substantially all of our total segment operating profit, representing 96.8% or more of our total segment operating profit for the past three fiscal years. Our site leasing business is classified into two reportable segments, domestic site leasing and international site leasing.

Domestic Site Leasing

As of December 31, 2017, we owned  15,979 sites in the United States and its territories.  For the year ended December 31, 2017, we generated 80.6% of our total site leasing revenue from these sites. We derive domestic site leasing revenues primarily from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. Wireless service providers enter into tenant leases with us, each of which relates to the lease or use of space at each individual site.  In the United States, our tenant leases are generally for an initial term of five to ten years with five 5-year renewal periods at the option of the tenant. These tenant leases typically contain specific rent escalators, which average 3-4% per year.  Our ground leases in the United States are generally for an initial term of five years or more with multiple renewal terms of five-year periods, at our option, and provide for rent escalators which typically average 2-3% annually. As of December 31, 2017, (1) no U.S. state or territory included more than 10% of our total tower portfolio by tower count, and (2) no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017.

International Site Leasing

We currently operate in 12 international markets throughout Canada, Central America, and South America. Our largest international market is Brazil. As of December 31, 2017, we owned 11,930 towers in our international markets. As of December 31, 2017, 30.1% of our total towers are located in Brazil and less than 3% of our total towers are located in each of our other international markets (each country is considered a market).  We continue to focus on growing our international site leasing business through the acquisition and development of towers.  During 2017, we continued our international expansion with our acquisition of sites in Peru and Argentina, as well as additional sites in existing international markets. We believe that we can create substantial value by expanding our site leasing services into select international markets which we believe have a high-growth wireless industry and relatively stable political and regulatory environments. Our operations in these countries are solely in the site leasing business, and we expect to continue to expand operations through acquisitions and new builds, as well as organic lease up on our existing towers.

We derive international site leasing revenues primarily from Oi S.A., Telefonica, Claro, and TIM. In Canada, our tenant leases are generally for an initial term of five to ten years with five 5-year renewal periods at the option of the tenant. These tenant leases typically contain specific rent escalators, which average 3-4% per year, including the renewal option periods. Tenant leases in our Central American and South American markets typically have an initial term of ten years with multiple five year renewal periods. In Central America, we have similar fixed rent escalators to that of leases in the United States and Canada while our leases in South America escalate in accordance with a standard cost of living index. In Brazil, tenant leases are typically governed by master lease agreements, which provide for the material terms and conditions that will govern the terms of the use of the site.  Tenant leases in South America typically provide a pass-through charge for the underlying ground lease rent in addition to the base tenant rent.  Our

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ground leases in Canada, Central America and South America generally have similar terms and conditions as those in the United States, except that the annual escalators in our South American ground leases are based on a cost of living index. Our operations in Central America and Ecuador are primarily denominated in United States Dollars. In Brazil,  Canada,  Chile, and Colombia, significantly all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in local currency. In Argentina and Peru, our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are dominated in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars.

Domestic and International Expansion

We expand our tower portfolio, both domestically and internationally, through the acquisition of towers from third parties and through the construction of new tower structures. In our tower acquisition program, we pursue towers that meet or exceed our internal guidelines regarding current and future potential returns. For each acquisition, we prepare various analyses that include projections of several different investment return metrics, review of available capacity, future lease up projections, and a summary of current and future tenant/technology mix.

The majority of our international markets typically have less mature wireless networks with limited wireline infrastructure and lower wireless data penetration rates than those in the United States. Accordingly, our expansion in these markets is primarily driven by (i) wireless service providers seeking to increase the quality and coverage of their networks, (ii) increased consumer mobile data traffic, such as media streaming, mobile apps and games, web browsing, and email, and (iii) incremental spectrum auctions, which have resulted in new market entrants, as well as incremental voice and data network deployments. Since we first entered the Central and South American markets, we have built or acquired 11,655 towers as of December 31, 2017 and continue to expand in these markets to respond to growing demand.

We consider various factors when identifying a market for our international expansion, including:

In our new build program, we construct tower structures (1) under build-to-suit arrangements or (2) in locations that are strategically chosen by us. Under build-to-suit arrangements, we build tower structures for wireless service providers at locations that they have identified. Under these arrangements, we retain ownership of the tower structure and the exclusive right to co-locate additional tenants. When we construct tower structures in locations chosen by us, we utilize our knowledge of our customers’ network requirements to identify locations where we believe multiple wireless service providers need, or will need to locate antennas to meet capacity or service demands. We seek to identify attractive locations for new tower structures and complete pre-construction procedures necessary to secure the site concurrently with our leasing efforts. We generally will have at least one signed tenant lease for each new build tower structure on the day that it is completed and expect that some will have multiple tenants.

Site Development Services

Our site development business, which is conducted in the United States only, is complementary to our site leasing business and provides us the ability to keep in close contact with the wireless service providers that generate substantially all of our site leasing revenue and to capture revenues that are generated by our site leasing activities, such as antenna and equipment installation at our tower locations.  Site development services revenues are earned primarily from providing a full range of end to end services to wireless service providers or companies providing development or project management services to wireless service providers. Our services include: (1) network pre-design; (2) site audits; (3) identification of potential locations for towers and equipment on existing infrastructure; (4) support in leasing of the location; (5) obtaining zoning approvals and permits; (6) tower and related site construction; (7) antenna installation; and (8) radio equipment installation, commissioning, and maintenance. We provide site development services at our towers and at towers owned by others on a local basis, through market and regional offices. These market offices are responsible for all site development operations.

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For financial information about our operating segments, please see Note 18 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.

Industry Developments

We believe that growing wireless data traffic will require wireless service providers to continue to increase the capacity of their networks, and we believe that the continued capacity increases will require our customers to install equipment at new sites and add new equipment at existing sites. We expect that the wireless communications industry will continue to experience growth as a result of the following trends:

We believe that the world-wide wireless industry will continue to grow and is reasonably well-capitalized, highly competitive and focused on quality and advanced services. Therefore, we expect that we will see a multi-year trend of additional demand for tower space from our customers, which we believe will translate into steady leasing growth for us.

Business Strategy

Our primary strategy is to continue to focus on expanding our site leasing business. The long-term and repetitive nature of the revenue stream of our site leasing business makes it less volatile than our site development business, which is more cyclical. By focusing on our site leasing business, we believe that we can maintain a stable, recurring cash flow stream and reduce our exposure to cyclical changes in customer spending. Key elements of our strategy include:

Maximizing Use of Tower Capacity. We generally have constructed or acquired towers that accommodate multiple tenants and a majority of our towers are high capacity tower structures. Most of our towers have significant capacity available for additional antennas, and we believe that increased use of our towers can generate additional lease revenue and be achieved at a low incremental cost. We measure the available capacity of our existing sites to support additional tenants by assessing several factors, including tower height, tower type, wind loading, environmental conditions, existing equipment on the tower and zoning and permitting regulations in effect in the jurisdiction where the tower is located. We actively market space on our towers through our internal sales force. As of December 31, 2017, we had an average of 1.7 tenants per tower structure.

Disciplined Growth of our Tower Portfolio. We believe that our tower operations are highly scalable. Consequently, we believe that we are able to materially increase our tower portfolio without proportionately increasing selling, general, and administrative expenses. We intend to continue to grow our tower portfolio, domestically and internationally, through tower acquisitions and the construction of new tower structures. In connection with our international expansion, we have targeted select international markets that we believe have relatively stable political environments and a growing wireless communications industry. We intend to use a portion of our available cash from operating activities and available liquidity, including borrowings, to build and/or acquire new towers at prices that we believe will be accretive to our shareholders both in the short and long term and which allow us to maintain our long-term target leverage ratios.

Capitalizing on our Scale and Management Experience. We are a large owner, operator and developer of towers, with substantial capital, human, and operating resources. We have been developing towers for wireless service providers in the U.S. since 1989 and owned and operated towers for ourselves since 1997. We believe our size, experience, capabilities, and resources make us a preferred partner for wireless service providers both in the U.S. and internationally. Our management team has extensive experience in site leasing and site development, with some of the longest tenures in the tower and site development industries. We believe that our

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industry expertise and strong relationships with wireless service providers will allow us to expand our position as a leading provider of site leasing and site development services.

Controlling our Underlying Land Positions. We have purchased and/or entered into perpetual easements or long-term leases for the land that underlies our tower structures and intend to continue to do so, to the extent available at commercially reasonable prices. We believe that these purchases, perpetual easements, and/or long-term leases will increase our margins, improve our cash flow from operations, and minimize our exposure to increases in ground lease rents in the future. As of December 31, 2017, approximately 70% of our tower structures were located on land that we own or control for more than 20 years and the average remaining life under our ground leases, including renewal options under our control, was 33 years. As of December 31, 2017, approximately 6.9% of our tower structures had ground leases maturing in the next 10 years.

Using our Local Presence to Build Strong Relationships with Major Wireless Service Providers. Given the nature of towers as location-specific communications facilities, we believe that substantially all of what we do is done best locally. Consequently, we have a broad field organization that allows us to develop and capitalize on our experience, expertise and relationships in each of our local markets which in turn enhances our customer relationships. We are seeking to replicate this operating model internationally. Due to our presence in local markets, we believe we are well positioned to capture additional site leasing business and new tower build opportunities in our markets and identify and participate in site development projects across our markets.

Customers

Since commencing operations, we have leased tower space and performed site development services for all of the large U.S. wireless service providers. In both our site leasing and site development businesses, we work with large national providers and smaller regional, local, or private operators. Internationally, we lease tower space to all the major service providers in Canada, Central America, and South America.

We depend on a relatively small number of customers for our site leasing and site development revenues. The following customers represented at least 10% of our total revenues during the last three years:



In addition to the Big 4 wireless carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless), we  have also provided services or leased space to a number of customers including:



Sales and Marketing

Our sales and marketing goals are to:

We approach sales on a company-wide basis, involving many of our employees. We have a dedicated sales force that is supplemented by members of our executive management team. Our dedicated salespeople are based regionally as well as in our

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corporate office. We also rely on our vice presidents, general managers, and other operations personnel to sell our services and cultivate customers. Our strategy is to delegate sales efforts by geographic region or to those employees of ours who have the best relationships with our customers. Most wireless service providers have national corporate headquarters with regional and local offices. We believe that wireless service providers make most decisions for site development and site leasing services at the regional and local levels with input from their corporate headquarters. Our sales representatives work with wireless service provider representatives at the regional and local levels and at the national level when appropriate. Our sales staff’s compensation is heavily weighted to incentive-based goals and measurements.

Competition

Domestic Site Leasing – In the U.S., our primary competitors for our site leasing activities are (1) large independent tower companies including American Tower Corporation and Crown Castle International, (2) a large number of regional independent tower owners, (3) wireless service providers that own and operate their own towers and lease, or may in the future decide to lease, antenna space to other providers, and (4) alternative facilities such as rooftops, outdoor and indoor distributed antenna system (“DAS”) networks, billboards, utility poles, and electric transmission towers. We believe that tower location and capacity, quality of service, density within a geographic market and, to a lesser extent, price historically have been and will continue to be the most significant competitive factors affecting the site leasing business.

International Site Leasing –  Internationally, our competition consists of wireless service providers that own and operate their own tower networks, large national and regional independent tower companies, and alternative facilities such as rooftop, outdoor and indoor DAS networks, billboards, utility poles, and electric transmission towers.

Site Development – The site development business is competitive and price sensitive. We believe that the majority of our competitors in the U.S. site development business operate within local region and market areas, while some firms offer their services nationally. The market includes participants from a variety of market segments offering individual, or combinations of, competing services. The field of competitors includes site development consultants, zoning consultants, real estate firms, construction companies, tower owners/managers, telecommunications equipment vendors, which provide end-to-end site development services through multiple subcontractors, and wireless service providers’ internal staff. We believe that providers base their decisions for site development services on a number of criteria, including company experience, price, track record, local reputation, geographic reach, and time for completion of a project.

Employees

Our corporate offices are located in our headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida. We also have employees located in our international, regional, and local offices. As of December 31, 2017, we had 1,291 employees of which 303 were based outside of the U.S. and its territories. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Regulatory and Environmental Matters

Federal Regulations. In the U.S., which accounted for 80.6% of our total site leasing revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017, both the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) and the Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”) regulate towers. Many FAA requirements are implemented in FCC regulations. These regulations govern the construction, lighting, and painting or other marking of towers, as well as the maintenance, inspection, and record keeping related to towers, and may, depending on the characteristics of particular towers, require prior approval and registration of towers before they may be constructed, altered or used. Wireless communications equipment and radio or television stations operating on towers are separately regulated and may require independent customer licensing depending upon the particular frequency or frequency band used. In addition, any applicant for an FCC tower structure registration (through the FCC’s Antenna Structure Registration System) must certify that, consistent with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, neither the applicant nor its principals are subject to a denial of federal benefits because of a conviction for the possession or distribution of a controlled substance. New tower construction also requires approval from the state or local governing authority for the proposed site: compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”); compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”); compliance with the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”); and may require notification to the FAA.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, the FCC, in conjunction with the FAA, has developed standards to consider proposals involving new or modified towers. These standards mandate that the FCC and the FAA consider the height of the proposed tower, the relationship of the tower to existing natural or man-made obstructions, and the proximity of the tower to runways and airports. Proposals to construct or to modify existing towers above certain heights must be reviewed by the FAA to ensure the structure will not present a hazard to air navigation. The FAA may condition its issuance of a no-

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hazard determination upon compliance with specified lighting and/or painting requirements. Towers that meet certain height and location criteria must also be registered with the FCC. A tower that requires FAA clearance will not be registered by the FCC until it is cleared by the FAA. Upon registration, the FCC may also require special lighting and/or painting. Owners of wireless communications towers may have an obligation to maintain painting and lighting or other marking in conformance with FAA and FCC regulations. Tower owners and licensees that operate on those towers also bear the responsibility of monitoring any lighting systems and notifying the FAA of any lighting outage or malfunction.

Owners and operators of towers may be subject to, and therefore must comply with, environmental laws, including NEPA, NHPA and ESA. Any licensed radio facility on a tower is subject to environmental review pursuant to the NEPA, among other statutes, which requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of their decisions under certain circumstances. The FCC has issued regulations implementing the NEPA. These regulations place responsibility on applicants to investigate potential environmental effects of their operations and to disclose any potential significant effects on the environment in an environmental assessment prior to constructing or modifying a tower and prior to commencing certain operations of wireless communications or radio or television stations from the tower. In the event the FCC determines the proposed structure or operation would have a significant environmental impact based on the standards the FCC has developed, the FCC would be required to prepare an environmental impact statement, which will be subject to public comment. This process could significantly delay the registration of a particular tower.

We generally indemnify our customers against any failure to comply with applicable regulatory standards relating to the construction, modification, or placement of towers. Failure to comply with the applicable requirements may lead to civil penalties.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 amended the Communications Act of 1934 by preserving state and local zoning authorities’ jurisdiction over the construction, modification, and placement of towers. The law, however, limits local zoning authority by prohibiting any action that would discriminate among different providers of personal wireless services or ban altogether the construction, modification or placement of radio communication towers. Finally, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the federal government to help licensees for wireless communications services gain access to preferred sites for their facilities. This may require that federal agencies and departments work directly with licensees to make federal property available for tower facilities.

As an owner and operator of real property, we are subject to certain environmental laws that impose strict, joint and several liability for the cleanup of on-site or off-site contamination and related personal injury or property damage. We are also subject to certain environmental laws that govern tower placement and may require pre-construction environmental studies. Operators of towers must also take into consideration certain radio frequency (“RF”) emissions regulations that impose a variety of procedural and operating requirements. Certain proposals to operate wireless communications and radio or television stations from tower structures are also reviewed by the FCC to ensure compliance with requirements relating to human exposure to RF emissions. Exposure to high levels of RF energy can produce negative health effects. The potential connection between low-level RF energy and certain negative health effects, including some forms of cancer, has been the subject of substantial study by the scientific community in recent years. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with and we have no material liability under any applicable environmental laws. These costs of compliance with existing or future environmental laws and liability related thereto may have a material adverse effect on our prospects, financial condition or results of operations.

State and Local Regulations. Most states regulate certain aspects of real estate acquisition, leasing activities, and construction activities. Where required, we conduct the site acquisition portions of our site development services business through licensed real estate brokers’ agents, who may be our employees or hired as independent contractors, and conduct the construction portions of our site development services through licensed contractors, who may be our employees or independent contractors. Local regulations include city and other local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers. These regulations vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but typically require tower owners to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations, or certain other entities prior to tower construction and establish regulations regarding maintenance and removal of towers. In addition, many local zoning authorities require tower owners to post bonds or cash collateral to secure their removal obligations. Local zoning authorities generally have been unreceptive to construction of new towers in their communities because of the height and visibility of the towers, and have, in some instances, instituted moratoria.

International. Regulatory regimes outside of the U.S. and its territories vary by country and locality; however, these regulations typically require tower owners and/or licensees to obtain approval from local officials or government agencies prior to tower construction or modification or the addition of a new antenna to an existing tower. Additionally, some regulations include ongoing obligations regarding painting, lighting, and maintenance. Our international operations may also be subject to limitations on foreign ownership of land in certain areas. Based on our experience to date, these regimes have been similar to, but not more rigorous, burdensome or comprehensive than, those in the U.S. Non-compliance with such regulations may lead to monetary penalties or deconstruction orders. Our international operations are also subject to various regulations and guidelines regarding employee relations

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and other occupational health and safety matters. As we expand our operations into additional international geographic areas, we will be subject to regulations in these jurisdictions.

Backlog

Backlog related to our site leasing business consists of lease agreements and amendments, which have been signed, but have not yet commenced. As of December 31, 2017, we had 1,205 new leases and amendments which had been executed with customers but which had not begun generating revenue. These leases and amendments will contractually provide for approximately $9.2 million of annual revenue. By comparison, as of December 31, 2016, we had 955 new leases and amendments which had been executed with customers but which had not begun generating revenue. These leases and amendments contractually provided for approximately $8.7 million of annual revenue.

Our backlog for site development services consists of the value of work that has not yet been completed under executed contracts. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $47.5 million of contractually committed revenue as compared to approximately $26.0 million as of December 31, 2016.  

Availability of Reports and Other Information

SBA Communications Corporation was incorporated in the State of Florida in March 1997. Our corporate website is www.sbasite.com. We make available, free of charge, access to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A and amendments to those materials filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on our website under “Investor Relations – Reports and Results – SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after we file electronically such material with, or furnish it to, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”).

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 ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Risks Related to Our Business

If our wireless service provider customers combine their operations to a significant degree, our future operating results, ability to service our indebtedness, and stock price could be adversely affected.

Significant consolidation among our wireless service provider customers may result in our customers failing to renew existing leases for tower space or reducing future capital expenditures in the aggregate because their existing networks and expansion plans may overlap or be very similar, or acquired technologies may be discontinued. In connection with the combinations of Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL (to form Verizon Wireless), Cingular and AT&T Wireless (to form AT&T Mobility) and Sprint PCS and Nextel (to form Sprint), the combined companies have rationalized duplicative parts of their networks, and, in the case of Sprint, the Nextel iDEN network was discontinued, which has led and may continue to lead to the non-renewal of certain leases on our towers. During 2013, Sprint acquired Clearwire Communications and T-Mobile acquired MetroPCS, and in 2014, AT&T acquired Leap Wireless (Cricket Wireless). These consolidations have led and may continue to lead to non-renewal of certain of our tower leases. If our wireless service provider customers continue to consolidate as a result of, among other factors, limited wireless spectrum for commercial use in the U.S., these consolidations could significantly impact the number of tower leases that are not renewed or the number of new leases that our wireless service provider customers require to expand their networks, which could materially and adversely affect our future operating results and our ability to service our indebtedness. These risks could be exacerbated due to changes in governmental policy that may favor industry consolidation.  

In addition, the market price of our Class A common stock may be affected by the economic and market perception of the announcement or consummation of wireless service provider customer consolidations and their impact on our future operating results.

We have a substantial level of indebtedness which may have an adverse effect on our business or limit our ability to take advantage of business, strategic or financing opportunities.

As indicated below, we have and will continue to have a significant amount of indebtedness relative to our deficit. The following table sets forth our total principal amount of debt and shareholders’ deficit as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.  



Our substantial level of indebtedness increases the possibility that we may be unable to generate cash sufficient to pay the principal, interest, or other amounts due on our indebtedness. Subject to certain restrictions under our existing indebtedness, we and our subsidiaries may also incur significant additional indebtedness in the future, some of which may be secured debt. This may have the effect of increasing our total leverage. For example, on October 13, 2017, we issued $750.0 million of unsecured senior notes,  which contributed to the $530 million increase of our total indebtedness during 2017.

As a consequence of our indebtedness, (1) demands on our cash resources may increase, (2) we are subject to restrictive covenants that further limit our financial and operating flexibility and (3) we may choose to institute self-imposed limits on our indebtedness based on certain considerations including market interest rates, our relative leverage and our strategic plans. For example, as a result of our substantial level of indebtedness and the uncertainties arising in the credit markets and the U.S. economy:

•we may be more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions;

•we may have to pay higher interest rates upon refinancing or on our variable rate indebtedness if interest rates rise, thereby reducing our cash flows;

•we may find it more difficult to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate requirements that would be in our best long-term interests;

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•we may be required to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, reducing the available cash flow to fund other investments, including share repurchases, tower acquisition and new build capital expenditures, or to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements;  

•we may have limited flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business or in the industry;

•we may have a competitive disadvantage relative to other companies in our industry that are less leveraged; and

•we may be required to sell debt or equity securities or sell some of our core assets, possibly on unfavorable terms, in order to meet payment obligations.

These restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, new tower development, mergers and acquisitions, share repurchases, or other opportunities and to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements.  

In addition, fluctuations in market interest rates or changes in central bank monetary policy may increase interest expense relating to our floating rate indebtedness, which we expect to incur pursuant to our Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loans, and may make it difficult to refinance our existing indebtedness at a commercially reasonable rate or at all. There is no guarantee that the future refinancing of our indebtedness will have fixed interest rates or that interest rates on such indebtedness will be equal to or lower than the rates on our current indebtedness.

Our variable rate indebtedness and refinancing obligations subject us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

An increase in market interest rates would increase our interest expense arising on our existing and future floating rate indebtedness or upon refinancing of our fixed rate debt. Pursuant to the terms of our Credit Agreement, the interest rate that we pay on indebtedness incurred under the Revolving Credit Facility or Term Loans varies based on a fixed margin over either a base rate or a Eurodollar rate which references the LIBOR rate. As a result, we are exposed to interest rate risk. Interest rates, including LIBOR, have recently increased and are expected to continue to increase in future periods. If interest rates continue to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. Furthermore, in an environment of increasing interest rates, it is likely that any future refinancing of our indebtedness will be either at fixed interest rates higher than our current fixed interest rates or at variable rates. In the future, we may enter into interest rate swaps that involve the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments in order to reduce interest rate volatility. However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk. We currently have no interest rate swaps.

We depend on a relatively small number of customers for most of our revenue, and the loss, consolidation or financial instability of any of our significant customers may materially decrease our revenue and adversely affect our financial condition.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from a small number of customers. Consequently, a reduction in demand for site leasing, reduced future capital expenditures on the networks, or the loss, as a result of bankruptcy, merger with other customers of ours or otherwise, of any of our largest customers could materially decrease our revenue and have an adverse effect on our growth.

On June 20, 2016, Oi, S.A. (“Oi”), our largest customer in Brazil, filed a petition for judicial reorganization in Brazil. For the year ended December 31, 2017, Oi comprised approximately 7.5% of our total site leasing revenue. While we initially recorded a $16.5 million bad debt provision during the second quarter of 2016 relating to amounts owed or potentially owed by Oi as of the petition date, since that date we have continued to do business with Oi in the ordinary course. On January 8, 2018, Oi’s reorganization plan was approved by the Brazilian courts and Oi is expected to resolve all its pre-petition obligations in accordance with the terms of the plan. However, if Oi is unable to successfully fulfill its reorganization obligations or cannot operate its business on a go-forward basis, it could adversely affect our future results of operation.

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The following is a list of significant customers (representing at least 10% of revenue in any of the last three years) and the percentage of our total revenues for the specified time periods derived from these customers:







We also have client concentrations with respect to revenues in each of our financial reporting segments:









We derive revenue through numerous site leasing contracts and site development contracts. Each site leasing contract relates to the lease of space at an individual tower and is generally for an initial term of five to ten years in the U.S. and Canada, and renewable for five 5-year periods at the option of the tenant. Site leasing contracts in our Central American and South American markets typically have an initial term of ten years with multiple five year renewal periods. However, if any of our significant site leasing customers were to experience financial difficulty, substantially reduce their capital expenditures or reduce their dependence on leased tower space and fail to renew their leases with us, our revenues, future revenue growth and results of operations would be adversely affected. In addition, many of our tenants in our international markets are subsidiaries of global telecommunications companies. These subsidiaries may not have the explicit or implied financial support of their parent entities, which may impact their creditworthiness.

Our site development customers engage us on a project-by-project basis, and a customer can generally terminate an assignment at any time without penalty. In addition, a customer’s need for site development services can decrease, and we may not be successful in establishing relationships with new customers. Furthermore, our existing customers may not continue to engage us for additional projects.

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Increasing competition may negatively impact our ability to grow our communication site portfolio long term.

We intend to continue growing our tower portfolio, domestically and internationally, through acquisitions and new builds. Our ability to meet our growth targets significantly depends on our ability to build or acquire existing towers that meet our investment requirements. Traditionally, our acquisition strategy has focused on acquiring towers from smaller tower companies, independent tower developers and wireless service providers. However, as a result of consolidation in the tower industry, there are fewer of these mid-sized tower transactions available in the U.S. and there is more competition to acquire existing towers. Increased competition for acquisitions may result in fewer acquisition opportunities for us, higher acquisition prices, and increased difficulty in negotiating and consummating agreements to acquire such towers. For example, in 2017, we passed on more U.S. acquisitions than we did in 2016 due to asset quality, price, or lease terms. Furthermore, to the extent that the tower acquisition opportunities are for significant tower portfolios, many of our competitors are significantly larger and have greater financial resources than we do.  Finally, laws regulating competition, domestically and internationally, may limit our ability to acquire certain portfolios.  As a result of these risks, the cost of acquiring these towers may be higher than we expect or we may not be able to meet our annual and long-term tower portfolio growth targets. If we are not able to successfully address these challenges, we may not be able to materially increase our tower portfolio in the long-term through acquisitions. 

Our ability to build new towers is dependent upon the availability of sufficient capital to fund construction, our ability to locate, and acquire at commercially reasonable prices, attractive locations for such towers and our ability to obtain the necessary zoning and permits. Local regulations, including municipal or local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers, vary greatly, but typically require antenna tower and structure owners to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations prior to tower or structure construction or modification.  With respect to our international new builds, our tower construction may be delayed or halted as a result of local zoning restrictions, inconsistencies between laws or other barriers to construction in international markets. Due to these risks, it may take longer to complete our new tower builds, domestically and internationally, than anticipated, and the costs of constructing these towers may be higher than we expect or we may not be able to add as many towers as we had planned in 2018. If we are not able to increase our new build tower portfolio as anticipated, it could negatively impact our ability to achieve our financial goals.

Increasing competition in the tower industry may create pricing pressures or result in non-renewals that may materially and adversely affect us. 

Our industry is highly competitive, and our wireless service provider customers sometimes have alternatives for leasing antenna space. However, we believe that tower location and capacity, quality of service, density within a geographic market and, to a lesser extent, price historically have been and will continue to be the most significant competitive factors affecting the site leasing business. However competitive pricing pressures for tenants on towers from competitors could materially and adversely affect our lease rates.  In addition, the increasing number of towers (1) may provide customers the ability to relocate their antennae to other towers if they determine that a more suitable, efficient or economic location exists, which could lead to non-renewal of existing leases, or (2) may adversely impact our ability to enter into new customer leases. Any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our growth rate and our future operations.

In the site leasing business, we compete with:

•wireless service providers that own and operate their own towers and lease, or may in the future decide to lease, antenna space to other providers;

•national and regional tower companies who may be substantially larger and have greater financial resources than we do; and

•alternative facilities such as rooftops, outdoor and indoor DAS networks, billboards and electric transmission towers.

The site development segment of our industry is also competitive. There are numerous large and small companies that offer one or more of the services offered by our site development business. As a result of this competition, margins in this segment may come under pressure. Many of our competitors have lower overhead expenses and therefore may be able to provide services at prices that we consider unprofitable. If margins in this segment were to decrease, our consolidated revenues and our site development segment operating profit could be adversely affected.

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A slowdown in demand for wireless communications services or for tower space could materially and adversely affect our future growth and revenues, and we cannot control that demand.

Additional revenue growth on our towers other than through contractual escalators comes directly from additional investment by our wireless service provider customers in their networks. If consumers significantly reduce their minutes of use or data usage, or fail to widely adopt and use wireless data applications, our wireless service provider customers could experience a decrease in demand for their services. Regardless of consumer demand, each wireless service provider must have substantial capital resources and capabilities to build out their wireless networks, including licenses for spectrum. In addition, our wireless service customers have engaged in increased use of network sharing, roaming or resale arrangements. As a result of all of the above, wireless service providers may scale back their business plans or otherwise reduce their spending, which could materially and adversely affect demand for our tower space and our wireless communications services business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our international operations are subject to economic, political and other risks that could materially and adversely affect our revenues or financial position.

Our current business operations in Canada, Central America, and South America, and our expansion into any other international markets in the future, could result in adverse financial consequences and operational problems not typically experienced in the United States. The consolidated revenues generated by our international operations were approximately 18.2% during the year ended December 31, 2017, and we anticipate that our revenues from our international operations will continue to grow in the future. Accordingly, our business is and will in the future be subject to risks associated with doing business internationally, including:

•changes in a specific country’s or region’s political or economic conditions;

•laws and regulations that tax or otherwise restrict repatriation of earnings or other funds or otherwise limit distributions of capital;

•laws and regulations that dictate how we operate our towers and conduct business, including zoning, maintenance and environmental matters, and laws related to ownership of real property;

•laws and regulations governing our employee relations, including occupational health and safety matters;

•changes to existing or new domestic or international tax laws or fees directed specifically at the ownership and operation of towers, which may be applied and enforced retroactively;

•expropriation and governmental regulation restricting foreign ownership or requiring reversion or divestiture;  

•laws effecting telecommunications infrastructure including the sharing of such infrastructure;

•restriction or revocation of spectrum licenses;

•our ability to comply with, and the costs of compliance with, anti-bribery laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar local anti-bribery laws;

•our ability to compete with owners and operators of wireless towers that have been in the international market for a longer period of time than we have;

•uncertainties regarding legal or judicial systems, including inconsistencies between and within laws, regulations and decrees, and judicial application thereof, and delays in the judicial process;

•health or similar issues, such as a pandemic or epidemic;

•difficulty in recruiting and retaining trained personnel; and

•language and cultural differences.

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If we are unable to protect our rights to the land under our towers, it could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our real property interests relating to the land under our tower structures consist primarily of leasehold and sub-leasehold interests, fee interests, easements, licenses, rights-of-way, and other similar interests. From time to time, we experience disputes with landowners regarding the terms of the agreements for the land under our tower structures, which can affect our ability to access and operate such towers. Further, landowners may not want to renew their agreements with us, they may lose their rights to the land, or they may transfer their land interests to third parties, including ground lease aggregators and our competitors, which could affect our ability to renew agreements on commercially viable terms or at all. In addition, the land underlying the 2,113 towers we acquired in 2013 from Oi, one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, is subject to a concession from the Federal Republic of Brazil that expires in 2025.  At the end of the term, the Brazilian government will have the right to (i) renew the concession upon newly negotiated terms or (ii) terminate the concession and take possession of the land and the tower on such land.  Although Oi has entered into a non-terminable lease with us for 35 years, if the concession is not renewed, our site leasing revenue from co-located tenants would terminate prior to the end of such lease. For the year ended December 31, 2017, we generated 11.5% of our total international site leasing revenue from these 2,113 towers of which 7.3% related to Oi and 4.2% represented revenue from co-located tenants.

As of December 31, 2017, the average remaining life under our ground leases, including renewal options under our control, was approximately 33 years, and approximately 6.9% of our tower structures have ground leases maturing in the next 10 years.  Failure to protect our rights to the land under our towers may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

New technologies or network architecture or changes in a customer’s business model may reduce demand for our wireless infrastructure or negatively impact our revenues.

Improvements or changes in the efficiency, architecture, and design of wireless networks or changes in a wireless service provider customer’s business model may reduce the demand for our wireless infrastructure. In addition, as customers deploy increased capital to the development and implementation of new technologies, they may allocate less of their budgets to lease space on our towers. For example, new technologies that may promote network sharing, joint development, or resale agreements by our wireless service provider customers, such as signal combining technologies or network functions virtualization, may reduce the need for our wireless infrastructure. In addition, other technologies and architectures, such as WiFi, DAS, femtocells, other small cells, or satellite (such as low earth orbiting) and mesh transmission systems may, in the future, serve as substitutes for, or alternatives to, the traditional macro site cellular architecture that is the basis of substantially all of our site leasing business. In addition, new technologies that enhance the range, efficiency, and capacity of wireless equipment could reduce demand for our wireless infrastructure. Further, a customer may decide to no longer outsource wireless infrastructure or otherwise change its business model. Any significant reduction in demand for our wireless infrastructure resulting from new technologies or new architectures or changes in a customer’s business model may negatively impact our revenues or otherwise have a material adverse effect on us. 



Currency fluctuations may negatively affect our results of operations.

Our operations in Central America and Ecuador are primarily denominated in U.S. Dollars. In Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Colombia, significantly all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in local currency. In Argentina and Peru, our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are dominated in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars. Our foreign currency denominated revenues and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at average exchange rates for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements.    

For the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately 18.6% of our total cash site leasing revenue was generated by our international operations, of which 13.6% was generated in non-U.S. dollar currencies, including 12.7% which was denominated in Brazilian Reais. The exchange rates between our foreign currencies and the U.S. Dollar have fluctuated significantly in recent years and may continue to do so in the future.  For example, the Brazilian Real has historically been subject to substantial volatility and strengthened 8.7% when comparing the average rate for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.  This trend has affected, and may in the future continue to affect, our reported results of operations.

Changes in exchange rates between these local currencies and the U.S. dollar will affect the recorded levels of site leasing revenue, segment operating profit, assets and/or liabilities. Volatility in foreign currency exchange rates can also affect our ability to plan, forecast and budget for our international operations and expansion efforts. 

Furthermore, we have intercompany loan agreements which permit one of our Brazilian entities to borrow amounts up to $1,250 million. As of December 31, 2017, the aggregate outstanding balance under these agreements was $560.9 million. In accordance with

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ASC 830, we remeasure foreign denominated intercompany loans with the corresponding change in the balance being recorded in Other income (expense), net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations as settlement is anticipated or planned in the foreseeable future. Consequently, if the U.S. Dollar strengthens against the Brazilian Real, our results of operations would be adversely affected. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we recorded  a $8.8 million loss and a $90.0 million gain, respectively, on the remeasurement of the intercompany loan due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

We may not be able to fully recognize the anticipated benefits of towers that we acquire.

A key element of our growth strategy is to increase our tower portfolio through acquisitions.  We rely on our due diligence of the towers and the representations and financial records of the sellers and other third parties to establish the anticipated revenues and expenses and whether the acquired towers will meet our internal guidelines for current and future potential returns. In addition, we may not always have the ability to analyze and verify all information regarding title, access and other issues regarding the land underlying acquired towers.  This is particularly true in our international acquisitions of towers from wireless service providers. To the extent that these towers were acquired in individually material transactions, we may be required to place enhanced reliance on the financial and operational representations and warranties of the sellers. If (i) these records are not complete or accurate, (ii) we do not have complete access to, or use of, the land underlying the acquired towers or (iii) the towers do not achieve the financial results anticipated, it could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

In addition, acquisitions which would be material in the aggregate may exacerbate the risks inherent with our growth strategy, such as (i) an adverse impact on our overall profitability if the acquired towers do not achieve the projected financial results, (ii) unanticipated costs associated with the acquisitions that may impact our results of operations for a period, (iii) increased demands on our cash resources that may, among other things, impact our ability to explore other opportunities, (iv) undisclosed and assumed liabilities that we may be unable to recover, (v) increased vulnerability to general economic conditions, (vi) an adverse impact on our existing customer relationships, (vii) additional expenses and exposure to new regulatory, political and economic risks if such acquisitions were in new jurisdictions and (viii) diversion of managerial attention.

The process of integrating any acquired towers into our operations may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and large expenditures and may absorb significant management attention that would otherwise be available for the ongoing development of our business. It may also result in the loss of key customers and/or personnel and expose us to unanticipated liabilities. These risks may be exacerbated in those circumstances in which we acquire a material number of towers. Further, we may not be able to retain the key employees that may be necessary to operate the business we acquire, and we may not be able to timely attract new skilled employees and management to replace them. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in integrating acquisitions into our existing business. This is particularly true in our international acquisitions of towers from wireless service providers.

 Delays or changes in the deployment or adoption of new technologies or slowing consumer adoption rates may have a material adverse effect on our growth rate.

There can be no assurances that 3G, 4G, including long-term evolution (“LTE”), advanced wireless service in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands (the “AWS-3” bands), or other new wireless technologies such as 5G will be deployed or adopted as rapidly as projected or that these new technologies will be implemented in the manner anticipated. The deployment of 3G in the United States experienced delays from the original projected timelines of the wireless and broadcast industries, and continued deployment of 4G could experience delays. Additionally, the demand by consumers and the adoption rate of consumers for these new technologies once deployed may be lower or slower than anticipated, particularly in certain of our international markets. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our growth rate since growth opportunities and demand for our tower space as a result of such new technologies may not be realized at the times or to the extent anticipated.

The documents governing our indebtedness contain restrictive covenants that could adversely affect our business by limiting our flexibility.

The indentures governing the 2014 Senior Notes, the 2016 Senior Notes,  and the 2017 Senior Notes,  the Senior Credit Agreement, and the mortgage loan underlying the Tower Securities contain restrictive covenants imposing significant operational and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions that may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests. Among other things, the covenants under each instrument limit our ability to:

•merge, consolidate or sell assets;

•make restricted payments, including pay dividends or make other distributions;

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•enter into transactions with affiliates;

•enter into sale and leaseback transactions; and

•issue guarantees of indebtedness.

We are required to maintain certain financial ratios under the Senior Credit Agreement. The Senior Credit Agreement, as amended, requires SBA Senior Finance II to maintain specific financial ratios, including (1) a ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Annualized Borrower EBITDA not to exceed 6.5 times for any fiscal quarter, (2) a ratio of Consolidated Total Debt and Net Hedge Exposure (calculated in accordance with the Senior Credit Agreement) to Annualized Borrower EBITDA for the most recently ended fiscal quarter not to exceed 6.5 times for 30 consecutive days and (3) a ratio of Annualized Borrower EBITDA to Annualized Cash Interest Expense (calculated in accordance with the Senior Credit Agreement) of not less than 2.0 times for any fiscal quarter.

Additionally, the mortgage loan relating to our Tower Securities contains financial covenants that require that the borrowers maintain, on a consolidated basis, a minimum debt service coverage ratio. To the extent that the debt service coverage ratio, as of the end of any calendar quarter, falls to 1.30 times or lower, then all cash flow in excess of amounts required to make debt service payments, to fund required reserves, to pay management fees and budgeted operating expenses and to make other payments required under the loan documents, referred to as “excess cash flow,” will be deposited into a reserve account instead of being released to the borrowers. The funds in the reserve account will not be released to the borrowers unless the debt service coverage ratio exceeds 1.30 times for two consecutive calendar quarters. If the debt service coverage ratio falls below 1.15 times as of the end of any calendar quarter, then an “amortization period” will commence and all funds on deposit in the reserve account will be applied to prepay the mortgage loan until such time that the debt service coverage ratio exceeds 1.15 times for a calendar quarter. 

These covenants could place us at a disadvantage compared to some of our competitors which may have fewer restrictive covenants and may not be required to operate under these restrictions. Further, these covenants could have an adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, new tower development, merger and acquisitions or other opportunities. If we fail to comply with these covenants, it could result in an event of default under our debt instruments. If any default occurs, all amounts outstanding under our outstanding notes and the Senior Credit Agreement may become immediately due and payable.

Our dependence on our subsidiaries for cash flow may negatively affect our business.

We are a holding company with no business operations of our own. Our only significant assets are, and are expected to be, the outstanding capital stock and membership interests of our subsidiaries. We conduct, and expect to continue conducting, all of our business operations through our subsidiaries. Accordingly, our ability to pay our obligations is dependent upon dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries to us. Most of our indebtedness is owed directly by our subsidiaries, including the mortgage loan underlying the Tower Securities, the Term Loans and any amounts that we may borrow under the Revolving Credit Facility. Consequently, the first use of any cash flow from operations generated by such subsidiaries will be payments of interest and principal, if any, under their respective indebtedness. Other than the cash required to repay amounts due under our 2014 Senior Notes, 2016 Senior Notes, and 2017 Senior Notes and funds to be utilized for stock repurchases, we currently expect that substantially all the earnings and cash flow of our subsidiaries will be retained and used by them in their operations, including servicing their respective debt obligations. The ability of our operating subsidiaries to pay dividends or transfer assets to us is restricted by applicable state law and contractual restrictions, including the terms of their outstanding debt instruments.

Our quarterly operating results for our site development services fluctuate and therefore we may not be able to adjust our cost structure on a timely basis with regard to such fluctuations.

The demand for our site development services fluctuates from quarter to quarter and should not be considered indicative of long-term results. Numerous factors cause these fluctuations, including:

•the timing and amount of our customers’ capital expenditures;

•the size and scope of our projects;

•the business practices of customers, such as deferring commitments on new projects until after the end of the calendar year or the customers’ fiscal year;

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•delays relating to a project or tenant installation of equipment;

•seasonal factors, such as weather, holidays and vacation days and total business days in a quarter;

•the use of third party providers by our customers;

•the rate and volume of wireless service providers’ network development; and

•general economic conditions.

Although the demand for our site development services fluctuates, we incur significant fixed costs, such as maintaining a staff and office space, in anticipation of future contracts. In addition, the timing of revenues is difficult to forecast because our sales cycle may be relatively long. Therefore, we may not be able to adjust our cost structure on a timely basis to respond to the fluctuations in demand for our site development services.

The loss of the services of certain of our key personnel or a significant number of our employees may negatively affect our business.

Our success depends to a significant extent upon performance and active participation of our key personnel. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in retaining the services of these key personnel. We have employment agreements with Jeffrey A. Stoops, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Kurt L. Bagwell, our Executive Vice President and President—International, Thomas P. Hunt, our Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, and Brendan T. Cavanagh, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. We do not have employment agreements with any of our other key personnel. If we were to lose any key personnel, we may not be able to find an appropriate replacement on a timely basis and our results of operations could be negatively affected. Further, the loss of a significant number of employees or our inability to hire a sufficient number of qualified employees could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our business is subject to government regulations and changes in current or future regulations could harm our business.

We are subject to federal, state and local regulation of our business, both in the U.S. and internationally. In the U.S., both the FAA and the FCC regulate the construction, modification, and maintenance of towers and structures that support antennas used for wireless communications and radio and television broadcasts. In addition, the FCC separately licenses and regulates wireless communications equipment and television and radio stations operating from such towers. FAA and FCC regulations govern construction, lighting, painting, and marking of towers and may, depending on the characteristics of the tower, require registration of the tower. Certain proposals to construct new towers or to modify existing towers are reviewed by the FAA to ensure that the tower will not present a hazard to air navigation.

Tower owners may have an obligation to mark or paint such towers or install lighting to conform to FAA and FCC regulations and to maintain such marking, painting and lighting. Tower owners may also bear the responsibility of notifying the FAA of any lighting outages. Certain proposals to operate wireless communications and radio or television stations from towers are also reviewed by the FCC to ensure compliance with environmental impact requirements established in federal statutes, including NEPA, NHPA and ESA. Failure to comply with existing or future applicable requirements may lead to civil penalties or other liabilities and may subject us to significant indemnification liability to our customers against any such failure to comply. In addition, new regulations may impose additional costly burdens on us, which may affect our revenues and cause delays in our growth. Local regulations, including municipal or local ordinances, zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants imposed by community developers, vary greatly, but typically require tower owners to obtain approval from local officials or community standards organizations prior to tower construction or modification. Local regulations can delay, prevent, or increase the cost of new construction, co-locations, or site upgrades, thereby limiting our ability to respond to customer demand. In addition, new regulations may be adopted that increase delays or result in additional costs to us. In our international operations, the impact of these zoning, permitting and related regulations and restrictive covenants on our new builds, co-locations and operations could be exacerbated as some of these markets may lack established permitting processes for towers, have inconsistencies between national and local regulations and have other barriers to timely construction and permitting of towers.  As a result, tower construction in some of our international markets may be delayed or halted or our acquired towers may not perform as anticipated. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our future growth and operations.

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Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.

As part of our day-to-day operations, we rely on information technology and other computer resources and infrastructure to carry out important business activities and to maintain our business records. Our computer systems, or those of our cloud or Internet-based providers, could fail on their own accord and are subject to interruption or damage from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches (including through cyber-attack and data theft), errors, catastrophic events such as natural disasters and other events beyond our control. If our or our vendors’ computer systems and backup systems are compromised, degraded, damaged, or breached, or otherwise cease to function properly, we could suffer interruptions in our operations or unintentionally allow misappropriation of proprietary or confidential information (including information about our tenants or landlords). This could damage our reputation and disrupt our operations and the services we provide to customers, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our towers are subject to damage from natural disasters and other unforeseen events. 

Our towers are subject to risks associated with natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes or may collapse for any number of reasons, including structural deficiencies. We maintain insurance to cover the estimated cost of replacing damaged towers, but these insurance policies are subject to loss limits and deductibles. We also maintain third party liability insurance, subject to loss limits and deductibles, to protect us in the event of an accident involving a tower. A tower accident for which we are uninsured or underinsured, or damage to a significant number of our towers, could require us to incur significant expenditures and may have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial condition and may harm our reputation.  

To the extent that we are not able to meet our contractual obligations to our customers, due to a natural disaster or other catastrophic circumstances, our customers may not be obligated or willing to pay their lease expenses; however, we may be required to continue paying our fixed expenses related to the affected tower, including ground lease expenses. If we are unable to meet our contractual obligations to our customers for a material portion of our towers, our operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We could have liability under environmental laws that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations, like those of other companies engaged in similar businesses, are subject to the requirements of various federal, state, local and foreign environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations, including those relating to the management, use, storage, disposal, emission and remediation of, and exposure to, hazardous and non-hazardous substances, materials, and wastes. As owner, lessee, or operator of numerous tower structures, we may be liable for substantial costs of remediating soil and groundwater contaminated by hazardous materials without regard to whether we, as the owner, lessee, or operator, knew of or were responsible for the contamination. We may be subject to potentially significant fines or penalties if we fail to comply with any of these requirements. The current cost of complying with these laws is not material to our financial condition or results of operations. However, the requirements of these laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, and could become more stringent in the future. It is possible that these requirements will change or that liabilities will arise in the future in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could suffer adverse tax and other financial consequences if taxing authorities do not agree with our tax positions.

We are periodically subject to a number of tax examinations by taxing authorities in the states and countries where we do business. We also have significant net operating losses (“NOLs”) in U.S. federal and state taxing jurisdictions. Generally, for U.S. federal and state tax purposes, NOLs generated prior to the 2018 tax year can be carried forward and used for up to twenty years, and all of our tax years will remain subject to examination until three years after our NOLs are used or expire. NOLs generated starting in the 2018 tax year can be carried forward indefinitely but are subject to the 80% utilization limitation. We expect that we will continue to be subject to tax examinations in the future. In addition, U.S. federal, state and local, as well as international, tax laws and regulations are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. If our tax benefits, including from our use of NOLs or other tax attributes, are challenged successfully by a taxing authority, we may be required to pay additional taxes or penalties, or make additional distributions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Our issuance of equity securities and other associated transactions may trigger a future ownership change which may negatively impact our ability to utilize NOLs in the future.

The issuance of equity securities and other associated transactions may increase the chance that we will have a future ownership change under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. We may also have a future ownership change, outside of our control, caused by future equity transactions by our current shareholders. Depending on our market value at the time of such future ownership change, an ownership change under Section 382 could negatively impact our ability to utilize our NOLs and could result in us having to make additional cash distributions.

Our costs could increase and our revenues could decrease due to perceived health risks from RF energy.

The U.S. government imposes requirements and other guidelines relating to exposure to RF energy. Exposure to high levels of RF energy can cause negative health effects. The potential connection between exposure to low levels of RF energy and certain negative health effects, including some forms of cancer, has been the subject of substantial study by the scientific community in recent years. According to the FCC, the results of these studies to date have been inconclusive. However, public perception of possible health risks associated with cellular and other wireless communications media could slow the growth of wireless companies, which could in turn slow our growth. In particular, negative public perception of, and regulations regarding, health risks could cause a decrease in the demand for wireless communications services. Moreover, if a connection between exposure to low levels of RF energy and possible negative health effects, including cancer, were demonstrated, we could be subject to numerous claims. Our current policies provide no coverage for claims based on RF energy exposure. If we were subject to claims relating to exposure to RF energy, even if such claims were not ultimately found to have merit, our financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

The recently adopted US tax legislation may result in additional tax liabilities that may affect our future results and profitability.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”), that significantly revises the U.S. tax code by, among other things, lowering the corporate income tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat 21%, imposing a mandatory one-time deemed repatriation of foreign earnings (commonly referred to as the “transition tax”), limiting deductibility of interest expense and certain executive compensation and implementing a territorial tax system.

The SEC staff acknowledged the challenges companies face incorporating the effects of the Tax Act by their financial reporting deadlines. In response, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) was issued on December 22, 2017, regarding application of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 740, Income Taxes (“ASC Topic 740”), specifically to the Tax Act.  SAB 118 addresses the application of US GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed in reasonable detail to complete accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act.

The Tax Act impacted our consolidated results of operations during the fourth quarter and may impact our consolidated results of operations in future periods.  In particular, the transition tax resulted in a one-time income inclusion of $52.4 million related to previously unremitted earnings of certain non-U.S. subsidiaries, which we will elect to include in income over the next eight tax years. The inclusion will be offset by our existing NOLs to the extent possible during the eight-year recognition period. In addition, we recorded a one-time reduction to our deferred tax asset and offsetting valuation allowance in the amount of $31.5 million; $19.2 million related to the reduction of the U.S. corporate tax rate and $12.3 million related to the new limitations on the deductibility of executive compensation.  These amounts represent our provisional estimate of the relevant charges, but will be subject to adjustment as we finalize the relevant computations and as additional IRS rules and guidance on the Tax Act provisions are adopted. Since the Tax Act was passed late in the fourth quarter of 2017, and ongoing guidance and accounting interpretation are expected over the next 12 months, we consider the accounting of the Transition Tax, GILTI, Section 162(m) adjustment, state taxes, and other items to be incomplete due to the forthcoming guidance and our ongoing analysis of final year-end data and tax positions. We expect to complete our analysis within the measurement period in accordance with SAB 118.  Any material revisions in our computations could adversely affect our results of operations in future periods. 

In addition, many of the provisions of the Tax Act will require guidance through the issuance of Treasury regulations in order to assess their effect. There may be a substantial delay before such regulations are promulgated, increasing the uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the statutory amendments on us. Future regulatory or administrative guidance may also have an adverse impact on us or our shareholders.

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Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT



Complying with the REIT requirements may cause us to liquidate assets or hinder our ability to pursue otherwise attractive asset acquisition opportunities.



To qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the nature and diversification of our assets, the sources of our income and the amounts we distribute to our shareholders. For example, to qualify as a REIT, we must ensure that, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and “real estate assets” (as defined in the Code), including towers and certain mortgage loans and securities. The remainder of our investments (other than government securities, qualified real estate assets and securities issued by a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our total assets (other than government securities, qualified real estate assets and securities issued by a TRS) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% (for taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2017) or 20% (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the value of our total assets can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate assets.



In addition to the asset tests set forth above, to qualify and be subject to tax as a REIT, we will generally be required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income after the utilization of any available NOLs (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain) each year to our shareholders. Our determination as to the timing or amount of future dividends will be based on a number of factors, including investment opportunities around our core business and the availability of our existing NOLs. To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income (after the application of available NOLs, if any), we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our shareholders for a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under the Code. These distribution requirements could hinder our ability to pursue otherwise attractive asset acquisition opportunities. Furthermore, our ability to compete for acquisition opportunities in domestic and international markets may be adversely affected if we need, or require, the target company to comply with certain REIT requirements. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income, amounts available for distribution to our shareholders and amounts available for making payments on our indebtedness.



Qualifying as a REIT involves highly technical and complex provisions of the Code. If we fail to qualify as a REIT or fail to remain qualified as a REIT, to the extent we have REIT taxable income and have utilized our NOLs, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax as a regular corporation and could face a substantial tax liability, which would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders.



Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which only limited judicial and administrative authorities exist. Even a technical or inadvertent violation could jeopardize our REIT qualification. Our qualification as a REIT will depend on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, shareholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis.



We received an opinion of our special REIT tax counsel with respect to our qualification as a REIT. Investors should be aware, however, that opinions of counsel are not binding on the IRS or any court. The opinion represents only the view of such counsel based on its review and analysis of existing law and on certain representations as to factual matters and covenants made by us, including representations relating to the values of our assets and the sources of our income. The opinion is expressed as of the date issued. Our qualification as a REIT will depend on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, shareholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals.



If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, to the extent we have REIT taxable income and have utilized our NOLs, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and dividends paid to our shareholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Any resulting corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders, which in turn could have an adverse impact on the value of our common stock. Unless we were entitled to relief under certain provisions of the Code, we also would be disqualified from re-electing to be taxed as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which we failed to qualify as a REIT. If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may need to borrow additional funds or liquidate assets to pay any additional tax liability. Accordingly, funds available for investment and making payments on our indebtedness would be reduced.

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We may be required to borrow funds, sell assets, or raise equity to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements.



From time to time, we may generate REIT taxable income greater than our cash flow as a result of differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash or the effect of nondeductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt or amortization payments. If we do not have other funds available in these situations, we may need to borrow funds, sell assets or raise equity, even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings, sales or offerings, to enable us to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and to avoid U.S. federal corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could increase our costs and our leverage, decrease our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share or require us to distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions or stock repurchases.



Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to grow, which could adversely affect the value of our common stock. Furthermore, compliance with the REIT distribution requirements may increase the financing we need to fund capital expenditures, future growth, or expansion initiatives, which would increase our total leverage. 



Covenants specified in our current and future debt instruments may limit our ability to make required REIT distributions.



The Senior Credit Agreement, the mortgage loan agreement related to our securitization transactions and the indentures governing our 2014 Senior Notes,  2016 Senior Notes, and 2017 Senior Notes contain certain covenants that could limit our ability to make distributions to our shareholders. Under the Senior Credit Agreement, our subsidiaries may make distributions to us to satisfy our REIT distribution requirements and additional amounts to distribute up to 100% of our REIT taxable income, so long as SBA Senior Finance II’s ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Annualized Borrower EBITDA does not exceed 6.5 times for any fiscal quarter. In addition, under the mortgage loan agreement related to our securitization transactions, or Securitization, a failure to comply with the Debt Service Coverage Ratio in that agreement could prevent our borrower subsidiaries from distributing any excess cash from the operation of their towers to us. Finally, while the indentures governing the 2014 Senior Notes,  2016 Senior Notes, and 2017 Senior Notes permit us to make distributions to our shareholders to the extent such distributions are necessary to maintain our status as a REIT or to avoid entity level taxation, this authority is subject to the conditions that no default or event of default exists or would result therefrom and that the obligations under the 2014 Senior Notes,  2016 Senior Notes, or 2017 Senior Notes, as applicable, have not otherwise been accelerated.



If these limits prevent us from satisfying our REIT distribution requirements, we could fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT. If these limits do not jeopardize our qualification for taxation as a REIT but do nevertheless prevent us from distributing 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax, and potentially the nondeductible 4% excise tax, on the retained amounts.



Our payment of cash distributions in the future is not guaranteed and the amount of any future cash distributions may fluctuate, which could adversely affect the value of our Class A common stock.



REITs are required to distribute annually at least 90% of their REIT taxable income (determined before the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain). As of December 31, 2017,  $956.7  million of the federal NOLs are attributes of the REIT. We may use these NOLs to offset our REIT taxable income, and thus any required distributions to shareholders may be reduced or eliminated until such time as the NOLs have been fully utilized. The Internal Revenue Code places limitations upon the future availability of NOLs based upon changes in our equity. If these occur, our ability to offset future income with existing NOLs may be limited. We currently expect that we will utilize available NOLs to reduce all or a portion of our REIT taxable income and therefore we may not initially make any distributions, which may adversely affect the market value of our Class A common stock.



The amount of future distributions will be determined, from time to time, by the Board of Directors to balance our goal of increasing long-term shareholder value and retaining sufficient cash to implement our current capital allocation policy, which prioritizes investment in quality assets that meet our return criteria, and then stock repurchases, when we believe our stock price is below its intrinsic value. The actual timing and amount of distributions will be as determined and declared by the Board of Directors and will depend on, among other factors, our NOLs, our financial condition, earnings, debt covenants and other possible uses of such funds. Consequently, our future distribution levels may fluctuate.



Certain of our business activities may be subject to corporate level income tax and foreign taxes, which would reduce our cash flows, and would have potential deferred and contingent tax liabilities.



We may be subject to certain federal, state, local and foreign taxes on our income and assets, including alternative minimum taxes, taxes on any undistributed income and state, local or foreign income, franchise, property and transfer taxes. In addition, we could, in certain circumstances, be required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount, in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Code to maintain qualification for taxation as a REIT. In addition, we may incur a 100%

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excise tax on transactions with a TRS if they are not conducted on an arm’s length basis. Any of these taxes would decrease our earnings and our available cash.



Our TRS assets and operations also will continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes and to foreign taxes in the jurisdictions in which those assets and operations are located. If we continue our international expansion, we may have additional TRS assets and operations subject to such taxes. Any of these taxes would decrease our earnings and our available cash. 



We will also be subject to a federal corporate level tax at the highest regular corporate rate (35% in 2017 and 21% as of January 1, 2018) on the gain recognized from a sale of assets occurring during our first five years as a REIT, up to the amount of the built-in gain that existed on January 1, 2016, which is based on the fair market value of those assets in excess of our tax basis in those assets as of January 1, 2016. Gain from a sale of an asset occurring after the specified period ends will not be subject to this corporate level tax. We currently do not expect to sell any asset if the sale would result in the imposition of a material tax liability. We cannot, however, assure you that we will not change our plans in this regard.



Our use of TRSs may cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.



The net income of our TRSs is not required to be distributed to us, and such undistributed TRS income is generally not subject to our REIT distribution requirements. However, if the accumulation of cash or reinvestment of significant earnings in our TRSs causes the fair market value of our securities in those entities, taken together with other non-qualifying assets, to represent more than 25% of the fair market value of our assets, or causes the fair market value of our TRS securities alone to represent more than 25% (for taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2017) or 20% (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the value of our total assets, in each case, as determined for REIT asset testing purposes, we would, absent timely responsive action, fail to qualify as a REIT. If we continue our international expansion, we may have increased net income from TRSs, which may cause us to rise above these thresholds.



Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on us.



The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the Treasury. Changes to the tax laws or interpretations thereof, with or without retroactive application, could materially and adversely affect our investors or us. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect our investors or us. New legislation, U.S. Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT or the U.S. federal income tax consequences to our investors and us of such qualification.



Our Board’s ability to revoke our REIT qualification, without shareholder approval, may cause adverse consequences to our shareholders.



Our articles of incorporation provide that our Board of Directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our shareholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to be a REIT, we will not be allowed a deduction for dividends paid to shareholders, if any, in computing our taxable income, and to the extent we have taxable income and have utilized our NOLs, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates and state and local taxes, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our shareholders.



We have limited experience operating as a REIT, which may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common stock and ability to satisfy debt service obligations.



We have limited experience operating as a REIT, and as a result, we may not be able to operate successfully as a REIT. In addition, we will be required to implement substantial control systems and procedures in order to maintain our status as a REIT. As a result, we may incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we have not previously incurred, which could be significant, and our management and other personnel may need to devote additional time to comply with these rules and regulations and controls required for continued compliance with the Code. These costs and time commitments could be substantially more than we currently expect. Therefore, our historical combined consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of our future costs and performance as a REIT. If our performance is adversely affected, it could affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations.



The historical market price of our Class A common stock prior to our REIT conversion may not be indicative of the market price of our Class A common stock following our REIT conversion.



The historical market price of our Class A common stock prior to our REIT conversion, which commenced with our taxable year ending December 31, 2016, may not be indicative of how the market values our Class A common stock following our REIT

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conversion because of the change in our organization from a taxable C corporation to a REIT. Although we do not currently anticipate commencing distributions until a future date, the stock price of REIT securities have historically been affected by changes in market interest rates as investors evaluate the annual yield from distributions on the entity’s common stock as compared to yields on other financial instruments. In addition, the market price of our Class A common stock may be affected by the economic and market perception of REIT securities as well as general market conditions.



Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.



The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to income from “qualified dividends” payable to U.S. shareholders that are individuals, trusts and estates is currently 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced rates applicable to qualified dividends. Although these rules do not adversely affect the taxation of REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause investors who are individuals, trusts and estates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the stock of REITs, including our common stock.

Risks Related to Ownership of our Class A Common Stock

The REIT-related ownership and transfer restrictions may restrict or prevent our shareholders from engaging in certain transfers of our common stock.

In order for us to satisfy the requirements for REIT qualification, no more than 50% in value of all classes or series of our outstanding shares of stock may be owned, beneficially or constructively, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) at any time during the last half of each taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be subject to tax as a REIT has been made). In addition, our capital stock must be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be taxed as a REIT has been made). Our articles of incorporation contain REIT-related ownership and transfer restrictions that generally restrict shareholders from owning more than 9.8%, by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock, or 9.8% in aggregate value of the outstanding shares of all classes and series of our capital stock. Under applicable constructive ownership rules, any shares of stock owned by certain affiliated owners generally would be added together for purposes of the ownership limits. These ownership and transfer restrictions could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our capital stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our shareholders.

Future sales of our Class A common stock in the public market or the issuance of other equity may cause dilution or adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock and our ability to raise funds in new equity or equity-related offerings.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock or other equity-related securities in the public market, including sales by any selling shareholder, could depress the market price of our Class A common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.

Our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and Florida law provide for anti-takeover provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us.

Provisions of our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and Florida law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our shareholders. These provisions, alone or in combination with each other, may discourage transactions involving actual or potential changes of control, including transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices to holders of our Class A common stock, or could limit the ability of our shareholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We own our headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida where we currently have approximately 160,000 square feet of office space.  We also own or have entered into long-term leases for international and regional locations convenient for the management and operation of our site leasing activities, and in certain site development office locations where we expect our activities to be longer-term. We open and close project offices from time to time in connection with our site development business. We believe our existing facilities are adequate for our current and planned levels of operations and that additional office space suited for our needs is reasonably available in the markets within which we operate.

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Our interests in towers and the land beneath them are comprised of a variety of fee interests, leasehold interests created by long-term lease agreements, perpetual easements, easements, licenses, rights-of-way, and other similar interests. As of December 31, 2017, approximately 70% of our tower structures were located on parcels of land that we own, land subject to perpetual easements, or parcels of land that have an interest that extends beyond 20 years. The average remaining life under our ground leases, including renewal options under our control, is 33 years. In rural areas, support for our towers, equipment shelters, and related equipment requires a tract of land typically up to 10,000 square feet. Less than 2,500 square feet is required for a monopole or self-supporting tower of the kind typically used in metropolitan areas for wireless communications towers. Ground leases are generally for an initial term of five years or more with five or more additional automatic renewal periods of five years, for a total of thirty years or more.

Most of our towers have significant capacity available for additional antennas. We measure the available capacity of our existing facilities to support additional tenants and generate additional lease revenue by assessing several factors, including tower height, tower type, wind loading, environmental conditions, existing equipment on the tower and zoning and permitting regulations in effect in the jurisdiction where the tower is located. As of December 31, 2017, we had an average of 1.7 tenants per tower structure.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are involved in various legal proceedings relating to claims arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

Not Applicable.

 PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market for our Class A Common Stock

Our Class A common stock commenced trading under the symbol “SBAC” on The NASDAQ National Market System on June 16, 1999. We now trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, a segment of the NASDAQ Global Market, formally known as the NASDAQ National Market System.

The following table presents the high and low sales price for our Class A common stock for the periods indicated:



As of February 21, 2018, there were 67 record holders of our Class A common stock.

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Dividends

We have never paid a dividend on any class of common stock.  As a REIT, we are required to distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income after the utilization of any available NOLs (determined before the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain). As of December 31, 2017, $956.7  million of the federal NOLs  are attributes of the REIT. We may use these NOLs to offset our REIT taxable income, and thus any required distributions to shareholders may be reduced or eliminated until such time as our NOLs have been fully utilized. The amount of future distributions will be determined, from time to time, by the board of directors to balance our goal of increasing long-term shareholder value and retaining sufficient cash to implement our current capital allocation policy, which prioritizes investment in quality assets that meet our return criteria, and then stock repurchases when we believe our stock price is below its intrinsic value. The actual amount, timing and frequency of future dividends, will be at the sole discretion of the board of directors and will be declared based upon various factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table presents information related to our repurchases of Class A common stock during the fourth quarter of 2017:



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 ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA



The following table sets forth selected historical financial data as of and for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2017. The financial data for the fiscal years ended 2017,  2016,  2015,  2014, and 2013 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. You should read the information set forth below in conjunction with our “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K.



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 ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the information contained in our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. The following discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A. Risk Factors. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed below. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 1A. Risk Factors.

We are a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, including tower structures, rooftops and other structures that support antennas used for wireless communications, which we collectively refer to as “towers” or “sites.” Our principal operations are in the United States and its territories. In addition, we own and operate towers in South America, Central America, and Canada. Our primary business line is our site leasing business, which contributed 98.7% of our total segment operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2017. In our site leasing business, we (1) lease antenna space to wireless service providers on towers that we own or operate and (2) manage rooftop and tower sites for property owners under various contractual arrangements. As of December 31, 2017, we owned 27,909 towers, a substantial portion of which have been built by us or built by other tower owners or operators who, like us, have built such towers to lease space to multiple wireless service providers. We also managed or leased approximately 9,000 actual or potential towers, approximately 500 of which were revenue producing as of December 31, 2017. Our other business line is our site development business, through which we assist wireless service providers in developing and maintaining their own wireless service networks.

Site Leasing Services

Our primary focus is the leasing of antenna space on our multi-tenant towers to a variety of wireless service providers under long-term lease contracts in the United States, Canada, Central America, and South America. As of December 31, 2017, (1) no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total tower portfolio by tower count, and (2) no U.S. state or territory accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition, as of December 31, 2017, approximately 30.1% of our total towers are located in Brazil and less than 3% of our total towers are located in any of our other international markets (each country is considered a market). We derive  site leasing revenues primarily from wireless service provider tenants, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Oi S.A., Telefonica, Claro, and TIM. Wireless service providers enter into tenant leases with us, each of which relates to the lease or use of space at an individual site. In the United States and Canada, our tenant leases are generally for an initial term of five to ten years with five 5-year renewal periods at the option of the tenant. These tenant leases typically contain specific rent escalators, which average 3-4% per year, including the renewal option periods. Tenant leases in our Central American and South American markets typically have an initial term of ten years with multiple five year renewal periods. In Central America, we have similar rent escalators to that of leases in the United States and Canada while our leases in South America escalate in accordance with a standard cost of living index. Site leases in South America typically provide for a fixed rental amount and a pass through charge for the underlying ground lease rent.

In our Central American markets and Ecuador, significantly all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures arising from our new build activities are denominated in U.S. dollars. Specifically, most of our ground leases, tenant leases, and tower-related expenses are due and paid in U.S. dollars. In our Central American markets, our local currency obligations are principally limited to (1) permitting and other local fees, (2) utilities, and (3) taxes. In Brazil,  Canada,  Chile, and Colombia, significantly all of our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in local currency. In Argentina and Peru, our revenue, expenses, and capital expenditures, including tenant leases, ground leases, and other tower-related expenses are denominated in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars.

Cost of site leasing revenue primarily consists of:

•Rental payments on ground leases and other underlying property interests;

•Straight-line rent adjustment for the difference between rental payments made and the expense recorded as if the payments had been made evenly throughout the lease term (which may include renewal terms) of the underlying property interests;

•Property taxes;

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•Site maintenance and monitoring costs (exclusive of employee related costs);

•Utilities;

•Property insurance; and

•Deferred lease origination cost amortization.

Ground leases are generally for an initial term of five years or more with multiple renewal terms of five year periods at our option and provide for rent escalators which typically average 2-3% annually, or in our South American markets, adjust in accordance with a standard cost of living index. As of December 31, 2017, approximately 70% of our tower structures were located on parcels of land that we own, land subject to perpetual easements, or parcels of land in which we have a leasehold interest that extends beyond 20 years. For any given tower, costs are relatively fixed over a monthly or an annual time period. As such, operating costs for owned towers do not generally increase as a result of adding additional customers to the tower. The amount of property taxes varies from site to site depending on the taxing jurisdiction and the height and age of the tower. The ongoing maintenance requirements are typically minimal and include replacing lighting systems, painting a tower, or upgrading or repairing an access road or fencing.

As indicated in the table below, our site leasing business generates substantially all of our total segment operating profit. For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 18 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.

 





We believe that the site leasing business continues to be attractive due to its long-term contracts, built-in rent escalators, high operating margins, and low customer churn (which refers to when a customer does not renew its lease or cancels its lease prior to the end of its term) other than in connection with customer consolidation or cessation of a particular technology.  We believe that over the long-term, site leasing revenues will continue to grow as wireless service providers lease additional antenna space on our towers due to increasing minutes of network use and data transfer, network expansion and network coverage requirements. During 2018, we expect organic site leasing revenue in both our domestic and international segments to increase over 2017 levels due in part to wireless carriers deploying unused spectrum and spectrum acquired during auctions completed in 2017. We believe our site leasing business is characterized by stable and long-term recurring revenues, predictable operating costs and minimal non-discretionary capital expenditures. Due to the relatively young age and mix of our tower portfolio, we expect future expenditures required to maintain these towers to be minimal. Consequently, we expect to grow our cash flows by (1) adding tenants to our towers at minimal incremental costs by using existing tower capacity or requiring wireless service providers to bear all or a portion of the cost of tower modifications and (2) executing monetary amendments as wireless service providers add or upgrade their equipment. Furthermore, because our towers are strategically positioned and our customers typically do not relocate, we have historically experienced low tenant lease terminations as a percentage of revenue other than in connection with customer consolidation or cessations of a specific technology (e.g. iDEN, MetroPCS, Clearwire, and Cricket).  

Site Development Services

Our site development business, which is conducted in the United States only, is complementary to our site leasing business and provides us the ability to keep in close contact with the wireless service providers who generate substantially all of our site leasing revenue and to capture ancillary revenues that are generated by our site leasing activities, such as antenna and equipment installation at our tower locations. Site development services revenues are earned primarily from providing a full range of end to end services to wireless service providers or companies providing development or project management services to wireless service providers. Our services include: (1) network pre-design; (2) site audits; (3) identification of potential locations for towers and antennas on existing infrastructure; (4) support in leasing of the location; (5) assistance in obtaining zoning approvals and permits; (6) tower and related site construction; (7) antenna installation; and (8) radio equipment installation, commissioning, and maintenance. We provide site development services at our towers and at towers owned by others on a local basis, through regional, market, and project offices. The market offices are responsible for all site development operations. 

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For information regarding our operating segments, see Note 18 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report.

Capital Allocation Strategy

Our capital allocation strategy is to prioritize investment in quality assets that meet our return criteria and then stock repurchases when we believe our stock price is below its intrinsic value. A primary goal of our capital allocation strategy is to increase our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share. To achieve this, we expect we would continue to deploy capital between portfolio growth and stock repurchases, subject to compliance with REIT distribution requirements, available funds and market conditions, while maintaining our target leverage levels. Key elements of our capital allocation strategy include:

Portfolio Growth.  We intend to continue to grow our tower portfolio, domestically and internationally, through tower acquisitions and the construction of new towers.

Stock Repurchase Program.  We currently utilize stock repurchases as part of our capital allocation policy when we believe our share price is below intrinsic value. We believe that share repurchases, when purchased at the right price, will facilitate our goal of increasing our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We have identified the policies and significant estimation processes below as critical to our business operations and the understanding of our results of operations. The listing is not intended to be a comprehensive list. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, with no need for management’s judgment in their application. In other cases, management is required to exercise judgment in the application of accounting principles with respect to particular transactions. The impact and any associated risks related to these policies on our business operations is discussed throughout “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” where such policies affect reported and expected financial results. For a detailed discussion on the application of these and other accounting policies, see Note 2 of our Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2017, included herein. Our preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ from those estimates and such differences could be significant.

Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable

Revenue from site leasing is recorded monthly and recognized on a straight-line basis over the current term of the related lease agreements, which are generally five to ten years. Receivables recorded related to the straight-lining of site leases are reflected in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Rental amounts received in advance are recorded as deferred revenue on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Site development projects in which we perform consulting services include contracts on a time and materials basis or a fixed price basis. Time and materials based contracts are billed at contractual rates and revenue is recognized as the services are rendered. For those site development contracts in which we perform work on a fixed price basis, site development billing (and revenue recognition) is based on the completion of agreed upon phases of the project on a per site basis. Upon the completion of each phase on a per site basis, we recognize the revenue related to that phase. Site development projects generally take from 3 to 12 months to complete. Amounts billed in advance (collected or uncollected) are recorded as deferred revenue on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Revenue from construction projects is recognized on the percentage-of-completion method of accounting, determined by the percentage of cost incurred to date compared to management’s estimated total cost for each contract. This method is used because management considers total cost to be the best available measure of progress on the contracts. These amounts are based on estimates, and the uncertainty inherent in the estimates initially is reduced as work on the contracts nears completion. The asset “costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts” represents costs incurred and revenues recognized in excess of amounts billed. The liability “billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts,” included within other current liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, represents billings in excess of costs incurred and revenues recognized. Provisions for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts are made in the period in which such losses are determined to be probable.

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We perform periodic credit evaluations of our customers. We monitor collections and payments from our customers and maintain a provision for estimated credit losses based upon historical experience, specific customer collection issues identified, and past due balances as determined based on contractual terms. Interest is charged on outstanding receivables from customers on a case by case basis in accordance with the terms of the respective contracts or agreements with those customers. Amounts determined to be uncollectible are written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts in the period in which uncollectibility is determined to be probable.

Asset Impairment

We evaluate individual long-lived and related assets with finite lives for indicators of impairment to determine when an impairment analysis should be performed. We evaluate our tower assets and current contract intangibles at the tower level, which is the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows exists. We evaluate our network location intangibles for impairment at the tower leasing business level whenever indicators of impairment are present. We have established a policy to at least annually evaluate our tower assets and current contract intangibles for impairment.

We record an impairment charge when we believe an investment in towers or related assets has been impaired, such that future undiscounted cash flows would not recover the then current carrying value of the investment in the tower and related intangible. If the future undiscounted cash flows are lower than the carrying value of the investment in the tower and related intangible, we calculate future discounted cash flows and compare those amounts to the carrying value. We record an impairment charge for any amounts lower than the carrying value. Estimates and assumptions inherent in the impairment evaluation include, but are not limited to, general market and economic conditions, historical operating results, geographic location, lease-up potential, and expected timing of lease-up. In addition, we make certain assumptions in determining an asset’s fair value for the purpose of calculating the amount of an impairment charge.

Acquisitions



In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Clarifying the Definition of a Business. ASU 2017-01 provides revised guidance to determine when an acquisition meets the definition of a business or when the acquisition should be accounted for as an asset acquisition. We adopted this standard effective January 1, 2017 and all changes will be accounted for prospectively. The adoption of ASU 2017-01 did not have a material impact on our unaudited consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.



Under the new standard, our acquisitions will generally qualify for asset acquisition treatment under ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment, rather than business combination treatment under ASC 805 Business Combinations. For acquisitions which qualify as asset acquisitions, the aggregate purchase price is allocated on a relative fair value basis to towers and related intangible assets. For asset acquisitions, external, direct transaction costs will be capitalized as a component of the cost of the asset acquired. We will continue to expense internal acquisition costs as incurred.



We account for business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. The assets and liabilities acquired are recorded at fair market value at the date of each acquisition and the results of operations of the acquired assets are included with those from the dates of the respective acquisitions. We continue to evaluate all acquisitions for a period not to exceed one year after the applicable closing date of each transaction to determine whether any additional adjustments are needed to the allocation of the purchase price paid for the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as a result of information available at the acquisition date.

 

The fair values of net assets acquired are based on management’s estimates and assumptions, as well as other information compiled by management, including valuations that utilize customary valuation procedures and techniques. The fair value estimates are based on available historical information and on future expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by management at the time. If the actual results differ from the estimates and judgments used in these fair values, the amounts recorded in the consolidated financial statements could be subject to a possible impairment of the intangible assets, or require acceleration of the amortization expense of intangible assets in subsequent periods.

 

The intangible assets represent the value associated with the current leases at the acquisition date (“Current contract intangibles”) and future tenant leases anticipated to be added to the towers (“Network location intangibles”) and were calculated using the discounted values of the current or future expected cash flows. The intangible assets are estimated to have a useful life consistent with the useful life of the related tower assets, which is typically 15 years.



In connection with certain acquisitions, we may agree to pay contingent consideration (or earnouts) in cash or stock if the communication sites or businesses that are acquired meet or exceed certain performance targets over a period of one to three years after they have been acquired. Contingent consideration in connection with asset acquisitions will be recognized at the time when the contingency is resolved or becomes payable and will increase the cost basis of the assets acquired. We accrue for contingent

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consideration in connection with business combinations at fair value as of the date of the acquisition. All subsequent changes in fair value of contingent consideration payable in cash are recorded through Consolidated Statements of Operations.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This report presents our financial results and other financial metrics after eliminating the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.  We believe that providing these financial results and metrics on a constant currency basis, which are non-GAAP measures, gives management and investors the ability to evaluate the performance of our business without the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.  We eliminate the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates by dividing the current period’s financial results by the average monthly exchange rates of the prior year period, as well as by eliminating the impact of the remeasurement of our intercompany loans.

Year Ended 2017 Compared to Year Ended 2016

Revenues and Segment Operating Profit:



Revenues

Domestic site leasing revenues increased  $34.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, due largely to (i) revenues from 438 towers acquired and 97 towers built since January 1, 2016 and (ii) organic site leasing growth, primarily from monetary lease amendments for additional equipment added to our towers as well as new leases and contractual rent escalators, partially offset by lease non-renewals primarily by MetroPCS, Clearwire, and Cricket.

International site leasing revenues increased  $50.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing revenues increased  $33.2 million. These changes were primarily due to (i) revenues from 1,518 towers acquired and 739 towers built since January 1, 2016, (ii) organic site leasing growth from new leases and contractual escalators, and (iii) an increase in reimbursable pass-through expenses. Site leasing revenue in Brazil represented 13.4% of total site leasing revenue for the period.  No other individual international market represented more than 3% of our total site leasing revenue.

Site development revenues increased  $9.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to prior year, as a result of increased  carrier activity.

Operating Profit

Domestic site leasing segment operating profit increased  $34.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to additional profit generated by (i) towers acquired and built since January 1, 2016 and organic site

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leasing growth as noted above, (ii) continued control of our site leasing cost of revenue, and (iii) the positive impact of our ground lease purchase program.

International site leasing segment operating profit increased  $33.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing segment operating profit increased  $21.8 million. These changes were primarily due to towers acquired and built since January 1, 2016 and organic site leasing growth as noted above, partially offset by increases in ground rent and repairs and maintenance costs.

Site development segment operating profit increased  $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to an increase in revenue from increased carrier activity partially offset by lower margins due to the type of work performed.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses:





Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased  $12.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased  $13.7 million. These changes were primarily as a result of decreases in the provision for doubtful accounts, which included the $16.5 million Oi reserve recorded in the second quarter of 2016, and REIT conversion expenses, partially offset by increases in non-cash compensation, personnel, salaries, benefits, and other support costs.

Acquisition Related Adjustments and Expenses:





Acquisition related adjustments and expenses  decreased  $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,  as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, acquisition related adjustments and expenses decreased  $1.0 million. These changes were primarily as a result of changes in our estimated pre-acquisition contingencies as compared to the prior year period and a reduction in third party acquisition costs expensed in the current year as compared to the prior year.

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Asset Impairment and Decommission Costs:





Asset impairment and decommission costs increased  $6.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the prior year.  On a constant currency basis, asset impairment and decommission costs increased  $6.1 million. These changes were primarily as a result of a  $8.9 million gain on the sale of fiber assets recorded in the prior year period, partially offset by a $2.3 million decrease in write-off and disposal costs related to our former corporate headquarters building.

Depreciation, Accretion, and Amortization Expense:





Depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense increased  $4.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense decreased  $2.5 million. These changes were primarily due to a decrease in domestic site leasing depreciation associated with assets that became fully depreciated since the prior year period, partially offset by additional international site leasing depreciation associated with an increase in the number of towers we acquired and built since January 1, 2016.

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Operating Income (Loss):





Domestic site leasing operating income increased  $45.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher segment operating profit and decreases in depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense, and selling, general, and administrative expenses, partially offset by increases in asset impairment, decommission costs, and acquisition related adjustments and expenses.

International site leasing operating income increased  $26.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing operating income increased  $24.3 million. These changes were primarily due to higher segment operating profit and decreases in selling, general, and administrative expenses primarily resulting from the $16.5 million Oi reserve and acquisition related adjustments and expenses, partially offset by increases in depreciation, accretion, and amortization expenses, and asset impairment and decommission costs.

Site development operating income decreased  $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to increases in selling, general, and administrative expenses and asset impairment and decommission costs, partially offset by an increase in segment operating profit and a decrease in depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense.

Other Income (Expense):





Interest income increased  $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,  as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, interest income decreased  $0.3 million. These changes were primarily due to  a lower average interest rate offset by a higher amount of interest bearing deposits held in Brazil as compared to the prior year.

Interest expense decreased  $5.4 million, on an actual and constant currency basis, for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, due to the lower weighted average interest rate on debt, partially offset by a higher average principal amount of cash-interest bearing debt outstanding as compared to the prior year.  The decrease primarily resulted from the repayment of the 2010-2C Tower Securities in July 2016, the 5.75% Senior Notes in August 2016, the 5.625% Senior Notes in October 2016, and 

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the 2012-1C Tower Securities in April 2017, partially offset by the issuance of the 2016-1C Tower Securities in July 2016, 2016 Senior Notes in August 2016, 2017-1C Tower Securities in April 2017, 2017 Senior Notes in October 2017, and a higher average balance outstanding on the Revolving Credit Facility in the current year period.

Non-cash interest expense increased  $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,  as compared to the prior year,  primarily due to the amortization of the discount related to the 2016 Senior Notes (defined below) issued in August 2016.

Amortization of deferred financing fees increased  $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year, primarily resulting from the issuance of the 2017-1C Tower Securities in April 2017, the 2016-1C Tower Securities in July 2016, the 2016 Senior Notes in August 2016, and the 2017 Senior Notes in October 2017, partially offset by the repayment of the 2010-2C Tower Securities in July 2016, the 2012-1C Tower Securities in April 2017, the 5.75% Senior Notes in August 2016, and the 5.625% Senior Notes in October 2016.

Loss from extinguishment of debt was $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 due to the write-off of unamortized financing costs associated with the repayment of the 2012-1C Tower Securities in April 2017.  Loss from the extinguishment of debt was $52.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to the payment of a $25.8 million call premium and the write-off of $7.7 million in deferred financing fees on the redemption of the 5.75% Senior Notes, the payment of a $14.1 million call premium and the write-off of $4.1 million in deferred financing fees on the redemption of the 5.625% Senior Notes, and the write-off of $1.0 million in deferred financing fees related to redemption of the 2010-2C Tower Securities. 

Other income (expense), net includes an $8.8 million loss on the remeasurement of a U.S. dollar denominated intercompany loan with a Brazilian subsidiary for the year ended December 31, 2017, while the prior year included a $90.0 million gain. 

Provision for Income Taxes:



Provision for income taxes increased $2.2 million, on an actual and constant currency basis, for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year. These changes were primarily due to an increase in state tax provisions from becoming a taxpayer in additional jurisdictions.

Net Income: 





Net income increased $27.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,  as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, net income increased $123.9 million. These changes were primarily due to an increase in operating income,  decreases in interest expense and loss from extinguishment of debt, net, partially offset by fluctuations in our foreign currency exchange rates including changes recorded on the remeasurement of the intercompany loans.



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Year Ended 2016 Compared to Year Ended 2015 



Revenues and Segment Operating Profit:





Revenues

Domestic site leasing revenues increased  $37.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, due largely to (i) revenues from 951 towers acquired and 183 towers built since January 1, 2015 and (ii) organic site leasing growth, primarily from monetary lease amendments for additional equipment added to our towers as well as new leases and contractual rent escalators, partially offset by non-lease renewals in 2015 primarily related to carrier consolidation, including Sprint’s iDEN network, which impacted our year-over-year growth rates during 2016.

International site leasing revenues increased  $20.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing revenues increased  $30.6 million. These changes were due largely to (i) revenues from 473 towers acquired and 640 towers built since January 1, 2015, (ii) organic site leasing growth from new leases and contractual rent escalators, and (iii) an increase in reimbursable pass-through expenses. Site leasing revenue in Brazil represented 11.6% of total site leasing revenue for the period. No other individual international market represented more than 3% of our total site leasing revenue.

Site development revenues decreased  $62.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, as a result of a decrease in the volume of work performed, particularly as it related to Sprint.

Operating Profit

Domestic site leasing segment operating profit increased  $28.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to additional profit generated by (i) towers acquired and built since January 1, 2015 and organic site leasing growth as noted above,  (ii) improving control of our site leasing cost of revenue, and (iii) the positive impact of our ground lease purchase program.

International site leasing segment operating profit increased  $11.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing segment operating profit increased $17.9 million. These changes were primarily due to towers acquired and built since January 1, 2015 and organic site leasing growth as noted above, partially offset by increases in cost of revenues.

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Site development segment operating profit decreased  $21.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in the volume of work performed, particularly as it related to Sprint.  

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses:





Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased  $28.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, selling, general, and administrative expenses increased  $28.7 million. These changes were primarily as a result of the $16.5 million Oi reserve recorded in the second quarter of 2016 as well as increases in REIT conversion related costs, bad debt expense, non-cash compensation, and other support costs due in large part to our continued portfolio expansion.

Acquisition Related Adjustments and Expenses:





Acquisition related adjustments and expenses increased  $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, acquisition related adjustments and expenses increased  $1.4 million. These changes were primarily as a result of an increase in the number of international towers we acquired and changes in our estimated pre-acquisition contingencies as compared to the prior year, partially offset by a decrease in the number of domestic towers we acquired.

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Asset Impairment and Decommission Costs:





Asset impairment and decommission costs decreased $64.5 million, on an actual and constant currency basis, for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year.  These changes were primarily as a result of a $56.7 million impairment charge in the third quarter of 2015 related to fiber assets acquired in the 2012 Mobilitie transaction, and an $8.9 million gain on the sale of fiber assets recorded in 2016.  

Depreciation, Accretion, and Amortization Expense:





Depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense decreased $21.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis,  depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense decreased $17.1 million. These changes were primarily due to a decrease in depreciation associated with assets that became fully depreciated since the prior year, partially offset by additional depreciation associated with the increase in the number of towers we acquired and built since January 1, 2015.

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Operating Income (Loss):











Domestic site leasing operating income increased  $120.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher segment operating profit and decreases in asset impairment and decommission costs, depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense, and acquisition related adjustments and expenses, partially offset by an increase in selling general, and administrative expenses.

International site leasing operating income decreased $15.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, international site leasing operating income decreased  $13.7 million. These changes were primarily due to the $16.5 million Oi reserve recorded in the second quarter of 2016, increases in selling, general, and administrative expenses, acquisition related adjustments and expenses, depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense, and asset impairment and decommission costs, partially offset by higher segment operating profit.

Site development operating income decreased  $22.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, primarily due to lower segment operating profit and an increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses, partially offset by a decrease in depreciation, accretion, and amortization expense.

Other Income (Expense):





Interest income increased  $7.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, interest income increased  $7.4 million. These changes were primarily due to a higher amount of interest bearing deposits held as compared to the prior year.

Interest expense increased  $6.8 million, on an actual and constant currency basis, for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, due to the higher average principal amount of cash-interest bearing debt outstanding as compared to the prior year, primarily resulting from the issuance of the 2015 Term Loan (defined below) in June 2015, the 2015-1C Tower Securities (defined below) in October 2015, the 2016-1C Tower Securities (defined below) in July 2016, and the 2016 Senior Notes (defined

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below) in August 2016, partially offset by the repayment of the 2012-1C Term Loan in November 2015, the 2010-2C Tower Securities (defined below) in July 2016, the 5.75% Senior Notes (defined below) in August 2016, and the 5.625% Senior Notes (defined below) in October 2016, and a lower average balance outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility in the current year.

Non-cash interest expense increased  $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016,  as compared to the prior year,  primarily due the amortization of the discount related to the 2015 Term Loan (defined below) issued in June 2015 and the 2016 Senior Notes (defined below) issued in August 2016.

Amortization of deferred financing fees increased  $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year, primarily resulting from the issuance of the 2015 Term Loan (defined below) in June 2015, the 2015-1C Tower Securities (defined below) in October 2015, the 2016-1C Tower Securities (defined below) in July 2016, and the 2016 Senior Notes (defined below) in August 2016, partially offset by the repayment of the 2010-2C Tower Securities (defined below) in July 2016, the 5.75% Senior Notes (defined below) in August 2016, and the 5.625% Senior Notes (defined below) in October 2016.  

Loss from the extinguishment of debt was $52.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to the payment of a $25.8 million call premium and the write-off of $7.7 million in deferred financing fees on the redemption of the 5.75% Senior Notes, the payment of a $14.1 million call premium and the write-off of $4.1 million in deferred financing fees on the redemption of the 5.625% Senior Notes, and the write-off of $1.0 million in deferred financing fees related to redemption of the 2010-2C Tower Securities. Loss from extinguishment of debt was $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 due to the write off of deferred financing fees related to the prepayment of the 2012-1 Term Loan. 

Other income (expense), net includes a  $90.0 million gain on the remeasurement of intercompany loans for the year ended December 31, 2016. The prior year period included a $178.9 million loss. Other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2015 included a gain on the sale of our investment in Extenet of $37.2 million.

Net Income (Loss):  



Net income increased $251.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016,  as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, net income decreased $16.5 million. These changes were primarily due to an increases in operating income, partially offset by increases in loss from extinguishment of debt, net, other income (expense), net, and interest expense.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This report contains information regarding a non-GAAP measure, Adjusted EBITDA. We have provided below a description of Adjusted EBITDA, a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure and an explanation as to why management utilizes this measure. This report also presents our financial results and other financial metrics after eliminating the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the Oi reserve recorded in the second quarter of 2016. We believe that providing these financial results and metrics on a constant currency basis, which are non-GAAP measures, gives management and investors the ability to evaluate the performance of our business without the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.  We eliminate the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates by dividing the current period’s financial results by the average monthly exchange rates of the prior year period, as well as by eliminating the impact of the remeasurement of our intercompany loans. In addition, we believe that excluding the Oi reserve, which represents a $16.5 million one-time provision for doubtful accounts recorded in the prior year, provides management and investors the ability to better analyze our core results without the impact of what we believe is a non-recurring event.

Adjusted EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income excluding the impact of non-cash straight-line leasing revenue, non-cash straight-line ground lease expense, non-cash compensation, net loss from extinguishment of debt, other income and expenses, acquisition

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related adjustments and expenses, asset impairment and decommission costs, interest income, interest expenses, depreciation, accretion, and amortization, and provision for or benefit from taxes.



We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors or other interested parties in evaluating our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is the primary measure used by management (1) to evaluate the economic productivity of our operations and (2) for purposes of making decisions about allocating resources to, and assessing the performance of, our operations. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA helps investors or other interested parties to meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of our operations (1) from period to period and (2) to our competitors, by excluding the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges from our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation, amortization and accretion) from our financial results. Management also believes Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by investors or other interested parties in the evaluation of REITs. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is a component of the calculation that has been used by our lenders to determine compliance with certain covenants under our Senior Credit Agreement and the indentures relating to the 2014 Senior Notes, 2016 Senior Notes, and 2017 Senior Notes. Adjusted EBITDA should be considered only as a supplement to net income computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. 

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(1)Interest expense includes interest expense, non-cash interest expense, and amortization of deferred financing fees.

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(2)Provision for taxes includes $789,  $1,643, and $1,766 of franchise and gross receipts taxes for the year ended 2017,  2016, and 2015, respectively, reflected in selling, general, and administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $81.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,  as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, adjusted EBITDA, excluding the Oi reserve, increased  $71.6 million. These changes were primarily due to increases in domestic site leasing, international site leasing, and site development segment operating profit, partially offset by an increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses after excluding the Oi reserve.

Adjusted EBITDA, excluding the Oi reserve, increased  $28.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year. On a constant currency basis, adjusted EBITDA, excluding the Oi reserve, increased  $35.7 million. These changes were primarily due to increases in domestic and international site leasing segment operating profit, partially offset by an increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses after excluding the Oi reserve and a decrease in site development segment operating profit.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

SBAC is a holding company with no business operations of its own. SBAC’s only significant asset is 100% of the outstanding capital stock of SBA Telecommunications, LLC (“Telecommunications”), which is also a holding company that owns equity interests in entities that directly or indirectly own all of our domestic and international towers and assets. We conduct all of our business operations through Telecommunications’ subsidiaries. Accordingly, our only source of cash to pay our obligations, other than financings, is distributions with respect to our ownership interest in our subsidiaries from the net earnings and cash flow generated by these subsidiaries.

A summary of our cash flows is as follows:





Operating Activities

Cash provided by operating activities was $818.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to $742.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily due to an increase in segment operating profit from the domestic site leasing, international site leasing, and site development operating segments, a decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses, and a decrease in interest payments as compared to the prior year.

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Investing Activities

A detail of our cash capital expenditures is as follows:





(1)The year ended December 31, 2017 excludes $63.3 million of acquisition costs funded through the issuance of 487,963 shares of Class A common stock.

(2)Excludes $18.8 million, $14.1 million, and $16.3 million spent to extend ground lease terms for the years ended December 31, 2017,  2016, and 2015, respectively.



Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we acquired 308 towers and related assets for $79.5 million in cash.

During 2018, we expect to incur non-discretionary cash capital expenditures associated with tower maintenance and general corporate expenditures of $34.0 million to $44.0 million and discretionary cash capital expenditures, based on current acquisition obligations, planned new tower construction, forecasted tower augmentations, and forecasted ground lease purchases, of $530.0 million to $550.0 million as well as potential, additional tower acquisitions not yet under contract. We expect to fund these cash capital expenditures from cash on hand, cash flow from operations, and borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility or new financings. The exact amount of our future cash capital expenditures will depend on a number of factors including amounts necessary to support our tower portfolio, our new tower build and acquisition programs, and our ground lease purchase program.

Financing Activities

On January 12, 2017, the Board of Directors authorized a new stock repurchase plan, replacing the plan authorized on June 4, 2015 which had a remaining authorization of $150.0 million. This plan authorized us to purchase, from time to time, up to $1.0 billion of our outstanding Class A common stock through open market repurchases in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act and/or in privately negotiated transactions at management’s discretion based on market and business conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we repurchased 5.8 million shares of our Class A common stock under our stock repurchase program for $850.0 million, excluding commissions, at a weighted average price per share of $146.17.  Shares repurchased were retired.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we borrowed $525.0 million and repaid $875.0 million under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2017, we had $40.0 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we borrowed an additional $55.0 million and repaid $20.0 million of the outstanding balance under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of the date of this filing, $75.0 million was outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

On February 16, 2018, our Board of Directors authorized a new $1.0 billion stock repurchase plan, replacing the prior plan authorized on January 12, 2017 which had a remaining authorization of $150.0 million. This new plan authorizes us to purchase, from time to time, up to $1.0 billion of our outstanding Class A common stock through open market repurchases in compliance with

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Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act and/or in privately negotiated transactions at management’s discretion based on market and business conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. Shares repurchased will be retired. The new plan has no time deadline and will continue until otherwise modified or terminated by our Board of Directors at any time in its sole discretion. As of the date of this filing, we had the full $1.0 billion authorization remaining under the new plan.

On January 20, 2017, SBA Senior Finance II repriced its senior secured term loans from a Eurodollar Rate plus 250 basis points (with a Eurodollar Rate floor of 0.75%) to a Eurodollar Rate plus 225 basis points (with a zero Eurodollar floor).

On April 17, 2017, we, through a New York common law trust (the “Trust”), issued $760.0 million of 2017-1C Tower Securities (as defined below). The fixed interest rate on the 2017-1C Tower Securities is 3.168% per annum, payable monthly. Net proceeds from this offering were used to repay the entire $610.0 million aggregate principal amount, as well as accrued and unpaid interest, of the 2012-1C Tower Securities and for general corporate purposes.

On October 13, 2017, we issued $750.0 million of 2017 Senior Notes (as defined below). The 2017 Senior Notes accrue interest at a rate of 4.0% per annum. Interest on the 2017 Senior Notes is due semi-annually on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on April 1, 2018. Net proceeds from this offering were used to repay $460.0 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility and for general corporate purposes.

On February 16, 2018, we agreed to issue, through a Trust, $640.0 million of 2018-1C Tower Securities (as defined below), which offering is expected to close March 9, 2018. The fixed interest rate on the 2018-1C Tower Securities will be 3.448% per annum, payable monthly, and the net proceeds of this offering, in combination with borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, will be used to repay the entire aggregate principal amount of the 2013-1C Tower Securities ($425.0 million) and 2013-1D Tower Securities ($330.0 million), as well as accrued and unpaid interest. We have classified $755.0 million of the combined 2013-1C Tower Securities and 2013-1D Tower Securities as a long-term obligation, as we intend to repay these securities with the net proceeds of the 2018-1C Tower Securities, in combination with borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Registration Statements

We have on file with the Commission a shelf registration statement on Form S-4 registering shares of Class A common stock that we may issue in connection with the acquisition of wireless communication towers or antenna sites and related assets or companies who own wireless communication towers, antenna sites, or related assets. During the year ended December 31, 2017,  we issued 487,963 shares of Class A common stock under this registration statement. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately 1.2 million shares of Class A common stock remaining under this shelf registration statement.

On March 3, 2015, we filed with the Commission an automatic shelf registration statement for well-known seasoned issuers on Form S-3ASR. This registration statement enables us to issue shares of our Class A common stock, preferred stock or debt securities either separately or represented by warrants, or depositary shares as well as units that include any of these securities. Under the rules governing automatic shelf registration statements, we will file a prospectus supplement and advise the Commission of the amount and type of securities each time we issue securities under this registration statement. No securities were issued under this registration statement from March 3, 2015 through the date of this filing.

Debt Instruments and Debt Service Requirements

Senior Credit Agreement

On February 7, 2014, SBA Senior Finance II entered into a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to time parties to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement to, among other things, incur the 2014 Term Loan and amend certain terms of the existing senior credit agreement (as amended, the “Senior Credit Agreement”).

Terms of the Senior Credit Agreement

The Senior Credit Agreement, as amended, requires SBA Senior Finance II to maintain specific financial ratios, including (1) a ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Annualized Borrower EBITDA not to exceed 6.5 times for any fiscal quarter, (2) a ratio of Consolidated Total Debt and Net Hedge Exposure (calculated in accordance with the Senior Credit Agreement) to Annualized Borrower EBITDA for the most recently ended fiscal quarter not to exceed 6.5 times for 30 consecutive days and (3) a ratio of Annualized Borrower EBITDA to Annualized Cash Interest Expense (calculated in accordance with the Senior Credit Agreement) of

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not less than 2.0 times for any fiscal quarter. The Senior Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, limit the ability of SBA Senior Finance II and its subsidiaries to incur indebtedness, grant certain liens, make certain investments, enter into sale leaseback transactions, merge or consolidate, make certain restricted payments, enter into transactions with affiliates, and engage in certain asset dispositions, including a sale of all or substantially all of their property. The Senior Credit Agreement is also subject to customary events of default. Pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, amounts borrowed under the Revolving Credit Facility, the Term Loans and certain hedging transactions that may be entered into by SBA Senior Finance II or the Subsidiary Guarantors (as defined in the Senior Credit Agreement) with lenders or their affiliates are secured by a first lien on the membership interests of SBA Telecommunications, LLC, SBA Senior Finance, LLC and SBA Senior Finance II and on substantially all of the assets (other than leasehold, easement and fee interests in real property) of SBA Senior Finance II and the Subsidiary Guarantors.

The Senior Credit Agreement, as amended, permits SBA Senior Finance II, without the consent of the other lenders, to request that one or more lenders provide SBA Senior Finance II with increases in the Revolving Credit Facility or additional term loans provided that after giving effect to the proposed increase in Revolving Credit Facility commitments or incremental term loans the ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Annualized Borrower EBITDA would not exceed 6.5 times. SBA Senior Finance II’s ability to request such increases in the Revolving Credit Facility or additional term loans is subject to its compliance with customary conditions set forth in the Senior Credit Agreement including compliance, on a pro forma basis, with the financial covenants and ratios set forth therein and, with respect to any additional term loan, an increase in the margin on existing term loans to the extent required by the terms of the Senior Credit Agreement. Upon SBA Senior Finance II’s request, each lender may decide, in its sole discretion, whether to increase all or a portion of its Revolving Credit Facility commitment or whether to provide SBA Senior Finance II with additional term loans and, if so, upon what terms.

Revolving Credit Facility under the Senior Credit Agreement

The Revolving Credit Facility is governed by the Senior Credit Agreement. The Revolving Credit Facility consists of a revolving loan under which up to $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount may be borrowed, repaid and redrawn, based upon specific financial ratios and subject to the satisfaction of other customary conditions to borrowing. Amounts borrowed under the Revolving Credit Facility accrue interest, at SBA Senior Finance II’s election, at either (i) the Eurodollar Rate plus a margin that ranges from 137.5 basis points to 200.0 basis points or (ii) the Base Rate plus a margin that ranges from 37.5 basis points to 100.0 basis points, in each case based on the ratio of Consolidated Total Debt to Annualized Borrower EBITDA, calculated in accordance with the Senior Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2017, the balance outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility was accruing interest at 3.48% per annum. In addition, SBA Senior Finance II is required to pay a commitment fee of 0.25% per annum on the amount of unused commitment. If not earlier terminated by SBA Senior Finance II, the Revolving Credit Facility will terminate on, and SBA Senior Finance II will repay all amounts outstanding on or before, February 5, 2020. The proceeds available under the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes. SBA Senior Finance II may, from time to time, borrow from and repay the Revolving Credit Facility. Consequently, the amount outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility at the end of a period may not be reflective of the total amounts outstanding during such period.

As of December 31, 2017, SBA Senior Finance II was in compliance with the financial covenants contained in the Senior Credit Agreement.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we borrowed $525.0 million and repaid $875.0 million under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2017,  we had $40.0 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility. 

Subsequent to December 31, 2017,  we borrowed an additional $55.0 million and repaid $20.0 million of the outstanding balance under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of the date of this filing, $75.0 million was outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Term Loans under the Senior Credit Agreement

Repricing Amendment to the Senior Credit Agreement

On January 20, 2017, SBA Senior Finance II amended its Senior Credit Agreement, primarily to reduce the stated rate of interest applicable to our senior secured term loans.  As amended, the senior secured term loans accrue interest, at SBA Senior Finance

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II’s election, at either the Base Rate plus 125 basis points (with a zero Base Rate floor) or the Eurodollar Rate plus 225 basis points (with a zero Eurodollar Rate floor).

2014 Term Loan

The 2014 Term Loan consists of a senior secured term loan with an initial aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion that matures on March 24, 2021. The 2014 Term Loan was issued at 99.75% of par value. As of December 31, 2017, the 2014 Term Loan was accruing interest at 3.82% per annum. Principal payments on the 2014 Term Loan commenced on September 30, 2014 and are being made in quarterly installments on the last day of each March, June, September, and December in an amount equal to $3.8 million. SBA Senior Finance II has the ability to prepay any or all amounts under the 2014 Term Loan. We incurred deferred financing fees of approximately $14.1 million in relation to this transaction which are being amortized through the maturity date.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we repaid $15.0 million of principal on the 2014 Term Loan. As of December 31, 2017, the 2014 Term Loan had a principal balance of $1,447.5  million.

2015 Term Loan

The 2015 Term Loan consists of a senior secured term loan with an initial aggregate principal amount of $500.0 million that matures on June 10, 2022. The 2015 Term Loan was issued at 99.0% of par value. As of December 31, 2017, the 2015 Term Loan was accruing interest at 3.82% per annum. Principal payments on the 2015 Term Loan commenced on September 30, 2015 and are being made in quarterly installments on the last day of each March, June, September, and December in an amount equal to $1.3 million. SBA Senior Finance II has the ability to prepay any or all amounts under the 2015 Term Loan. We incurred deferred financing fees of approximately $5.5 million in relation to this transaction which are being amortized through the maturity date.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we repaid $5.0 million of principal on the 2015 Term Loan. As of December 31, 2017, the 2015 Term Loan had a principal balance of $487.5 million.

Secured Tower Revenue Securities

Tower Revenue Securities Terms

The mortgage loan underlying the 2012-1C Tower Securities, 2013 Tower Securities, 2014 Tower Securities, 2015-1C Tower Securities, 2016-1C Tower Securities, and 2017-1C Tower Securities (together the “Tower Securities”) will be paid from the operating cash flows from the aggregate 10,442 tower sites owned by the Borrowers. The sole asset of the Trust consists of a non-recourse mortgage loan made in favor of those entities that are borrowers on the mortgage loan (the “Borrowers”). The mortgage loan is secured by (i) mortgages, deeds of trust, and deeds to secure debt on a substantial portion of the tower sites, (ii) a security interest in the tower sites and substantially all of the Borrowers’ personal property and fixtures, (iii) the Borrowers’ rights under certain tenant leases, and (iv) all of the proceeds of the foregoing. For each calendar month, SBA Network Management, Inc., an indirect subsidiary (“Network Management”), is entitled to receive a management fee equal to 4.5% of the Borrowers’ operating revenues for the immediately preceding calendar month.

The Borrowers may prepay any of the mortgage loan components, in whole or in part, with no prepayment consideration, (i) within twelve months (in the case of the component corresponding to the Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2012-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1D, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2014-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2015-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2016-1C and Secured Tower Revenue Securities 2017-1C) or eighteen months (in the case of the components corresponding to the Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-2C and Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2014-2C) of the anticipated repayment date of such mortgage loan component, (ii) with proceeds received as a result of any condemnation or casualty of any tower owned by the Borrowers or (iii) during an amortization period. In all other circumstances, the Borrowers may prepay the mortgage loan, in whole or in part, upon payment of the applicable prepayment consideration. The prepayment consideration is determined based on the class of the Tower Securities to which the prepaid mortgage loan component corresponds and consists of an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (1) the present value associated with the portion of the principal balance being prepaid, calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in the mortgage loan agreement, on the date of prepayment of all future installments of principal and interest required to be paid from the date of prepayment to and including the first due date within twelve months (in the case of the component corresponding to the Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2012-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1D, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2014-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2015-1C, Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2016-1C, and Tower Revenue Securities 2017-1C) or eighteen months (in the case of the components corresponding to the Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-2C and Secured Tower Revenue

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Securities Series 2014-2C) of the anticipated repayment date of such mortgage loan component over (2) that portion of the principal balance of such class prepaid on the date of such prepayment.

To the extent that the mortgage loan components corresponding to the Tower Securities are not fully repaid by their respective anticipated repayment dates, the interest rate of each such component will increase by the greater of (i) 5% and (ii) the amount, if any, by which the sum of (x) the ten-year U.S. treasury rate plus (y) the credit-based spread for such component (as set forth in the mortgage loan agreement) plus (z) 5%, exceeds the original interest rate for such component.

Pursuant to the terms of the Tower Securities, all rents and other sums due on any of the towers owned by the Borrowers are directly deposited by the lessees into a controlled deposit account and are held by the indenture trustee. The monies held by the indenture trustee after the release date are classified as short-term restricted cash on the Consolidated Balance Sheets (see Note 4). However, if the Debt Service Coverage Ratio, defined as the net cash flow (as defined in the mortgage loan agreement) divided by the amount of interest on the mortgage loan, servicing fees and trustee fees that the Borrowers are required to pay over the succeeding twelve months, as of the end of any calendar quarter, falls to 1.30x or lower, then all cash flow in excess of amounts required to make debt service payments, to fund required reserves, to pay management fees and budgeted operating expenses and to make other payments required under the loan documents, referred to as “excess cash flow,” will be deposited into a reserve account instead of being released to the Borrowers. The funds in the reserve account will not be released to the Borrowers unless the Debt Service Coverage Ratio exceeds 1.30x for two consecutive calendar quarters. If the Debt Service Coverage Ratio falls below 1.15x as of the end of any calendar quarter, then an “amortization period” will commence and all funds on deposit in the reserve account will be applied to prepay the mortgage loan until such time that the Debt Service Coverage Ratio exceeds 1.15x for a calendar quarter. In addition, if any of the Tower Securities are not fully repaid by their respective anticipated repayment dates, the cash flow from the towers owned by the Borrowers will be trapped by the trustee for the Tower Securities and applied first to repay the interest, at the original interest rates, on the mortgage loan components underlying the Tower Securities, second to fund all reserve accounts and operating expenses associated with those towers, third to pay the management fees due to Network Management, fourth to repay principal of the Tower Securities and fifth to repay the additional interest discussed above. Furthermore, the advance rents reserve requirement states that the Borrowers are required to maintain an advance rents reserve at any time the monthly tenant Debt Service Coverage Ratio is equal to or less than 2:1 and for two calendar months after such coverage ratio again exceeds 2:1. The mortgage loan agreement, as amended, also includes covenants customary for mortgage loans subject to rated securitizations. Among other things, the Borrowers are prohibited from incurring other indebtedness for borrowed money or further encumbering their assets.

As of December 31, 2017, the Borrowers met the debt service coverage ratio required by the mortgage loan agreement and were in compliance with all other covenants as set forth in the agreement.

2012-1C Tower Securities

On August 9, 2012, we, through the Trust, issued $610.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2012-1C (the “2012-1C Tower Securities”), which had an anticipated repayment date of December 11, 2017 and a final maturity date of December 9, 2042. The fixed interest rate of the 2012-1C Tower Securities was 2.933% per annum, payable monthly. We incurred deferred financing fees of $14.9 million in relation to this transaction which were being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of the 2012-1C Tower Securities.

On April 17, 2017, we repaid in full the 2012-1C Tower Securities with proceeds from the 2017-1C Tower Securities. In connection with the repayment, we expensed $2.0 million of net deferred financing fees.

2013 Tower Securities

On April 18, 2013, we, through the Trust, issued $425.0 million of 2.240% Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1C, which have an anticipated repayment date of April 10, 2018 and a final maturity date of April 9, 2043 (the “2013-1C Tower Securities”), $575.0 million of 3.722% Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-2C, which have an anticipated repayment date of April 11, 2023 and a final maturity date of April 9, 2048 (the “2013-2C Tower Securities”), and $330.0 million of 3.598% Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2013-1D, which have an anticipated repayment date of April 10, 2018 and a final maturity date of April 9, 2043 (the “2013-1D Tower Securities”) (collectively the “2013 Tower Securities”). The aggregate $1.33 billion of 2013 Tower Securities have a blended interest rate of 3.218% per annum, payable monthly. We incurred deferred financing fees of $25.5 million in relation to this transaction, which are being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of each of the 2013 Tower Securities. We expect to repay the entire aggregate principal amount of the 2013-1C Tower Securities and 2013-1D Tower Securities in connection with the issuance of the 2018-1C Tower Securities (as discussed below).

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2014 Tower Securities 

On October 15, 2014, we, through the Trust, issued $920.0 million of 2.898% Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2014-1C, which have an anticipated repayment date of October 8, 2019 and a final maturity date of October 11, 2044 (the “2014-1C Tower Securities”) and $620.0 million of 3.869% Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2014-2C, which have an anticipated repayment date of October 8, 2024 and a final maturity date of October 8, 2049 (the “2014-2C Tower Securities”) (collectively the “2014 Tower Securities”). The aggregate $1.54 billion of 2014 Tower Securities have a blended interest rate of 3.289% per annum, payable monthly. We incurred deferred financing fees of $22.5 million in relation to this transaction, which are being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of each of the 2014 Tower Securities.

2015-1C Tower Securities

On October 14, 2015, we, through the Trust, issued $500.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2015-1C, which have an anticipated repayment date of October 8, 2020 and a final maturity date of October 10, 2045 (the “2015-1C Tower Securities”). The fixed interest rate of the 2015-1C Tower Securities is 3.156% per annum, payable monthly. We incurred deferred financing fees of $11.2 million in relation to this transaction, which are being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of the 2015-1C Tower Securities.

2016-1C Tower Securities

On July 7, 2016, we, through the Trust, issued $700.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2016-1C which have an anticipated repayment date of July 9, 2021 and a final maturity date of July 10, 2046 (the “2016-1C Tower Securities”). The fixed interest rate of the 2016-1C Tower Securities is 2.877% per annum, payable monthly. Net proceeds from this offering were used to prepay the full $550.0 million outstanding on the 2010-2C Tower Securities and for general corporate purposes. We incurred deferred financing fees of $9.5 million in relation to this transaction which are being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of the 2016-1C Tower Securities.

2017-1C Tower Securities

On April 17, 2017, we, through the Trust, issued $760.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2017-1C, which have an anticipated repayment date of April 11, 2022 and a final maturity date of April 9, 2047 (the “2017-1C Tower Securities”). The fixed interest rate on the 2017-1C Tower Securities is 3.168% per annum, payable monthly. Net proceeds from this offering were used to prepay the entire $610.0 million aggregate principal amount, as well as accrued and unpaid interest, of the 2012-1C Tower Securities and for general corporate purposes. We incurred deferred financing fees of $10.2 million in relation to this transaction, which are being amortized through the anticipated repayment date of the 2017-1C Tower Securities.

In connection with the issuance of the 2017-1C Tower Securities, the non-recourse mortgage loan was increased by $800.0 million (or by a net of $190.0 million after giving effect to prepayment of the loan components relating to the 2012-1C Tower Securities). The new loan accrues interest at the same rate as the 2017-1C Tower Securities; however, it is subject to all other material terms of the existing mortgage loan, including collateral and interest rate after the anticipated repayment date.

2018-1C Tower Securities

On February 16, 2018, we agreed to issue, through a Trust, $640.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2018-1C (the “2018-1C Tower Securities”), which offering is expected to close March 9, 2018. These securities are expected to have an anticipated repayment date of March 9, 2023 and a final maturity date of March 9, 2048. The fixed interest rate on the 2018-1C Tower Securities will be 3.448% per annum, payable monthly, and the proceeds of this offering, in combination with borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, will be used to repay the entire aggregate principal amount of the 2013-1C Tower Securities ($425.0 million) and 2013-1D Tower Securities ($330.0 million), as well as accrued and unpaid interest. We have classified $755.0 million of the combined 2013-1C Tower Securities and 2013-1D Tower Securities as a long-term obligation, as we intend to repay these securities with the net proceeds from the offering of the 2018-1C Tower Securities, in combination with borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility.

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Senior Notes

2014 Senior Notes

On July 1, 2014, we issued $750.0 million of unsecured senior notes due July 15, 2022 (the “2014 Senior Notes”). The 2014 Senior Notes accrue interest at a rate of 4.875% per annum and were issued at 99.178% of par value. Interest on the 2014 Senior Notes is due semi-annually on January 15 and July 15 of each year. We incurred deferred financing fees of $11.6 million in relation to this transaction which are being amortized through the maturity date.

The 2014 Senior Notes are subject to redemption in whole or in part on or after July 15, 2017 at the redemption prices set forth in the indenture agreement plus accrued and unpaid interest. We may redeem the 2014 Senior Notes during the twelve-month period beginning on the following dates at the following redemption prices:  July 15, 2017 at 103.656%, July 15, 2018 at 102.438%, July 15, 2019 at 101.219%, or July 15, 2020 until maturity at 100.000%, of the principal amount of the 2014 Senior Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date plus accrued and unpaid interest.

2016 Senior Notes

On August 15, 2016, we issued $1.1 billion of unsecured senior notes due September 1, 2024. The 2016 Senior Notes accrue interest at a rate of 4.875% per annum and were issued at 99.178% of par value. Interest on the 2016 Senior Notes is due semi-annually on March 1 and September 1 of each year, beginning on March 1, 2017. We incurred deferred financing fees of $12.8 million in relation to this transaction which are being amortized through the maturity date. Net proceeds from this offering and cash on hand were used to redeem $800.0 million, the aggregate principal amount outstanding, of Telecommunications’ 5.75% Senior Notes and $250.0 million of our 5.625% Senior Notes and pay the associated call premiums.

The 2016 Senior Notes are subject to redemption in whole or in part on or after September 1, 2019 at the redemption prices set forth in the indenture agreement plus accrued and unpaid interest. Prior to September 1, 2019, we may at our option redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2016 Senior Notes originally issued at a redemption price of 104.875% of the principal amount of the 2016 Senior Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date plus accrued and unpaid interest with the net proceeds of certain equity offerings. We may redeem the 2016 Senior Notes during the twelve-month period beginning on the following dates at the following redemption prices:  September 1, 2019 at 103.656%, September 1, 2020 at 102.438%, September 1, 2021 at 101.219%, or September 1, 2022 until maturity at 100.000%, of the principal amount of the 2016 Senior Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date plus accrued and unpaid interest.

2017 Senior Notes

On October 13, 2017, we issued $750.0 million of unsecured senior notes due October 1, 2022 (the “2017 Senior Notes”). The 2017 Senior Notes accrue interest at a rate of 4.0% per annum. Interest on the 2017 Senior Notes is due semi-annually on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on April 1, 2018. We incurred deferred financing fees of $8.2 million in relation to this transaction, which are being amortized through the maturity date. Net proceeds from this offering were used to repay $460.0 million outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility and for general corporate purposes.

The 2017 Senior Notes are subject to redemption in whole or in part on or after October 1, 2019 at the redemption prices set forth in the indenture agreement plus accrued and unpaid interest. Until October 1, 2020, we may at our option redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2017 Senior Notes originally issued, at a redemption price of 104.000% of the principal amount of the 2017 Senior Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date plus accrued and unpaid interest with the net proceeds of certain equity offerings. We may redeem the 2017 Senior Notes  during the twelve-month period beginning on the following dates at the following redemption prices:  October 1, 2019 at 102.000%,  October 1, 2020 at 101.000%, or October 1, 2021 until maturity at 100.000%, of the principal amount of the 2017 Senior Notes to be redeemed on the redemption date plus accrued and unpaid interest.

Indentures Governing Senior Notes

The Indentures governing the Senior Notes contain customary covenants, subject to a number of exceptions and qualifications, including restrictions on the ability of SBAC and Telecommunications to (1) incur additional indebtedness unless the Consolidated Indebtedness to Annualized Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the Indenture), pro forma for the additional indebtedness does not exceed, with respect to any fiscal quarter, 9.5x for SBAC, (2) merge, consolidate or sell assets, (3) make restricted payments, including dividends or other distributions, (4) enter into transactions with affiliates, and (5) enter into sale and

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leaseback transactions and restrictions on the ability of the Restricted Subsidiaries of SBAC (as defined in the Indentures) to incur liens securing indebtedness.

Debt Service

As of December 31, 2017, we believe that our cash on hand, capacity available under our Revolving Credit Facility, and cash flows from operations for the next twelve months will be sufficient to service our outstanding debt during the next twelve months.

The following table illustrates our estimate of our debt service requirement over the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 based on the amounts outstanding as of December 31, 2017 and the interest rates accruing on those amounts on such date (in thousands):















(1)The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2013-1C Tower Securities is April 10, 2018 and April 9, 2043, respectively. Interest expense included above is through the maturity date. The 2013-1C Tower Securities are expected to be repaid in connection with the issuance of the 2018-1C Tower Securities on March  9, 2018.

(2)The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2013-1D Tower Securities are April 10, 2018 and April 19, 2043, respectively. Interest expense included above is through the maturity date. The 2013-1D Tower Securities are expected to be repaid in connection with the issuance of the 2018-1C Tower Securities.

(3) Excludes debt service with respect to the $640.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2018-1C Tower Securities expected to be issued on March 9, 2018. The debt service for the 2018-1C Tower Securities in 2018 is expected to be $18.3 million.





Inflation

The impact of inflation on our operations has not been significant to date. However, we cannot assure you that a high rate of inflation in the future will not adversely affect our operating results particularly in light of the fact that our site leasing revenues are governed by long-term contracts with pre-determined pricing that we will not be able to increase in response to increases in inflation other than our contracts in South America which have inflationary index based rental escalators.

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Commitments and Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our scheduled contractual commitments as of December 31, 2017:  





(1)Represents interest payments based on the 2013-1C Tower Securities interest rate of 2.240%, the 2013-2C Tower Securities interest rate of 3.722%, the 2013-1D Tower Securities interest rate of 3.598%, the 2014-1C Tower Securities interest rate of 2.898%, the 2014-2C Tower Securities interest rate of 3.869%, the 2015-1C Tower Securities interest rate of 3.156%, the 2016-1C Tower Securities interest rate of 2.877%, the 2017-1C Tower Securities interest rate of 3.168%, the 2014 Term Loan at an interest rate of 3.82% as of December 31, 2017, the 2015 Term Loan at an interest rate of 3.82% as of December 31, 2017,  the revolver at an average interest rate of 3.48% as of December 31, 2017, the 2015 Senior Notes interest rates of 4.875%, 2016 Senior Notes interest rates of 4.875%, and the 2017 Senior Notes interest rate of 4.000%.  The 2013-1C Tower Securities and 2013-1D Tower Securities are expected to be repaid in connection with the expected issuance on March 9, 2018 of the $640.0 million of 2018-1C Tower Securities with a fixed interest rate of 3.448% per annum.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We are not involved in any off-balance sheet arrangements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to certain market risks that are inherent in our financial instruments. These instruments arise from transactions entered into in the normal course of business.

The following table presents the future principal payment obligations and fair values associated with our long-term debt instruments assuming our actual level of long-term indebtedness as of December 31, 2017:  







(1)The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2013-1C Tower Securities is April 10, 2018 and April 9, 2043, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2013-2C Tower Securities is April 11, 2023 and April 9, 2048, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2013-1D Tower Securities is April 10, 2018 and April 9, 2043, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2014-1C Tower Securities is October 8, 2019 and October 11, 2044, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2014-2C Tower Securities is October 8, 2024 and October 8, 2049, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2015-1C Tower Securities is October 8, 2020 and October 10, 2045, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2016-1C Tower Securities is July 9, 2021 and July 10, 2046, respectively.

The anticipated repayment date and the final maturity date for the 2017-1C Tower Securities is April 11, 2022 and April 9, 2047, respectively.

(2)Proceeds from the issuance of the 2018-1C Tower Securities, which, once issued, will be due March  9, 2023,  are expected to be used to repay the full $425.0 million outstanding under the 2013-1C Tower Securities and the full $330.0 million outstanding under the 2013-1D Tower Securities.

Our current primary market risk exposure is (1) interest rate risk relating to our ability to refinance our debt at commercially reasonable rates, if at all, and (2) interest rate risk relating to the impact of interest rate movements on our 2014 Term Loan and 2015 Term Loan and any borrowings that we may incur under our Revolving Credit Facility, which are at floating rates. We manage the interest rate risk on our outstanding debt through our large percentage of fixed rate debt. While we cannot predict our ability to

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refinance existing debt or the impact interest rate movements will have on our existing debt, we continue to evaluate our financial position on an ongoing basis.

We are exposed to market risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates in connection with our operations in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and to a lesser extent, our markets in Central America. In each of these countries, we pay most of our selling, general, and administrative expenses and a portion of our operating expenses, such as taxes and utilities incurred in the country in local currency. In addition, in Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Colombia, we receive significantly all of our revenue and pay significantly all of our operating expenses in local currency. In Peru and Argentina, we receive our revenue and pay our operating expenses in a mix of local currency and U.S. dollars. All transactions denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar are reported in U.S. Dollars at the applicable exchange rate. All assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. Dollars at exchange rates in effect at the end of the applicable fiscal reporting period, and all revenues and expenses are translated at average rates for the period. The cumulative translation effect is included in equity as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). For the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately 13.5% of our revenues and approximately 16.3% of our total operating expenses were denominated in foreign currencies.

We have performed a sensitivity analysis assuming a hypothetical 10% adverse movement in the Brazilian Real from the quoted foreign currency exchange rates at December 31, 2017. As of December 31, 2017, the analysis indicated that such an adverse movement would have caused our revenues and operating income to decline by approximately 1.1% and 2.8%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2017.

As of December 31, 2017, we had intercompany debt, which is denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the subsidiary in which it is recorded. As settlement of this debt is anticipated or planned in the foreseeable future, any changes in the foreign currency exchange rates will result in unrealized gains or losses, which will be included in our determination of net income. A change of 10% in the underlying exchange rates of our unsettled intercompany debt at December 31, 2017 would have resulted in approximately $56.4 million of unrealized gains or losses that would have been included in Other income (expense), net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements concern expectations, beliefs, projections, plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Specifically, this annual report contains forward-looking statements regarding:

•our expectations on the future growth and financial health of the wireless industry and the industry participants, the drivers of such growth, the demand for our towers, the trends developing in our industry, and competitive factors;  

•our ability to capture and capitalize on industry growth and the impact of such growth on our financial and operational results;

•our intent to grow our tower portfolio domestically and internationally and expend through organic lease up on existing towers;  

•our ability to grow our tower portfolio without proportionately increasing selling, general, and administrative expenses;

•our belief that over the long-term, site leasing revenues will continue to grow as wireless service providers increase their use of our towers due to increasing minutes of network use and data transfer, network expansion and network coverage requirements;

•our expectation regarding site leasing revenue growth, on an organic basis, in our domestic and international segments;

•our belief that our site leasing business is characterized by stable and long-term recurring revenues, predictable operating costs, and minimal non-discretionary capital expenditures;

•our expectation that, due to the relatively young age and mix of our tower portfolio, future expenditures required to maintain these towers will be minimal;

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•our expectation that we will grow our cash flows by adding tenants to our towers at minimal incremental costs and executing monetary amendments;

•our belief regarding the impact of our ground lease purchase program;

•our ability to remain qualified as a REIT and the timing of such qualification and our election to be subject to tax as a REIT;

•our belief that our business is currently operated in a manner that complies with the REIT rules and our intent to continue to do so;

•our plans regarding our distribution policy, and the amount and timing of, and source of funds for, any such distributions;

•our expectations regarding the use of NOLs to reduce REIT taxable income;

•our expectations regarding our capital allocation strategy,  the impact of our election to be taxed as a REIT on that strategy, and our goal of increasing our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share;

•and our goal of increasing our Adjusted Funds From Operations per share;

•our expectations regarding our future cash capital expenditures, both discretionary and non-discretionary, including expenditures required to maintain, improve, and modify our towers, ground lease purchases, and general corporate expenditures, and the source of funds for these expenditures;

•our intended use of our liquidity;

•our expectations regarding our debt service in 2018 and our belief that our cash on hand, capacity under our Revolving Credit Facility, and our cash flows from operations for the next twelve months will be sufficient to service our outstanding debt during the next twelve months;

•the timing of closing of pending financings and the expected use of proceeds; 

•our belief regarding our credit risk;  

•our estimates with respect to tax matters as a result of the Tax Act and our expectation that one-time income charges recognized as a result of the Tax Act will be offset by our existing NOLs; and

•our estimates regarding certain tax and accounting matters, including the impact on our financial statements.

These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We wish to caution readers that certain important factors may have affected and could in the future affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our goals, and cause the assumptions underlying forward-looking statements and the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: 

•the impact of consolidation among wireless service providers on our leasing revenue;

•our ability to continue to comply with covenants and the terms of our credit instruments and our ability to obtain additional financing to fund our capital expenditures;

•our ability to successfully manage the risks associated with international operations, including risks relating to political or economic conditions, tax laws, currency restrictions and exchange rate fluctuations, legal or judicial systems, and land ownership;

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•our ability to successfully manage the risks associated with our acquisition initiatives, including our ability to effectively integrate acquired towers into our business and to achieve the financial results projected in our valuation models for the acquired towers;

•developments in the wireless communications industry in general, and for wireless communications infrastructure providers in particular, that may slow growth or affect the willingness or ability of the wireless service providers to expend capital to fund network expansion or enhancements;

•our ability to secure as many site leasing tenants as anticipated, recognize our expected economies of scale with respect to new tenants on our towers, and retain current leases on towers; 

•our ability to secure and deliver anticipated services business at contemplated margins;

•our ability to build new towers, including our ability to identify and acquire land that would be attractive for our customers and to successfully and timely address zoning, permitting, weather, availability of labor and supplies and other issues that arise in connection with the building of new towers;

•competition for the acquisition of towers and other factors that may adversely affect our ability to purchase towers that meet our investment criteria and are available at prices which we believe will be accretive to our shareholders and allow us to maintain our long-term target leverage ratios while achieving our expected portfolio growth levels;

•our capital allocation decisions and the impact on our ability to achieve our expected tower portfolio growth levels;

•our ability to protect our rights to the land under our towers, and our ability to acquire land underneath our towers on terms that are accretive;

•our ability to sufficiently increase our revenues and maintain expenses and cash capital expenditures at appropriate levels to permit us to meet our anticipated uses of liquidity for operations, debt service and estimated portfolio growth;

•the impact of rising interest rates and our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness at commercially reasonable rates or at all;  

•our ability to successfully estimate the impact of regulatory and litigation matters;

•natural disasters and other unforeseen damage for which our insurance may not provide adequate coverage;

•a decrease in demand for our towers;

•the introduction of new technologies or changes in a tenant’s business model that may make our tower leasing business less desirable to existing or potential tenants;

•our ability to qualify for treatment as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes and to comply with and conduct our business in accordance with such rules; 

•our ability to utilize available NOLs to reduce REIT taxable income;

•the complexity of the Tax Act and our ability to accurately interpret and predict its impact on our financial condition and results; and

•our ability to successfully estimate the impact of certain accounting and tax matters, including the effect on our company of adopting certain accounting pronouncements and the availability of sufficient NOLs to offset future REIT taxable income.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Financial statements and supplementary data are on pages F-1 through F-40.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures – We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, as ours are designed to do, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

In connection with the preparation of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as of December 31, 2017, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the CEO and CFO, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act). Based on such evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that, as of December 31, 2017, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting – Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, and for performing an assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our system of internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of SBAC; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of SBAC are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of SBAC; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of SBAC’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of SBAC’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017 based upon criteria in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on our assessment, management determined that SBAC’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2017 based on the criteria in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by COSO.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report on SBAC’s internal control over financial reporting.

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Report of Independent Registered Certified Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of SBA Communications Corporation and Subsidiaries 



Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting



We have audited SBA Communications Corporation and Subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, SBA Communications Corporation and Subsidiaries’ (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on the COSO criteria.



We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of  December 31, 2017 and 2016 and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ deficit, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) of the Company and our report dated March 1, 2018 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon. 



Basis for Opinion



The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.



We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.



Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.



Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting



A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.



Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Boca Raton, Florida

March 1, 2018 

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PART III 

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERANCE

We have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. The Code of Ethics is located on our internet web site at www.sbasite.com under “Investor Relations – Corporate Governance – Governance Documents.” We intend to provide disclosure of any amendments or waivers of our Code of Ethics on our website within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.

The remaining items required by Part III, Item 10 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 29,  2018.  

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The items required by Part III, Item 11 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 29, 2018.  

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The items required by Part III, Item 12 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 29, 2018.  

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The items required by Part III, Item 13 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 29, 2018.  

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The items required by Part III, Item 14 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed on or before April 29, 2018.  

PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) Documents filed as part of this report:

(1) Financial Statements

See Item 8 for Financial Statements included with this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Schedule III—Schedule of Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation (see below)

All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or because the required information is contained in the financial statements or notes thereto included in this Form 10-K.



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Schedule III—Schedule of Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation











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______________

† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

* Filed herewith.

** Furnished herewith.





ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY



None.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.



Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.