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what it is
Lamar rents billboard and highway sign space to businesses that want your eyes while you drive.
how it gets paid
Last year Lamar Advertising made $2.3B in revenue. Other advertisers was the main engine at $1.29B, or 56% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.7% last year. Lamar advertising paid a special dividend in the final quarter of last year.
what just happened
Lamar's latest quarter was a clean beat, with EPS at $1.50 versus a $1.48 estimate.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
25.2x trailing p/e — priced about right
5.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
1550.0% return on capital — a money-printing machine
xvary composite: 58/100 — below average
What they do
Lamar rents billboard and highway sign space to businesses that want your eyes while you drive.
Lamar owned 159,000 billboard displays and 138,200 logo sign displays at year-end 2024 across 45 states and Canada. That scale means your ad is already where the traffic is. REIT → real estate wrapper for ad assets → so what: the signs throw off rent-like cash that helps fund a 5.1% dividend.
How they make money
$2.3B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.7% last year
Service advertisers
$0.39B
Health care advertisers
$0.23B
Restaurant advertisers
$0.21B
Retail advertisers
$0.18B
Other advertisers
$1.29B
The products that matter
largest named advertiser bucket
Service Industry Ads
$0.39B · 17% of revenue
This is the single biggest labeled category, but it is still only 17% of sales. That tells you the business is broad, not dependent on one buyer type.
17% of rev
defensive advertiser category
Health Care Ads
$0.23B · 10% of revenue
Health care is one of the steadier buckets in the mix. At 10% of revenue, it gives Lamar some ballast when flashier categories slow down.
10% of rev
consumer-spend sensitive bucket
Restaurant Ads
$0.21B · 9% of revenue
Restaurant advertising matters, but it does not run the whole story. If this bucket softens, Lamar has other categories to absorb some of the hit.
9% of rev
Key numbers
34.2%
operating margin
Operating margin → money left after running the business → so what: Lamar keeps about $0.34 from each revenue dollar before interest and taxes.
5.1%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → annual cash payout relative to stock price → so what: you are being paid while waiting for the stock to work.
$3.2B
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: the balance sheet is fine at 19% of capital, but it still matters in a slowdown.
25.2x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by past earnings → so what: this is not priced like a distressed REIT, even with a 5.1% yield.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 80 / 100
- long-term debt $3.2B (19% of capital)
- net profit margin 27.6% — keeps 28 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 38% — $0.38 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in LAMR 3 years ago → it's now worth $14,790.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Lamar's latest quarter was a clean beat, with EPS at $1.50 versus a $1.48 estimate.
Yahoo Finance shows a 1.35% EPS beat in the most recent report. Full-year 2025 EPS was $5.15 versus $3.52 in 2024, while annual revenue reached $2.3B, up 2.7% from EDGAR.
$2.3B
revenue
$1.50
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
The key number was the $1.50 EPS print because it showed Lamar still covering the income story with actual earnings, not just REIT framing.
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lamar advertising paid a special dividend in the final quarter of last year.
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in addition to the $1.55 a share regular distribution, the reit made a bonus $0.25-a-share payment.
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we do not include this in our presentation because it was classified as a special payout.
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we think the company had a solid 2025 and expect a better showing in 2026.despite many companies holding back on their marketing budgets because of economic uncertainty, lamar’s share earnings likely rose to $5.15 in 2025. with the nation’s economy showing resilience in the latter part of the year, business and consumer confidence could well pick up leading to more spending on advertising.
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moreover, important midterm elections take place this november.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
Lamar's risk is not that billboards disappear. It is that a slow-growth income stock gets hit from two sides at once: softer ad budgets and higher financing costs.
med
ad demand is steady until it is not
Annual revenue grew only 2.7%. That works when occupancy and pricing hold. It gives you less room for error if local businesses pull back on marketing.
If growth slips from low single digits to flat, the valuation stops looking reasonable and starts looking rich for a billboard landlord.
med
interest expense is already eating the earnings story
Q4 revenue rose 4%, but EPS fell 3% to $1.40. That is a clean example of financing costs outrunning operating progress.
If that pattern persists, you still collect the dividend, but your multiple has less reason to expand.
med
election money flatters the picture, then leaves
Midterm elections this November should help outdoor ad demand. The catch: calendars do not repeat every quarter, and investors sometimes pay for temporary boosts like they are permanent.
If political spending lifts results but core local demand stays soft, the stock can look fine on the surface and go nowhere underneath.
The setup is simple: if cash flow holds, the 5.1% yield looks sturdy. If revenue cracks, income investors will notice first.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next report needs to confirm the guide and clear up the revenue mismatch
The page shows 2026 EPS around $5.70 and management guided to $5.72–$5.83. Good. It also shows fiscal 2026 revenue at $2B versus last annual revenue of $2.3B. Less good. You want that reconciled fast.
margin
watch revenue growth versus earnings growth
Q4 gave you the contrast already: revenue up 4%, EPS down 3%. If that keeps happening, the business is stable but the stock math gets harder.
trend
separate core ad demand from election-season sugar
Political campaigns spend heavily on outdoor ads. That boost is real and high margin. You still want to see service, health care, restaurant, and retail demand hold up after the ballots are counted.
payout
treat the special dividend like a special dividend
The regular distribution was $1.55 a share and the special was $0.25. If you are underwriting this as an income holding, anchor on the repeatable payment, not the holiday bonus.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
outlook rank 3 — in human-speak, the market sees a stable stock, not a near-term catalyst machine.
risk profile
average
risk rank 3 — this is not bunker-safe, but it is also not a drama stock. The business is calmer than the average advertiser.
chart momentum
top 5%
momentum rank 1 — the chart has been stronger than the fundamentals story. That works until the next earnings print says otherwise.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
You usually get a fairly readable business here, but quarter-to-quarter earnings still move around enough that surprises happen.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 320 buyers vs. 253 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 88.1M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$110
$187
$130
current price
$149
target midpoint · +15% from current · 3-5yr high: $220 (+70% · 17% ann'l return)
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