Lamar Advertising
LAMR on Nasdaq. Lamar sells advertising space on billboards and signs to businesses. Market value $10.2bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Should I look at this?
Good business, but not cheap right now
Why it could be worth it
See cheaper Real estate stocks on the list
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $4.88 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
You pay 24.6 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.
Each dollar kept in the business earns 10 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 73 of 100. Price score: 58 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$144.74 a share, 26% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $114.45 to $166.33.
Dividend: 4.5% a year
Paid every year for at least 5 years
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $1.8bn | $2.0bn | $2.1bn | $2.2bn | $2.3bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 29.2% | 28.4% | 32.0% | 24.1% | 34.2% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 2.49 | 2.79 | 2.76 | 3.08 | 3.35 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.10bn | 0.10bn | 0.10bn | 0.10bn | 0.10bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive5 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)6 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- Debt3.35× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 7.6% a year
- Buying back its own sharesRoughly flat
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $617 million last quarter, up 6% on a year ago.
- Profit: $161 million, up 4% on a year ago.
- It keeps 32 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, up from 27 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $718 million, down from $723 million.
- About the same number of shares as a year ago.
- Debt is $3.5 billion more than cash, up from $3.3 billion a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $564m |
| December 2024 | $580m |
| March 2025 | $505m |
| June 2025 | $579m |
| September 2025 | $586m |
| December 2025 | $596m |
| March 2026 | $528m |
| June 2026 | $617m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $147m |
| December 2024 | -$1m |
| March 2025 | $139m |
| June 2025 | $154m |
| September 2025 | $142m |
| December 2025 | $152m |
| March 2026 | $101m |
| June 2026 | $161m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 20 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 5 November 2026
Who owns it
11 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 11 last quarter. 777 funds in all.
- Egerton CapitalJohn Armitage
- Value
- $170m
- Share of fund
- 1.6%
- Markel GroupTom Gayner
- Value
- $30m
- Share of fund
- 0.2%
- First Manhattan Co.First Manhattan partners
- Value
- $5m
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
- Gardner Russo & QuinnTom Russo
- Value
- $837,301
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston PartnersBoston Partners team | $361m | 0.3% | Added |
| Egerton CapitalJohn Armitage | $170m | 1.6% | |
| Markel GroupTom Gayner | $30m | 0.2% | |
| Diamond Hill Capital ManagementRic Dillon (founder) | $26m | 0.2% | Cut |
| Select Equity GroupGeorge Loening | $22m | 0.1% | Cut |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $22m | <0.1% | Added |
| Land & BuildingsJonathan Litt | $19m | 3.3% | Cut |
| Heartland AdvisorsBill Nasgovitz | $11m | 0.5% | Cut |
| First Manhattan Co.First Manhattan partners | $5m | <0.1% | |
| GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli | $1m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Gardner Russo & QuinnTom Russo | $837,301 | <0.1% |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$1.5bnCut
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$1.2bn
- Vanguard Capital Management$613m
- FMR$494mCut
- Geode Capital Management$438mAdded
- State Street$426m
- Jupiter Topco$425m
- Victory Capital Management$365mCut
- Boston Partners$361mAdded
- Wellington Management Group LLP$332m
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
5 investors own more than 5%.
- Kevin P. Reilly, Jr.Passive investorat least 11.7%+0.2 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 December 2025
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor11.3%+1.0 ptsSince 31 March 2026
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor8.6%Since 31 March 2026
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor5.2%Since 31 March 2026
- FMR LLCPassive investorat least 3.9%−1.2 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 December 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
Kevin P. Reilly, Jr. Passive investor | at least 11.7%+0.2 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 December 2025 | |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 11.3%+1.0 pts | 31 March 2026 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 8.6% | 31 March 2026 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 5.2% | 31 March 2026 | |
FMR LLC Passive investor | at least 3.9%−1.2 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 December 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 3 sold $4m.
- REIFENHEISER THOMAS VDirectorSold
- Date
- 14 September 2026
- Shares
- 8,099
- Price
- $149.03
- Value
- $1m
- Johnson Jay LeCoryelleCFO, Treasurer, EVPSold
- Date
- 11 May 2026
- Shares
- 10,000
- Price
- $157.02
- Value
- $2m
- Reilly Ross LamarEVP, President, Outdoor DivSold
- Date
- 23 March 2026
- Shares
- 5,969
- Price
- $128.65
- Value
- $767,912
- Johnson Jay LeCoryelleCFO, Treasurer, EVPSold
- Date
- 5 March 2026
- Shares
- 1,260
- Price
- $137.56
- Value
- $173,326
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 2026 | REIFENHEISER THOMAS V Director | Sold | 8,099 | $149.03 | $1m |
| 11 May 2026 | Johnson Jay LeCoryelle CFO, Treasurer, EVP | Sold | 10,000 | $157.02 | $2m |
| 23 March 2026 | Reilly Ross Lamar EVP, President, Outdoor Div | Sold | 5,969 | $128.65 | $767,912 |
| 5 March 2026 | Johnson Jay LeCoryelle CFO, Treasurer, EVP | Sold | 1,260 | $137.56 | $173,326 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 20 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 6 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
- It carries a lot of debt: 3.3× its equity.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
What changed in the risks this year
Companies must list what could hurt them each year. These are the parts that changed since last year’s report.
We are subject to risks related to our use of Artificial Intelligence.
Could happenWe expect to increasingly use artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies, including third‑party AI tools, in our operations. The design, training, and deployment of AI models involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. AI systems may produce inaccurate or unreliable outputs, which could lead to flawed business decisions. Our use of AI also presents heightened risks relating to data privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property (including inadvertent use or incorporation of third‑party proprietary content), and the protection of confidential, personal, or otherwise sensitive information. In addition, many aspects of AI are subject to rapidly evolving and, in some cases, unclear or inconsistent laws, regulations, and industry standards. Failure to comply with, or adapt to, these legal and regulatory developments could result in increased compliance costs, investigations, fines, or litigation. We also rely to a significant extent on third‑party AI providers; issues with their systems, security, compliance, or contractual performance could expose us to similar risks. Any of these events could materially and adversely affect our reputation, competitive position, and operating results.
Read moreLamar Advertising may potentially be unable to deduct the full amount of its interest expense.
Could happenInterest deductions for businesses with average annual gross receipts of over $25 million are capped at 30% of the business’ “adjusted taxable income” plus business interest income pursuant to the Code. As a REIT, Lamar Advertising would generally constitute a real property trade or business, and thus would retain the ability to fully deduct interest expenses if it makes such an election. However, an entity making such an election must use a longer depreciation cost recovery period for its property. The rules for business interest expense will apply to Lamar Advertising and at the level of each entity in which or through which Lamar Advertising invests that is not a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To the extent that our interest expense is not deductible, Lamar Advertising’s taxable income will be increased, as will its REIT distribution requirements and the amounts it needs to distribute to avoid incurring income and excise taxes.
Read more
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.