How Much of Revenue Goes to Site Rent? What Lamar and Link Show

Every media operator knows how much rent they pay per site. Few know how much that rent weighs against what the site actually earns. An analysis published in August in the United States compared Lamar and Link Media for the second quarter of 2026 and showed that both keep site lease costs below 20% of revenue. It is a good starting point for the conversation, but with many caveats. In this article, we explain the numbers, what cannot be compared, and how to calculate this ratio in your own operation.

What the analysis says

The analysis was published on Billboard Insider by SignValue, a US firm that provides appraisal and consulting services to landowners with billboards. According to it, Link reported ground rent of 16.2% of billboard revenue, against 19.1% at Lamar. Link's figure benefited from an accounting change (the ASC 842 standard), and without that effect it would be about 17.8%.

Link generated US$ 11.7 million in billboard revenue in the quarter, with about 7,500 faces. That works out to roughly US$ 520 per face per month, a modest amount, which makes cost control on leases even more relevant. By our own calculation, 16.2% of that amount is about US$ 84 of rent per face per month.

On the revenue side, Lamar grew 6.5% in the quarter, to about US$ 616.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose 9.0%, with a margin of 49.2%. Link had a 2.5% increase in billboard revenue and 6.7% in adjusted EBITDA. When EBITDA grows faster than revenue, it is a sign that fixed costs, such as rent, are being diluted.

What cannot be compared

This is the most important point of the article. Before using "below 20%" as a yardstick, it is worth understanding what is behind it:

• Lamar owns part of the land. The analysis itself notes that it holds about 11,200 easements and owned parcels, which means part of its portfolio pays no traditional ground rent. Its ratio is not perfectly comparable with that of someone who leases almost everything.
• These are rural and suburban billboards. Roadside sites have a different cost structure from airports, transit and urban centers.
• Other operators pay much more. An earlier analysis, also sponsored by SignValue, showed lease costs at 17% of revenue for Lamar in 2024, against 39% at Outfront and 37% at Clear Channel. The difference was explained largely by airport and transit contracts with high guaranteed minimums.
• The source has a stake in the subject. SignValue serves landowners. That does not invalidate the numbers, which come from company filings, but it is good to know who is telling the story.

The number that matters is not Lamar's. It is your weakest site's.

Why the ratio is low at these operators

The analysis points to three factors, which are useful lessons even in a different market:

• Long-term control of sites. The average remaining lease term is about 13 years at Lamar and 15.7 years at Link. A long contract gives cost predictability.
• Owned land where it pays off. Link, according to another Billboard Insider article, buys easements or the land under some of its structures. Lamar owns the land under about one seventh of its billboards, according to the 2024 analysis.
• Scale and discipline. In a large portfolio, the company negotiates better and standardizes contracts.

There is one more detail: in the United States, part of the lease contracts is tied to revenue (revenue share). On the quarter's earnings call, Lamar's chief financial officer explained that about 150 basis points of the 5.1% expense growth came from variable costs, such as leases with revenue participation and sales commissions. In other words, part of the rent rises along with revenue.

And in Brazil? What we can say

We did not find a public benchmark for site lease cost as a percentage of revenue in Brazil. What we found, in contract templates and sector guides, is that leasing land for a panel is usually treated as a commercial lease, governed by Brazil's Tenancy Law (Law 8,245/1991), with a fixed monthly rent, a term, a late payment penalty and an exclusive-use clause. Revenue-linked rent exists in other sectors, but it did not appear as a standard in the OOH sources we consulted.

That changes the math: with fixed rent, the rent-to-revenue percentage moves with occupancy. When the site fills up, the ratio falls. When it empties, the same rent weighs much more. That is why Lamar's number and yours cannot be compared without measuring your own reality.

How to calculate your site's ratio

The step by step is simple, but it requires organized data:

• 1. Survey the cost of each site. Rent, adjustments, property tax and fees paid by the operator, if any.
• 2. Use realized revenue, not rate card. Consider real occupancy and discounts, preferably net revenue.
• 3. Divide cost by revenue for the same period. Do it by site, then by city and format.
• 4. Separate by format. Billboards, front lights, wall murals and LED have different cost structures.
• 5. Look at the spread, not only the average. An acceptable average can hide sites where more than a third of revenue goes to the land.

What to do with the number

• High ratio with low occupancy: the problem may be commercial. Review pricing, format, sales material and site visibility before blaming the rent.
• High ratio with good occupancy: the rent is expensive for that site. It is worth renegotiating, always with the option of offering a longer term in exchange for a lower value.
• Short contracts on sites that perform: protect the site. Consider early renewal and adjustment by a predictable index.
• Sites that never pay off: consider leaving. A site that costs more than it generates ties up structure and team attention.

Checklist to review your site contracts

• Term and expiry. When each contract ends and what notice is required to renew.
• Adjustment. Which index, when it applies and whether there is a cap.
• Exclusive use. The land can only host a panel, and subleasing is usually prohibited.
• Permits. Who is responsible for the municipal license and for fines on the site.
• Exit. Conditions and penalty to end a contract that does not work.
• Late payment. Penalty and interest, for the operator and for the landowner.

Quick questions

What did the Lamar and Link analysis conclude?

That both keep site lease costs below 20% of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, with 19.1% at Lamar and 16.2% at Link (about 17.8% without an accounting effect), and that both have long lease contracts.

Does that percentage apply to Brazil?

Not as a rule. These are US billboards, mainly rural and suburban, and Lamar owns part of the land. We did not find an equivalent public benchmark for Brazil, so the ideal is to measure your own.

Why do Outfront and Clear Channel pay more?

According to SignValue's analysis of 2024, the difference comes largely from airport and transit contracts with high guaranteed minimums, plus a more urban portfolio.

Is land rent in Brazil usually fixed or percentage-based?

In the contract templates and guides we consulted, rent is a fixed monthly amount. Percentage rent exists in other types of commercial leases, but it did not appear as a standard in the OOH sources.

What is a good ratio?

There is no universal number. Compare your own sites with each other, by format and city, and use the American numbers only as context.

Where Hivestr comes in

Hivestr is an ERP/CRM built for OOH and DOOH media operators. The calculation in this article starts in the site's record, and that is where it is ready in Hivestr:

• Land rent in the site's record. You register how much each site costs to lease, with no parallel spreadsheet.
• Contract expiry date. Each site's term is visible, so you can renegotiate or renew before it becomes urgent.
• Playback history for the last months and campaigns. You see the real occupancy of the site, not the rate card one.

With cost, expiry and playback in the same place, the ratio stops being a guess. Just put the rent next to what the site actually earned and see which sites deserve renegotiation, extension or exit.

Sources: Billboard Insider, Lamar vs Link (SignValue); Billboard Insider, Lamar's Secret Sauce: Better Leases (SignValue); Billboard Insider, 4 Things About Link Media; Lamar, Q2 2026 results (SEC); Lamar earnings call transcript; Modelo Simples, land lease contract template for advertising (in Portuguese). The rent-per-face calculations and the occupancy example are simple estimates based on published figures or hypothetical. The original analysis was published by a company that serves landowners. The section on the Brazilian reality reflects what we found in public sources and does not replace your own data. This content is informational and does not replace legal advice.