# How Much Do Billboard Owners Make? Revenue and Profit (2026)

URL: https://gabie.ai/learn/how-much-do-billboard-owners-make
Type: Guide · Published: 2026-10-08 · Updated: 2026-10-12 · By: Gabie Research

Short answer: A billboard owner's income depends on the market, the format and how often the face is sold. By our math from 2025 filings, Lamar earned about $1,050 a month per billboard: about $730 for a static face and $10,000 for a digital one. Big operators keep 38% to 55% of billboard revenue as segment profit, before interest, taxes and some overhead.

Key takeaways:
- Lamar's billboards averaged about $12,640 in revenue each in 2025, or about $1,050 a month (our math).
- OUTFRONT, mostly in big cities, reported $3,344 per display per month in Q2 2026.
- Billboard segment margins: Lamar about 55%, Clear Channel Outdoor (US) about 42%, OUTFRONT 38%.
- At Lamar, direct costs were 33% of revenue and ground rent about 17% of billboard revenue.
- Our example small-market bulletin clears about $6,300 a year before depreciation, interest and tax.

A billboard owner's income depends on three things. They are the market, the format and how often each face is sold. The big public operators give the clearest numbers. By our math from its 2025 report, Lamar earned about $1,050 a month per billboard ([Lamar 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm)). Its static faces earned about $730 a month and its digital faces about $10,000.

After direct costs, big operators keep a large share. Their billboard segments keep 38% to 55% of revenue. That is before interest, taxes and some overhead. This guide shows those numbers, then walks through a profit and loss for one bulletin.

## How much revenue does a billboard earn?

Here is what the public operators earned per display. Some figures are reported. Most are our math from their annual reports.

| Operator | Group | Revenue per display per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | All billboards (about 159,300) | About $12,640 | About $1,050 |
| Lamar | Bulletins (about 79,600) | About $19,480 | About $1,620 |
| Lamar | Posters (about 79,700) | About $5,810 | About $480 |
| Lamar | Static faces | About $8,770 | About $730 |
| Lamar | Digital faces (about 5,500) | About $120,800 | About $10,000 |
| OUTFRONT | All billboards (38,240) | About $36,390 | About $3,030 |
| OUTFRONT | Digital faces (1,928) | About $225,300 | About $18,800 |
| OUTFRONT | Reported yield, Q2 2026 | | $3,344 |

Sources: [Lamar 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm), [OUTFRONT 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579877/000157987726000008/out-20251231.htm), [Billboard Insider](https://billboardinsider.com/outfront-revenue-up-14-percent-in-2q-2026/). Lamar's bulletin and poster figures use its 77% and 23% revenue split. The bulletin group includes digital bulletins.

Why is OUTFRONT so much higher? It sells mostly in the biggest US cities. Lamar has far more boards, spread across 45 states and Canada. A small operator in a small market will often look more like Lamar's posters and static faces.

These are averages of year-end counts. Boards added or sold during the year can move them a little.

If you run boards in a small market, check your rates against deal prices too. AdQuick's deal data shows a median of $1,200 per four weeks in markets ranked 101 and up. If a face sold every period, that would be $15,600 a year. Few faces sell every period, so plan on less.

## How much do billboard owners keep?

Here is what each operator's billboard business kept before interest, taxes and some overhead. Analysts call this segment profit, or EBITDA.

| Operator | Billboard revenue, 2025 | Segment profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | $2.01 billion | $1.12 billion | About 55% |
| Clear Channel Outdoor (US segment) | $1.20 billion | $501 million | About 42% |
| OUTFRONT | $1.39 billion | $529 million | 38.0% |

Sources: [Lamar 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm), [Clear Channel Outdoor 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1334978/000133497826000010/cco-20251231.htm), [OUTFRONT earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579877/000157987726000004/ex991123125earningsrelease.htm). Clear Channel's US segment also includes street furniture and transit deals.

Rent is a big reason the margins differ. Most of it is [ground lease](https://gabie.ai/glossary/ground-lease) rent paid to landowners. Lamar's ground rent was about 17% of billboard revenue. OUTFRONT's billboard rent was about 32% of billboard revenue, by our math. Clear Channel's US site rent was about 31.5% of segment revenue. See [billboard lease rates](https://gabie.ai/learn/billboard-lease-rates) for more.

## Where does the money go?

Lamar breaks its costs out as a share of all revenue. This is a good map for any operator.

| Cost line | Share of Lamar's revenue, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Direct ad costs (rent, posting, power, repairs) | 33.0% |
| General and admin (sales, offices) | 16.3% |
| Corporate | 5.6% |
| Depreciation and amortization | 14.4% |
| Operating income | 34.2% |
| Interest | 7.1% |

Source: [Lamar 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm). Lamar's total adjusted EBITDA margin was about 46.7%, our math. The rows add to more than 100%. The 10-K has other operating items not shown here.

Here is what sits inside each line for a typical operator.

- **Direct costs** are the costs of running the boards. They include ground rent, posting crews, power for lights, repairs, insurance and property tax.
- **General and admin** is mostly selling. It covers sales pay, offices and billing.
- **Corporate** is the head office. Small operators often fold this into admin.
- **Depreciation** spreads the cost of the steel and screens over their lives.
- **Interest** is the cost of the loans that paid for the boards.

A small operator's costs look different in a few ways. You may pay more per site for insurance and repairs. You may do your own selling. You probably pay a higher rate on your loan.

## Example: profit and loss for one bulletin

Here is one static bulletin face, B-114 N, run by Riverbend Outdoor in Jackson, Tennessee. Every input is an assumption. Where we can, we tie it to a public number.

| Line | Assumption and basis | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | $1,200 per four weeks, the median deal in markets ranked 101+ ([AdQuick](https://www.adquick.com/answers/billboards/how-much-is-billboard-advertising)) | |
| Sold time | 80% of 13 periods, our assumption | |
| **Revenue** | $1,200 x 13 x 80% | **$12,480** |
| Ground rent | 17% of revenue, Lamar's average share | –$2,122 |
| Other direct costs | 16% of revenue. Lamar's direct costs are 33% with rent | –$1,997 |
| Selling and admin | 16.3% of revenue, Lamar's ratio | –$2,034 |
| **Profit before depreciation, interest and tax** | | **$6,327** |
| Depreciation | Half of an $87,000 two-face structure over 50 years | –$870 |
| **Profit before interest and tax** | | **$5,457** |

The $87,000 structure cost comes from a 2025 builder report ([Billboard Insider](https://billboardinsider.com/reader-tips-on-managing-billboard-construction-costs/)). The 50-year life follows North Carolina's tax guide for steel boards ([NC Department of Revenue](https://www.ncdor.gov/2026-billboard-structures-valuation-guide-final-securedpdf/open)). Your accountant may use a different schedule.

The profit margin here is about 51% before depreciation. That sits between Lamar's 47% overall and its 55% billboard figure.

The other side of the board, B-114 S, would add a similar amount. Two faces share one structure, so the second face is where much of the profit sits.

## How many faces does it take to make a living?

Use the example above as a rough guide. One face cleared about $6,300 a year before depreciation, interest and tax. So 20 faces like it would clear about $126,000. Fifty would clear about $316,000.

That is before loan payments and your own pay. If you borrowed to build, the loan comes out of this.

Scale helps in other ways too. More faces let you sell packages across a town. They also spread the cost of a truck, a crew and software over more boards.

## What about property tax?

Billboards are taxed like other business property. The rules differ by state. North Carolina publishes its method each year, and it is a clear example ([NC Department of Revenue](https://www.ncdor.gov/2026-billboard-structures-valuation-guide-final-securedpdf/open)).

Counties there value each structure at what it would cost to build new. Then they take off wear by age. The guide works one example. A 13-year-old steel monopole costs $56,020 to replace. It keeps 74% of that, or $41,455. Its digital face cost $150,000 and keeps 25%, or $37,500. The board is taxed on $78,955 in total.

Your county's tax rate then applies to that value. Ask your county assessor how it values billboards.

## How do small operators compare with the big three?

The big operators sell to two kinds of buyers. Local and regional sales were about 78% of Lamar's billboard revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025. National buyers were about 39% of OUTFRONT's billboard revenue. They were 35.5% of Clear Channel Outdoor's US revenue.

A small operator lives mostly on local buyers. See [national vs local sales](https://gabie.ai/glossary/national-vs-local-sales). Think dentists, plumbers, car dealers, lawyers and banks. That makes your local sales work the core of the business.

## Are the boards themselves worth something?

Yes. A billboard earns rent, but it is also an asset you can sell or borrow against. New sites are hard to permit. OUTFRONT says about 75% of its US structures could not be built under today's rules.

A lender at YESCO Financial Solutions gave a rule of thumb. Take a strong site with a valid permit and a good ground lease. That board should be worth "considerably more than the cost of construction" ([Billboard Insider](https://billboardinsider.com/tony-hull-explains-billboard-lease-financing/)). Lenders look at the site first.

## What moves an owner's income the most?

Small changes add up fast on one face. Here is the same bulletin with one input changed at a time.

| Change | New revenue | Change in profit before depreciation |
|---|---|---|
| Sold time up from 80% to 90% | $14,040 | About +$790 |
| Rate up 10%, to $1,320 | $13,728 | About +$630 |
| Rent share up from 17% to 25% | $12,480 | About –$1,000 |
| Face goes digital, 8 slots at $1,000, 75% sold | $78,000 | Large, but see costs |

Profit changes assume the other costs stay a fixed share of revenue. A digital face also costs two to four times more to run ([OUTFRONT 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579877/000157987726000008/out-20251231.htm)). See [digital billboard cost](https://gabie.ai/learn/digital-billboard-cost) for that math.

Lamar's CEO spoke about this in February 2026. He said Lamar is still at "peak average annual occupancy" now. Its gains come "primarily" from rate ([Lamar Q4 2025 call](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lamar-lamr-q4-2025-earnings-175533600.html)). Most small operators have more open time to sell. For them, occupancy is often the faster lever.

## How do billboard owners make more money?

1. **Sell the open time.** An empty [face](https://gabie.ai/glossary/face) still costs rent. Track [occupancy](https://gabie.ai/learn/billboard-occupancy-rate) every period.
2. **Price each face on its own.** Compare with similar faces in the same market. Raise rates where faces sell out.
3. **Renew early.** Talk to each advertiser about two months before the flight ends.
4. **Watch the lease.** A higher rent share can eat the gain from a rate raise.
5. **Convert the best sites.** A strong site with a digital permit can earn several times more.
6. **Collect on time.** Revenue you book but don't collect is not income.

Want to see what an empty face costs? Try the [empty face cost calculator](https://gabie.ai/tools/empty-face-cost-calculator).

> How Gabie handles this: Gabie Scout looks for local buyers for faces with sellable time in the next 28 days. It drafts short emails from verified facts. In Scout Assist, the default, a rep approves each email before it sends. Gabie's yield board ranks open value by traffic, so reps know where to start. See [Gabie Scout](https://gabie.ai/platform/scout).

## Questions people ask
### How much does one billboard make a month?
It varies a lot. By our math, Lamar's static faces earned about $730 a month in 2025 and its digital faces about $10,000. A small-market bulletin at the median deal price earns about $1,200 per four weeks when sold.

### Is owning billboards profitable?
For the big operators, yes. Lamar's billboard segment kept about 55% of revenue before overhead, interest and tax in 2025. OUTFRONT's kept 38%. Profit for a small owner depends on rent, rates and how often faces are sold.

### What are the main costs of owning a billboard?
Ground rent, posting and repairs, power for lights, insurance, property tax, selling costs and the loan on the structure. At Lamar, direct costs were 33% of revenue and overhead another 22%.

### How much does a digital billboard make?
By our math, Lamar's digital boards earned about $10,000 a month each in 2025, and OUTFRONT's about $18,800. OUTFRONT says digital earns four to five times what a static face does.

### How can a billboard owner make more money?
Sell more of the open time, raise rates where demand allows, renew advertisers early and convert strong sites to digital. Lamar says its growth now comes mostly from rate.

## Sources
1. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Lamar Advertising Company (SEC filing). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm (accessed 2026-10-08)
2. Lamar (LAMR) Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (February 20, 2026), Motley Fool via Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lamar-lamr-q4-2025-earnings-175533600.html (accessed 2026-10-08)
3. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, OUTFRONT Media (SEC filing). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579877/000157987726000008/out-20251231.htm (accessed 2026-10-08)
4. OUTFRONT Media Reports Results for 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full Year (earnings release), OUTFRONT Media (SEC filing). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579877/000157987726000004/ex991123125earningsrelease.htm (accessed 2026-10-08)
5. OUTFRONT Revenue Up 14% in 2Q 2026 (August 6, 2026), Billboard Insider. https://billboardinsider.com/outfront-revenue-up-14-percent-in-2q-2026/ (accessed 2026-10-08)
6. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (SEC filing). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1334978/000133497826000010/cco-20251231.htm (accessed 2026-10-08)
7. Tony Hull Explains Billboard Lease Financing (November 24, 2025), Billboard Insider. https://billboardinsider.com/tony-hull-explains-billboard-lease-financing/ (accessed 2026-10-08)
8. How much is billboard advertising? (reviewed September 2026), AdQuick. https://www.adquick.com/answers/billboards/how-much-is-billboard-advertising (accessed 2026-10-08)
9. Reader Tips on Managing Billboard Construction Costs (March 3, 2025), Billboard Insider. https://billboardinsider.com/reader-tips-on-managing-billboard-construction-costs/ (accessed 2026-10-08)
10. 2026 Billboard Structures Valuation Guide, North Carolina Department of Revenue. https://www.ncdor.gov/2026-billboard-structures-valuation-guide-final-securedpdf/open (accessed 2026-10-08)