Crown Castle Inc.
- Open
- 75.13
- Day high
- 75.31
- Day low
- 73.67
- Prev close
- 75.59
- Volume
- 793K
- Mkt cap
- $32.9B
- P/E (TTM)
- 30.6
- EPS (TTM)
- $2.41
- P/B
- -10.1
- P/S
- 7.9
- Yield
- 5.62%
- Per share
- $4.25
Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) is a Real Estate company listed on NYSE. The stock is down 27% over the past year. Drillr has 1 published research article covering CCI.
Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 8 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
CCI earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2026 | $0.39 | $0.69 | +76.7% | $1.0B | +1.3% |
| Apr 22, 2026 | $0.38 | $0.34 | -9.7% | $1.0B | +1.5% |
| Feb 4, 2026 | $1.07 | $1.12 | +4.7% | $1.1B | +1.0% |
| Oct 22, 2025 | $1.04 | $1.12 | +7.7% | $1.1B | +1.2% |
| Jul 23, 2025 | $1.00 | $1.02 | +2.0% | $1.1B | +0.6% |
| Apr 30, 2025 | $1.02 | $1.10 | +7.8% | $1.1B | +2.0% |
| Mar 13, 2025 | $1.82 | $1.80 | -1.1% | $1.6B | +0.7% |
| Oct 16, 2024 | $1.80 | $1.84 | +2.2% | $1.7B | +1.1% |
| Jul 17, 2024 | $1.65 | $1.62 | -1.8% | $1.6B | +0.7% |
| Apr 17, 2024 | $1.71 | $1.72 | +0.6% | $1.6B | +0.9% |
| Jan 24, 2024 | $1.79 | $1.82 | +1.7% | $1.7B | +0.8% |
| Oct 18, 2023 | $1.78 | $1.77 | -0.6% | $1.7B | -0.8% |
CCI insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | Hinson Kristoffer Lofficer: EVP and CCO | Grant | 11,083 | — |
| May 6, 2026 | Stephens Kevin Adirector | Buy | 820 | $90.24 |
| May 5, 2026 | Adams Edward B JRofficer: EVP and General Counsel | Tax | 5,702 | $88.78 |
| May 5, 2026 | Adams Edward B JRofficer: EVP and General Counsel | Grant | 14,490 | — |
| May 5, 2026 | Collins Robert Seanofficer: Vice President and Controller | Grant | 1,138 | — |
| May 5, 2026 | Piche Catherineofficer: EVP & COO-Towers | Tax | 2,186 | $88.78 |
| May 5, 2026 | Piche Catherineofficer: EVP & COO-Towers | Grant | 5,031 | — |
| May 5, 2026 | Collins Robert Seanofficer: Vice President and Controller | Tax | 325 | $88.78 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | PATEL SUNIT Sofficer: EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Tax | 3,797 | $86.57 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | PATEL SUNIT Sofficer: EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Option | 9,649 | — |
| Feb 27, 2026 | KABAT KEVIN Tdirector | Grant | 2,673 | — |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Piche Catherineofficer: EVP & COO-Towers | Grant | 16,811 | — |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Collins Robert Seanofficer: Vice President and Controller | Grant | 4,874 | — |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Bartolo P Robertdirector | Grant | 4,590 | — |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Goldsmith Andrea Jodirector | Grant | 2,673 | — |
Source: CCI SEC Form 4 filings, latest May 21, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full CCI insider & 13F page →Crown Castle Inc. company profile
Overview
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) is a leading American real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure across the United States. Founded in 1994 and going public in 1998, the company has grown to become one of the largest tower operators in the country through strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Crown Castle currently owns more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 80,000 route miles of fiber infrastructure supporting small cells and fiber solutions nationwide. The company is undergoing a significant strategic transformation, having recently agreed to sell its fiber and small cell businesses to focus exclusively on its core tower operations as a pure-play U.S. tower company.
Business
Crown Castle operates in the wireless communications infrastructure industry, providing the physical backbone that enables cellular networks to function across the United States. The company's business revolves around three main segments that collectively support the nation's wireless communications needs. The tower business represents Crown Castle's largest and most profitable segment, accounting for approximately 70% of total revenues. This involves owning and operating tall structures - typically 100 to 500 feet in height - that house cellular antennas and equipment for wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. These towers serve as the foundational infrastructure that enables cell phone calls, text messages, and data transmission over wide geographic areas. Each tower can accommodate multiple tenants (carriers), creating a shared infrastructure model where carriers lease space rather than building their own individual towers. The small cell business, generating roughly 15% of revenues, focuses on deploying much smaller cellular equipment on existing infrastructure like utility poles, street lights, and building rooftops in dense urban areas. Small cells are low-power cellular base stations that provide coverage and capacity in areas where traditional macro towers cannot effectively serve, such as busy downtown districts, shopping centers, and residential neighborhoods with high data usage. These installations are particularly important for 5G networks, which require denser infrastructure to deliver high-speed, low-latency services. The fiber solutions segment, comprising about 15% of revenues, provides high-capacity fiber optic cable networks that connect cell towers and small cells to carriers' core networks, while also serving enterprise customers directly with internet and data services. This fiber infrastructure acts as the "backhaul" - the high-speed data highways that carry traffic between cell sites and the broader internet infrastructure. However, Crown Castle has recently agreed to divest both its small cell and fiber businesses to focus exclusively on tower operations.
Revenue model
Crown Castle generates revenue primarily through long-term lease agreements with wireless carriers, functioning as a landlord for critical communications infrastructure. The company's business model centers on recurring rental income from tenants who lease space on towers and fiber networks, typically under contracts spanning 5 to 15 years with built-in annual escalations of 2-4%. The tower business operates on a particularly attractive economic model where Crown Castle leases space on each tower to multiple carriers simultaneously. Once a tower is constructed, adding additional tenants generates high-margin incremental revenue since the fixed costs of tower ownership - land lease, maintenance, and property taxes - remain largely unchanged. This creates significant operating leverage, with new tenant additions often achieving 80-90% incremental margins. Revenue growth drivers include new tenant additions as carriers expand network coverage, existing tenant upgrades to newer technologies like 5G, and contractual rent escalations. The company benefits from several favorable industry dynamics: growing mobile data consumption drives carriers to continuously densify their networks, spectrum deployment cycles create waves of equipment upgrades, and the shared infrastructure model offers carriers a more cost-effective alternative to building proprietary networks. However, margins face pressure from several factors. Churn risk emerges when carriers consolidate networks following mergers, as seen with the ongoing Sprint network rationalization that has reduced rental revenues. Rising interest rates increase Crown Castle's substantial debt servicing costs, while inflation drives up operational expenses including labor, materials, and ground lease payments to landowners. Regulatory changes in zoning and permitting can slow new deployments, and increased competition from other tower companies or alternative technologies could pressure pricing power. The company's high leverage also makes it sensitive to economic downturns that might reduce carrier capital spending on network investments.
Competitive moat
Crown Castle possesses a moderate to strong economic moat built primarily on the irreplaceable nature of its tower locations and the high switching costs inherent in wireless infrastructure. The company's towers occupy strategically valuable real estate positions that took decades to assemble through zoning approvals, community negotiations, and regulatory processes that would be extremely difficult and expensive for competitors to replicate today. The location-based moat is particularly strong because wireless coverage requires towers in specific geographic positions to provide optimal signal propagation. Carriers cannot simply move to a competitor's tower if it doesn't provide the necessary coverage footprint, creating significant customer stickiness. Additionally, the shared infrastructure model creates network effects - as more carriers lease space on a tower, the fixed costs are spread across more tenants, making Crown Castle's offering increasingly cost-effective compared to alternatives. Regulatory barriers further strengthen the moat, as obtaining permits for new tower construction has become increasingly difficult due to local zoning restrictions and community opposition. This "not in my backyard" dynamic effectively limits new supply in many markets, protecting existing tower operators from competition. However, the moat faces several potential threats. Technological disruption from satellite-based communications, advanced antenna technologies that reduce tower requirements, or alternative network architectures could diminish demand for traditional tower infrastructure. Carrier consolidation represents an ongoing risk, as demonstrated by the Sprint-T-Mobile merger that resulted in significant tenant churn. The company also faces competition from other large tower operators like American Tower and SBA Communications, which limits pricing power in some markets. While Crown Castle's moat is meaningful, it is not impregnable and requires continuous investment in new technologies and strategic positioning to maintain its competitive advantages.
Risks & safety
Crown Castle presents moderate financial risk with concerning leverage levels but strong cash generation capabilities. • Debt and Solvency: The company carries substantial debt of approximately $18.7 billion with leverage around 5.5x net debt-to-EBITDA, approaching the high end of investment-grade territory. Current ratio of 0.37 indicates potential liquidity constraints, though this is partially offset by strong operating cash flow generation of $641 million quarterly. • Cash Generation: Free cash flow remains robust at $601 million quarterly despite capital intensity, providing adequate coverage for the dividend and debt service obligations. The company maintains investment-grade credit ratings but has limited financial flexibility. • Valuation Metrics: Trading at 27x EV/EBITDA appears expensive, though this reflects the pending strategic transformation. The negative book value due to high leverage creates elevated financial risk. • Other Considerations: Upcoming asset sales of fiber and small cell businesses should provide approximately $11 billion in proceeds, enabling $6 billion in debt reduction and $3 billion in share repurchases, which would significantly improve the balance sheet profile and reduce leverage to more comfortable levels around 3-4x.
Recent development
Crown Castle has undergone significant strategic evolution over the past two years, transitioning from a diversified communications infrastructure company to a focused tower operator. The company initiated a comprehensive strategic review of its fiber and small cell businesses in 2024, ultimately deciding to divest these assets to concentrate exclusively on its core tower operations. In late 2024, Crown Castle signed definitive agreements to sell its fiber solutions business to Zayo and its small cell business to EQT for a combined consideration of approximately $11 billion. These transactions, expected to close in the first half of 2026, represent a fundamental shift toward becoming a pure-play U.S. tower company. The strategic rationale centers on simplifying operations, improving capital allocation efficiency, and focusing resources on the company's most profitable and defensible business segment. Operationally, Crown Castle has implemented several efficiency initiatives including the cancellation of approximately 7,000 unprofitable small cell nodes, saving $800 million in future capital expenditures. The company has also invested heavily in digitizing its tower portfolio using drone technology, automating processes, and upgrading systems to improve customer service and operational efficiency. These efforts have contributed to approximately $100 million in annualized cost savings. The company has also undergone leadership changes, with Steven Moskowitz appointed as CEO to guide the transformation. Under his leadership, Crown Castle has established a new capital allocation framework prioritizing shareholder returns through a dividend policy targeting 75-80% of anticipated funds from operations, a planned $3 billion share repurchase program, and $6 billion in debt reduction following the asset sales. This strategic pivot positions Crown Castle to benefit from continued 5G deployment cycles while maintaining a stronger balance sheet and more focused operational structure.
CCI company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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