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1. Company Snapshot

1.a. Company Description

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 80,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market.This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service - bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.For more information on Crown Castle, please visit www.crowncastle.com.

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1.b. Last Insights on CCI

Breaking News: Crown Castle Inc reported Q4 earnings with AFFO beating estimates, driven by stronger services revenue growth. Revenue and EPS give a sense of business performance in Q4 2025. Services revenues rose, while site rental income was lower with higher costs. The Q4 AFFO and sales beat estimates. Recommendations from analysts are mixed, with some as buy, some as hold and sell from various firms. Analysts at various firms have given recommendations on the stock. Crown Castle Inc. results are per share and revenue wise doing well.

1.c. Company Highlights

2. Crown Castle's Financial Performance and Outlook

Crown Castle reported a strong full-year 2025 performance, with site rental revenues growing 4.9% organically, excluding the impact of Sprint churn. The company's adjusted EBITDA and AFFO also exceeded expectations. However, the actual EPS came out at $0.673, which was lower than the estimated $1.07. The company's revenue growth was driven by the continued deployment of 5G networks by its customers, with Sunit Patel noting that "our customers continue to augment their 5G networks."

Publication Date: Feb -05

📋 Highlights
  • 2025 Guidance Exceeded: Full-year 2025 results exceeded midpoint across all key metrics with 4.9% organic growth (excluding Sprint churn) and $1.9B AFFO.
  • 2026 Financial Projections: Midpoint outlook includes $3.9B site rental revenue, $2.7B adjusted EBITDA, and $1.9B AFFO, with $7B debt paydown from fiber/small-cell sale.
  • DISH Agreement Termination: Terminated due to DISH non-performance, accelerating $50M in 2025 organic growth loss and enforcing contract termination rights.
  • Cost & CapEx Strategy: $65M in cost savings (including $55M SG&A cuts) and $150-250M discretionary CapEx for new towers, ground leases, and systems.
  • Leasing Outlook: 3.5% leasing growth projected as a low point for 2026, with 80% of 2026 leasing contracted and back-half 2027 demand expected to improve.

Financial Highlights

The company's financial performance was highlighted by a 4.9% organic growth in site rental revenues. For 2026, the company is projecting site rental revenues of $3.9 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $2.7 billion, and AFFO of $1.9 billion. Analysts estimate next year's revenue growth at 1.8%.

Leasing Environment and Outlook

Crown Castle expects a slightly lower growth rate in 2026 due to the loss of DISH revenue. However, the company believes that the industry is in a cyclical 5G deployment cycle, with progress made by operators in getting initial coverage out. The company expects mobile data demand to continue at healthy growth rates, driven by the acquisition of spectrum by major MNOs and the FCC's planned auction of 800 MHz spectrum starting in 2027.

Valuation Metrics

Using various valuation metrics, we can understand what's priced into Crown Castle's stock. The company's P/S Ratio is 7.74, EV/EBITDA is -33.12, and Dividend Yield is 5.52%. These metrics indicate that the stock may be fairly valued, but the negative EV/EBITDA ratio suggests that the company's debt levels are high. The ROE is 433.51%, which is unusually high, but this is likely due to the company's significant debt.

Transaction Update

Crown Castle remains on track to close the sale of its small cell and fiber businesses in 2026. The company has been notified that the Department of Justice has closed its Hart-Scott-Rodino review and is not requiring any action related to the transaction. The purchase price remains at $8.5 billion, with approximately $7 billion of debt pay down expected.

3. NewsRoom

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From Silicon To Steel: The Value Trade Returns

Feb -08

Source: seekingalpha.com

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Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Feb -06

Source: defenseworld.net

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Crown Castle Q4 AFFO & Sales Beat Estimates, Services Revenues Rise

Feb -05

Source: zacks.com

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Breakfast News: The 2-Day Tech Sell-Off Explained

Feb -05

Source: fool.com

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Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Feb -05

Source: seekingalpha.com

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Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Crown Castle (CCI) Q4 Earnings

Feb -05

Source: zacks.com

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Crown Castle (CCI) Tops Q4 FFO and Revenue Estimates

Feb -04

Source: zacks.com

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Crown Castle Shares Slide After Q4 Results, Weak FY26 Guidance

Feb -04

Source: benzinga.com

4. Business Breakdown

4.a. Revenues by Country

4.b. Revenues by Segment

5. Expected revenues mid-term growth (6.50%)

6. Segments

Towers

Expected Growth: 6.5%

Increasing demand for mobile data and 5G network deployment drives growth. Crown Castle's extensive tower portfolio and strategic fiber assets position it for steady expansion in the US wireless infrastructure market, driven by carrier investments in network upgrades and expansions.

Fiber

Expected Growth: 6.5%

Growing demand for high-speed connectivity, 5G network deployments, and increasing adoption of cloud services drive growth. Crown Castle's extensive fiber-optic infrastructure positions it to capitalize on these trends, with a forecast CAGR of 6.5% driven by increasing demand for reliable and high-capacity connectivity solutions.

7. Detailed Products

Fiber Solutions

Crown Castle's fiber solutions provide a comprehensive suite of fiber optic infrastructure, including dark fiber, lit fiber, and fiber-to-the-tower solutions. This enables customers to access high-speed data transmission and improve network performance.

Cell Towers

Crown Castle's cell towers provide a critical infrastructure component for wireless carriers, enabling them to transmit and receive signals to and from mobile devices. The towers support a range of wireless technologies, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G.

Small Cell Solutions

Crown Castle's small cell solutions provide a compact, low-power alternative to traditional cell towers. These solutions are designed to provide targeted coverage and capacity in areas with high demand, such as urban centers or public venues.

Network Services

Crown Castle's network services provide a range of solutions to support wireless carriers, including site acquisition, construction, and maintenance services. This enables carriers to focus on their core business while leveraging Crown Castle's expertise in network infrastructure.

8. Crown Castle Inc.'s Porter Forces

Forces Ranking

Threat Of Substitutes

Crown Castle Inc. operates in the wireless infrastructure industry, providing cell towers and other communication infrastructure to wireless carriers. The threat of substitutes is relatively low as the demand for wireless connectivity is high and there are limited alternatives for wireless carriers to provide reliable and widespread coverage.

Bargaining Power Of Customers

Crown Castle Inc.'s customers are primarily wireless carriers, which have a moderate level of bargaining power. While they are major customers, Crown Castle has a diversified customer base and a significant market share, which limits the bargaining power of individual customers.

Bargaining Power Of Suppliers

Crown Castle Inc. has a large and diversified supplier base, which reduces the bargaining power of individual suppliers. Additionally, the company has a significant market share and scale, which allows it to negotiate favorable terms with suppliers.

Threat Of New Entrants

The threat of new entrants in the wireless infrastructure industry is high due to the growing demand for wireless connectivity and the increasing need for communication infrastructure. However, Crown Castle Inc. has a significant market share and a well-established presence, which makes it challenging for new entrants to compete.

Intensity Of Rivalry

The wireless infrastructure industry is highly competitive, with a few major players competing for market share. Crown Castle Inc. competes with companies such as American Tower Corporation and SBA Communications Corporation, which increases the intensity of rivalry.

9. SWOT Analysis

Strength

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

10. Capital Structure

10.a. Balance Sheet

10.b. Weighted Average Cost of capital

Value
Debt Weight 100.45%
Debt Cost 4.30%
Equity Weight -0.45%
Equity Cost 8.97%
WACC 4.27%
Leverage -22265.41%

11. Quality Control: Crown Castle Inc. passed 3 out of 9 key points

12.a Historical Valuation

12.b Price/Earnings Ratio

12.c Margin Valuation

12.d Peers Valuation

Peers Group Analysis

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VICI Properties

A-Score: 7.4/10

Value: 5.1

Growth: 7.7

Quality: 7.2

Yield: 10.0

Momentum: 4.5

Volatility: 10.0

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Gaming and Leisure Properties

A-Score: 6.4/10

Value: 3.9

Growth: 4.3

Quality: 6.6

Yield: 10.0

Momentum: 3.5

Volatility: 10.0

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Crown Castle

A-Score: 6.1/10

Value: 7.3

Growth: 2.4

Quality: 5.8

Yield: 8.0

Momentum: 4.0

Volatility: 9.0

1-Year Total Return ->

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American Tower

A-Score: 5.5/10

Value: 1.8

Growth: 4.8

Quality: 6.5

Yield: 7.0

Momentum: 4.0

Volatility: 9.0

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Iron Mountain

A-Score: 5.2/10

Value: 5.1

Growth: 4.0

Quality: 4.2

Yield: 8.0

Momentum: 2.5

Volatility: 7.3

1-Year Total Return ->

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Equinix

A-Score: 4.8/10

Value: 1.2

Growth: 6.0

Quality: 4.4

Yield: 5.0

Momentum: 3.0

Volatility: 9.0

1-Year Total Return ->

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Peers Metrics

12.e Scoring Insights

12.f DCF BETA

Parameters

Short Term Growth

Short term Time

Long-Term Growth

WACC

Target Price

80.88$

Current Price

80.88$

Potential

-0.00%

Expected Cash-Flows