Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Issues Earnings Results

05 Feb 2026, 00:00 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.40), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 95.37%. Crown Castle updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.380-4.490 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Crown Castle’s conference call:

Crown Castle remains on track to close the sale of its small cell and fiber businesses in H1 2026, with the DOJ HSR review cleared and the $8.5 billion purchase price unchanged; management intends to use proceeds to pay down ~$7 billion of debt and allocate ~$1 billion to share repurchases, simplifying the company into a U.S.-only tower operator.
Crown terminated its contract with DISH after a default and is seeking in excess of $3.5 billion in remaining payments, while excluding DISH from 2026 guidance causes an expected $220 million revenue churn and introduces legal/collection uncertainty.
The company announced an accelerated restructuring to realign the standalone tower business, reducing continuing-operations headcount by ~20% to ~1,250 FTEs and targeting $65 million of annualized operating cost savings (≈$55 million impact in 2026).
Management reaffirmed its capital allocation framework — maintain the dividend at $4.25 annualized until a 75%–80% AFFO payout ratio is reached, target leverage of 6.0–6.5x, discretionary capex of $150–250 million, and mid-2026 guidance (site rental revenues ~$3.9B, adjusted EBITDA ~$2.7B, AFFO ~$1.9B) with organic growth expected to be ~3.5% at the midpoint and described as a near-term trough.

Crown Castle Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,607,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,036,108. Crown Castle has a 1 year low of $83.21 and a 1 year high of $115.76. The company has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 2,676.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CCI. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $124.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.38.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CCI

More Crown Castle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crown Castle this week:

Positive Sentiment: Company issued FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $4.380–$4.490, which is above the prior consensus (~$3.74); that lifted hopes for full‑year earnings recovery and supported the stock. GlobeNewswire Release
Positive Sentiment: Management guided to modest growth in AFFO per share (AFFO/sh $4.43 midpoint) and higher net income at the midpoint, which provides a constructive cash‑flow outlook for 2026. GlobeNewswire Release
Neutral Sentiment: Q4 revenue came in roughly in line with expectations (~$1.07B vs. ~$1.06B estimate), reducing surprise on the top line even as other metrics diverged. Press Release / Slides
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary is mixed — some pieces argue valuation already discounts cash‑flow risk while others point to a constructive “tower‑first” strategy; this keeps sentiment bifurcated. Yahoo Valuation Article
Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed materially: $0.67 reported vs. $1.07 consensus — the earnings shortfall was the primary near‑term negative catalyst that pressured the stock in after‑hours trade. Benzinga: Q4 Reaction
Negative Sentiment: Key operating metrics showed pressure: site rental revenues and adjusted EBITDA are down year‑over‑year in the company outlook, signaling near‑term demand/lease mix headwinds. GlobeNewswire Release
Negative Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its price target from $90 to $84 (still a Buy), a modest analyst downgrade that may cap near‑term upside until fundamentals clearly reaccelerate. Benzinga: Jefferies Note

About Crown Castle

(Get Free Report)

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.