Crown Castle owns or manages roughly 40,000 wireless towers in the United States. It leases space on its towers to wireless service providers, which install equipment to support their wireless networks.
It is a $33.9B real estate company. Revenue shrank 23.3% over the last year, it keeps 21¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~10.1 years of free cash flow. It trades at 39.3× earnings — around the middle of its own history.
- Website
- crowncastle.com
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Employees
- 4 000
- Sector
- Real Estate
- Founded
- 1980
Skills
Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.
Strong profitability; Valuation, Growth and Health lag behind.
Valuation49
- P/E vs own history67th pct · 5/25
- FCF yield7.1% · 20/25
- P/S8.1x · 12/25
- EV/EBITDA19.0x · 12/25
Growth25
- Revenue CAGR-9.4% · 0/25
- Net income CAGR-20.2% · 0/25
- EPS CAGR ~5Y-15.4% · 0/25
- Fwd implied growth40.2% · 25/25
Profitability75
- ROIC5.4% · 5/25
- ROE21.0% · 20/25
- Net margin20.7% · 25/25
- Operating margin48.2% · 25/25
Health13
- Altman Z0.24 · 3/25
- Current ratio0.52 · 0/25
- Interest coverage2.2x · 10/25
- Net cash / debtD/A 77% · 0/25
Quality67
- Piotroski F4/9 · 10/25
- Beneish M-2.29 · 20/25
- FCF conversion279% · 25/25
- Margin stabilityσ 13.9% · 12/25
Moat50
- ROIC >12% years0/10 yrs · 0/25
- Median gross margin92.7% · 25/25
- FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
- Worst-year net marginworst -59.4% · 0/25
Experience
The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.
- FY2022FinancialBest year on record$1.68B net income
- Jul 19, 2017AcquisitionCrown Castle signed an agreement to acquire Lightower, a fiber network operator in the northeast…
- FY2016FinancialFirst recorded profitable year$357M net income
- FY2016FinancialRevenue already above $1B$3.92B in first reported year
- FY2016FinancialPositive free cash flow every year since10-year streak
- 2015AcquisitionThe acquisition of Quanta Fiber Networks (Sunesys) in 2015 gave the company access to over 10,000 miles of fiber in…
- 2014AcquisitionPrior to that, in 2014, the company acquired the 24/7 Mid-Atlantic Network with over 800 miles of fiber along the…
- Jan 12, 2007AcquisitionCrown Castle completed the acquisition of Global Signal Inc., another U.S
- 2005MilestoneNational Grid Transco plc was renamed to National Grid plc in July 2005
- 1998AcquisitionThe merger of the two firms, completed in January 1998, more than doubled the assets of the now-merged Crown Castle
- 1997AcquisitionCrown Communications merged with Houston's Castle Tower Corporation to form Crown Castle International
- 1980FoundedCrown Communications was founded in 1980 by Robert and Barbara Crown, natives of the Pittsburgh suburb of Green Tree
Achievements
Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.
Strengths & watch-outs
What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.
Strengths
- High gross margin (73.7%)
- Strongly profitable — 20.7% net margin
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 57.8% of revenue
Watch-outs
- Revenue shrinking 23.3% year over year
- Altman Z-Score 0.24 — elevated financial-distress risk
- Net debt would take ~9.3 years of free cash flow to repay
- Loss-making in 1 of the recent years
- Net debt equals ~10.1 years of free cash flow
Qualifications
The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.
- Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago-23.3% YoY
- Profitable — makes more than it spends$862M TTM
- Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year-35.9% YoY
- Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$2.41B TTM
- Debt under control — could handle its obligations~10.1y of cash flow to repay
- Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$33.9B market cap
- Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice+2.8% shares over ~5y
- Proven track record — years of profitability behind it9/10 profitable years
- Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 0.2 — distress
- Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 5.49%
- Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 39.3
Peer comparisonCrown Castle Inc. vs 6 largest real estate peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾Close ▴
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCI this company | $33.9B | 39.3 | -23.3% | 20.7% | Strained |
| WELL Welltower Inc. | $162.5B | 108.1 | +37.6% | 12.1% | Strained |
| PLD Prologis, Inc. | $123.1B | 29.8 | +7.3% | 45.8% | Strained |
| EQIX Equinix, Inc. | $101.2B | 66.0 | +9.6% | 15.6% | Strained |
| AMT American Tower Corporation | $84.5B | 25.0 | +14.2% | 31.1% | Strained |
| DLR Digital Realty Trust, Inc. | $66.6B | 83.0 | +17.4% | 11.8% | Strained |
| SPG Simon Property Group, Inc. | $64.7B | 14.0 | +15.0% | 66.5% | Strained |
Head-to-head: CCI vs WELL · CCI vs PLD · CCI vs EQIX
References
What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.
Appendix · Financial records
The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.
Live data and quarterly detail: stockcv.com/CCI
Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?
Deeper analysis of CCI on PreMarketPriceFigures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $79.64 · market cap $33.9B.