Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) is a publicly traded company in the Real Estate — REIT - Specialty industry listed on NYSE. This overview shows the latest price, key valuation ratios, profitability metrics and financial-health indicators used by fundamental investors.
Crown Castle Inc. specializes in critical digital infrastructure across the United States. The company actively manages, operates, and leases an expansive network, featuring over 40,000 cellular communication towers and approximately 80,000 miles of fiber optic cable. This comprehensive infrastructure underpins both small cell deployments and various advanced fiber solutions, spanning every significant U.S. metropolitan area.
Is Crown Castle Inc. stock overvalued or undervalued in 2026?
Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) trades at 37.2× earnings (P/E). At its 10-year average P/FFO (19.5×) $52 (-41 %).
Kaplio overview: Crown Castle Inc.
Market cap $39B · 52 weeks $66 – $94 (5 % below the high) · P/E 37.2× · 2027 expected P/E 31.1× · Dividend 4.8 % · Next earnings February 3, 2027 · expected EPS $0.72 · Closing price, Oct 29 · accounts published Oct 21.
- Valuation: P/FFO 33.1× (expensive).
- Business: FFO/dividend 0.6× (weak).
- Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA 10.6× (fragile).
- Earnings: 4 of 8 (no verdict).
What would it be worth at its usual multiples?
At its 10-year average P/FFO (19.5×) $52 (-41 %). Implied price from applying the reference multiples to today's earnings (or book value, or FFO) per share. Not a fair value: it is where the stock would trade at its usual multiples.
What matters in REITs: 1 of 5 pass
- Dividend coverage (FFO/div) 0.6×, fails.
- Debt / Assets 93.8 %, fails.
- Net debt / EBITDA 10.6×, fails.
- P/FFO 33.1×, fails.
- FFO Payout (proxy) 68.0 %, passes.
- FFO / Share $2.68, info.
Against its peers (reference peers) — Crown Castle Inc.: P/B —; Div. yield 4.8 %; EV/EBITDA 22.9×; $38.8B. SBA Communications Corporation (P/B —; Div. yield 2.6 %; EV/EBITDA 17.1×; $19.6B), American Tower Corporation (P/B 24.6×; Div. yield 3.8 %; EV/EBITDA 17.7×; $86.2B), Array Digital Infrastructure Inc (P/B 2.2×; Div. yield —; EV/EBITDA 4.0×; $2.8B).
Expensive or cheap against its last ten fiscal years?
Precio / FFO (aprox.) at each close: today 33.1× · median 19.2× · minimum 12.7× · maximum 33.1× · cheap below 16.4× · expensive above 21.9×. It has been cheaper than today 100% of the time over its last ten fiscal years.
Dividend
tight (only raised recently) · Yield 4.8 % ($4.78 per share in 2025) · 5-year growth -2 % a year · Free cash flow coverage FFO payout 68 % · With $1,000 invested today you'd collect $48.40 a year ($4.03 a month).
Kaplio's reading: Crown Castle Inc.
Updated on October 22, 2026 · accounts published on October 21, 2026
Reading of October 21, 2026: A highly profitable business with record margins, shrinking revenue and a heavy debt load
Crown Castle trades at 29.3× fiscal 2025 FFO, above the 15× to 20× healthy REIT range, while FFO covers its dividend only 0.6×.
- Is Crown Castle expensive or cheap? Crown Castle trades at 29.3× fiscal 2025 FFO, about 47 % above the top of the 15× to 20× range seen as healthy for a REIT.
- How is the business doing? Revenue fell 35 % over the last 12 months, yet the 48 % operating margin is double the 2014-2025 average of 24 %.
- How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt reached 10.6× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, far above the 6× ceiling considered acceptable for a REIT.
- Does FFO cover the dividend, and at what multiple does it trade? FFO covered the dividend only 0.6× in fiscal 2025, short of the 1.1× a REIT needs to fund its payout comfortably.
- What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $0.69 for the report due February 3, 2027, after a 2.5 % miss on October 21, 2026.
Is Crown Castle expensive or cheap?
Crown Castle trades at 29.3× its fiscal 2025 FFO of $2.68 per share. That is about 47 % above the top of the 15× to 20× band usually seen as healthy for a REIT. Other measures over the last 12 months give mixed signals. EV/EBITDA stands at 21.3×, and the free cash flow yield is 8 %, which looks generous next to the FFO multiple. The share price has fallen 17 % over the last 12 months and sits 17 % below its 52-week high of $98.65, with a 52-week low of $66.12. The P/E ranged from 22.3× to 108.0× over the past decade, and for a REIT it is a secondary guide.
How is the business doing?
Revenue and profitability are moving in opposite directions. Revenue dropped 35 % over the last 12 months, a steep fall for a REIT whose appeal rests on steady income. Profitability went the other way. The operating margin reached 48 % over the last 12 months, double the 24 % average of fiscal 2014 to 2025, and fiscal 2025 set a 12-year high at 49 %. The data shows a smaller business that keeps a larger share of each dollar as operating profit. Whether revenue stabilises will decide if those margins turn into growing FFO.
How strong is the balance sheet?
Leverage is the weak point. Net debt reached 10.6× EBITDA in fiscal 2025. For a REIT, up to 6× passes and below 5× counts as excellent. Debt equals 94 % of total assets, well past the 60 % considered healthy. With that much debt, the 5.2 % dividend yield over the last 12 months rests on a thin base, and financing conditions matter more here than at a less indebted REIT. The one reassuring figure is that dividends took 68 % of operating cash flow in fiscal 2025, inside the 80 % limit considered healthy.
Does FFO cover the dividend, and at what multiple does it trade?
In a REIT, EPS and the P/E mislead. Real-estate depreciation is a large non-cash charge that pushes down reported earnings. FFO adds it back and gives a cleaner view of the cash that funds dividends. By that measure, Crown Castle generated $2.68 of FFO per share in fiscal 2025. That FFO covered the dividend just 0.6×, below the 1.1× considered healthy. Investors are paying 29.3× that FFO, above the 15× to 20× range. Operating cash flow covers the payout with room to spare, at a 68 % payout, so the gap between the two coverage measures is the figure to follow.
What to expect from the next earnings?
On October 21, 2026, Crown Castle reported EPS of $0.67, 2.5 % below the $0.69 analysts expected. Its record is even: it has beaten EPS estimates in 4 of the last 8 quarters. Forecasts have barely moved. The 2026 EPS consensus stayed at $1.93 over the last 30 days among 8 analysts, and the revenue forecast for 2026 hardly changed. Opinion is split: 24 of 47 analysts rate the stock a buy, 21 a hold and 1 a sell. For the next report on February 3, 2027, the bar is EPS of $0.69.
How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.
Investor methods verdict
Would Peter Lynch approve Crown Castle today?
The Lynch Method would not approve Crown Castle today: it fails its quality rules. Business quality: 4 out of 100 (price not included). Lynch classifies it as a turnaround. Kaplio assessment with data from the week of 2026-10-26; not investment advice.
Profitability
| Return on Equity | -40.39% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 9.51% |
| Return on Assets | 5.02% |
| Gross Margin | 62.96% |
| Operating Margin | 47.17% |
| Net Margin | 25.34% |
Financial Health
| Debt / Equity | -6.69 |
| Current Ratio | 0.23 |
| Piotroski F-Score | 5 |
| Altman Z-Score | 0.03 |
Price Performance
| 1 month | +33.28% |
| 3 months | +16.42% |
| Year-to-date | -0.05% |
| 1 year | -2.73% |
| 3 years | -4.46% |
| 5 years | -50.73% |
| 10 years | -1.23% |
Dividend History
Paid in the last 12 months: $4.2500 per share in 4 payments.
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-15 | $1.0625 |
| 2026-06-15 | $1.0625 |
| 2026-03-13 | $1.0625 |
| 2025-12-15 | $1.0625 |
| 2025-09-15 | $1.0625 |
| 2025-06-13 | $1.0625 |
| 2025-03-14 | $1.5650 |
| 2024-12-13 | $1.5650 |
| 2024-09-13 | $1.5650 |
| 2024-06-14 | $1.5650 |
Amounts adjusted for stock splits.
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Explore sector: Real Estate · REIT - Specialty
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