Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Announces FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.540-4.660 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.380.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CCI shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Crown Castle to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Crown Castle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.27.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

CCI stock traded up $7.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.49. 6,592,110 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,770,943. The company has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.78, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.94. Crown Castle has a 52-week low of $65.32 and a 52-week high of $99.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.54.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.12% and a negative return on equity of 47.43%. The company had revenue of $995.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.74%.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Collins sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total transaction of $113,835.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,025.57. The trade was a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 earnings outlook: Crown Castle now expects full-year 2026 EPS of $4.54–$4.66, above the $4.38 analyst consensus. Management also raised its full-year AFFO and adjusted EBITDA outlook, with lower interest expenses helping offset weaker revenue. Crown Castle Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results and Updates Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: SpaceX could create new tower demand: SpaceX is reportedly negotiating access to at least 80,000 cell sites to support a fourth nationwide wireless carrier. Crown Castle is among the tower operators in discussions, potentially creating incremental leasing opportunities and improving the outlook for its core tower business. SpaceX in Talks for 80,000 Cell Sites
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 funds from operations beat estimates: Crown Castle reported Q3 FFO of $1.24 per share, ahead of the $1.20 consensus and up from $1.12 a year earlier. The company is also targeting more than 400 ground-lease buyouts in 2026 as it shifts toward a more focused, tower-oriented operating model. Crown Castle Tops Q3 FFO Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Wells Fargo maintained a Hold rating, while BMO lowered its price target to $91 from $93. These views suggest that the improved outlook and potential SpaceX demand are balanced by ongoing concerns about leverage and slowing revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying results were uneven: Q3 revenue fell 7.2% year over year to $995 million and missed estimates, while reported EPS of $0.67 was below the $0.69 consensus. Net debt of roughly 6.5 times adjusted EBITDA also keeps financial leverage in focus. Crown Castle Q3 Results Put Leverage in Focus

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle Inc (NYSE: CCI) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and leases communications infrastructure in the United States. Its assets support wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and other communications providers by enabling the transmission of voice, data and video services.

The company’s infrastructure has historically included approximately 40,000 cell towers, about 90,000 route miles of fiber and a large portfolio of small-cell installations.