Crown Castle's Q1 AFFO Surpasses Estimates, Revenues Fall Y/Y

Crown Castle Inc. CCI reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $1.10, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02. However, the figure declined nearly 1% year over year.

Results reflect a rise in services and other revenues year over year. However, a decline in site rental revenues affected the results to some extent. CCI maintained its outlook for 2025.

Net revenues of $1.06 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 billion but fell 4.8% year over year.

Following the agreement announced in March 2025 to sell Crown Castle's Fiber Business, the financial statements present the results and net assets of the Fiber Business as discontinued operations, with comparable prior periods adjusted accordingly to reflect this change.

Key Earnings Takeaways for CCI

During the first quarter, CCI’s total site rental revenues declined 5.3% year over year to $1.01 billion. This fall was due to a $16 million decrease in amortization of prepaid rent and a $39 million decrease in straight-lined revenues. Our estimate for total site-rental revenues was pegged at $994.1 million.

The organic contribution to site rental billings of $49 million reflected 5.1% year-over-year organic growth, excluding the $51 million impact from Sprint Cancellations.

On the other hand, services and other revenues came in at $50 million, which rose 8.7% from the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for services and other revenues was pegged at $44.4 million.

The quarterly adjusted EBITDA was down 4.2% year over year to $722 million.

Net interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs rose 4.4% year over year to $236 million. Our estimate for the same was $244 million.

CCI’s Financial Position

Crown Castle exited the first quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $60 million, down from $100 million reported as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Moreover, debt and other long-term obligations aggregated $22.87 billion as of March 31, 2025, decreasing 2.5% sequentially.

2025 Guidance for CCI

Crown Castle maintained its guidance for 2025 AFFO per share in the range of $4.06-$4.17. The Zacks Consensus Estimate presently stands at $4.47, above the projected range.

CCI reaffirmed site rental revenues between $3.987 billion and $4.032 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the band of $2.755-$2.805 billion.

CCI noted that, due to being presented as discontinued operations, contributions from the Fiber Business are included in net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share but are excluded from all other results and outlook components.

Crown Castle currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Crown Castle Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Crown Castle Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Crown Castle Inc. Quote

Performance of Other REITs

Digital Realty Trust DLR reported first-quarter 2025 core FFO per share of $1.77, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.73. The FFO also increased 6% year over year. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

Results reflected steady leasing momentum with better rental rates amid rising demand. However, higher operating expenses undermined the performance to an extent. DLR raised its 2025 core FFO guidance range.

SBA Communications Corporation SBAC reported first-quarter 2025 AFFO per share of $3.18, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12. However, the figure implies a drop of 3.3% from the prior-year quarter.

SBAC results reflect a significant improvement in site-development revenues during the quarter. However, higher costs and interest expenses undermined the performance to some extent.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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