Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy45 ratings
Bullish2351.1%
Neutral2146.7%
Bearish12.2%
Crown Castle Inc. · CCI · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Crown Castle Q1: ~3% Organic Growth, Small-Cell/Fiber Sale on Track
Crown Castle is executing a focused repositioning: divesting small-cell and fiber to become a pure-play, best-in-class U.S. tower operator while raising land ownership toward ~40% and layering in edge compute and Power-as-a-Service. Q1 2026 organic growth of ~3% came in despite carrier cancellations and terminations, and management held full-year guidance even as capex rises. This is a margin-and-control story with added revenue optionality; the key catalysts are completion of the small-cell/fiber sale in H1 2026, the DISH/EchoStar litigation outcome, and the 800 MHz spectrum auctions starting in 2027.
Reported After market closeNYSEReal Estate
$29.55B market cap
90quality score
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$0.34
Consensus $0.38
EPS surprise
-9.7%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$1.01B
Consensus $994.8M
Revenue surprise
+1.5%
Reported versus consensus
Market reaction
event-close to next-session close
Stock move
+1.8%
Event window
SPY move
-0.4%
Same window
Abnormal move
+2.1%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
1.2×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+5.2%
Up to 20 sessions
CCISPY benchmark
Ask FN2 about CCI FY2026 Q1
Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
Why did CCI rise 1.8% after missing EPS estimates in FY2026 Q1?What changed in CCI's guidance and outlook in FY2026 Q1?Give me the bull and bear case for CCI after FY2026 Q1 earnings.
Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.
Transcript intelligence
What changed
Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance while guiding capex higher to accelerate land purchases (toward ~40% tower-site ownership) and system automation. The small-cell and fiber divestiture is on track to close in H1 2026 with most regulatory approvals secured, and the DISH litigation was amended to add a breach-of-contract claim against EchoStar. Q1 organic growth was ~3% despite cancellations and terminations.
Guidance delta
Full-year 2026 guidance maintained; capex outlook increasing to fund land purchases and automation
Key takeaways
- Q1 2026 organic growth of ~3% despite cancellations and terminations
- Full-year guidance unchanged, with higher capex to fund land purchases and automation
- Sale of small-cell and fiber assets on track for H1 2026 close
- Active litigation against DISH and EchoStar with a stated strong legal position
- Strategic focus on becoming a best-in-class tower operator via efficiency, land acquisition, and new services such as edge compute
Management priorities
- Accelerate land purchases to increase ownership toward ~40% of tower sites
- Deploy automation platforms and system upgrades for cost efficiency
- Develop edge compute colocation services on existing tower sites
- Explore Power-as-a-Service and shared generator offerings
- Close the small-cell and fiber divestiture on schedule
- Consider new tower builds for customers seeking macro-cell capacity
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Beat
Miss
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
$67.63Previous close
$84Low
$124.71Average
$215High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 25, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Morgan | Underweight | Neutral | Downgrade | Sep 14, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Equal Weight | Upgrade | Aug 20, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Citizens | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 24, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Wolfe Research | Peer Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | May 20, 2026 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 23, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Overweight | Downgrade | Mar 23, 2026 |
| UBS | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Scotiabank | Sector Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 4, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jan 20, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Aug 19, 2025 |
| Raymond James | Strong Buy | Strong Buy | Maintain | Jul 24, 2025 |
| JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Jul 24, 2025 |
| Citizens Capital Markets | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintain | Mar 14, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 13, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 23, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Apr 19, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 16, 2023 |
| MoffettNathanson | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Mar 30, 2023 |
| Cowen & Co. | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jan 27, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 21, 2022 |
| Oppenheimer | Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Sep 10, 2021 |
| LightShed Partners | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 13, 2021 |
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 28, 2020 |
| Guggenheim | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Apr 12, 2019 |
| Macquarie | Neutral | Outperform | Downgrade | Feb 12, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 8, 2017 |
| BTIG Research | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 19, 2016 |
| BTIG | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 19, 2016 |
| Canaccord Genuity | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 24, 2015 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jul 21, 2015 |
| Nomura | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Nov 3, 2014 |
| Pacific Crest | Sector Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Jul 25, 2014 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 6, 2013 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Sep 6, 2013 |
| Evercore Partners | Equal Weight | Overweight | Downgrade | Jul 9, 2013 |
| PiperJaffray | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 2, 2012 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 2, 2012 |
| Benchmark | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 26, 2012 |
| Wedbush | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 21, 2012 |
| Bank oferica | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Mar 8, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $67.63. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $85 | $73.13 | +25.7% | Sep 21, 2026 |
| Barclays | Brendan Lynch | $84 | $74.65 | +24.2% | Aug 20, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Michael Ng | $95 | $79.53 | +40.5% | Jun 26, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Ari Klein | $91 | $81.26 | +34.6% | Feb 5, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Brandon Nispel | $115 | $87.1 | +70.0% | Jan 21, 2026 |
| New Street | Jonathan Chaplin | $93 | $88.7 | +37.5% | Jan 5, 2026 |
| UBS | Batya Levi | $127 | $92.06 | +87.8% | Dec 10, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $101 | $91.26 | +49.3% | Dec 1, 2025 |
| RBC Capital | Analyst unavailable | $112 | $95.71 | +65.6% | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $105 | $102.91 | +55.3% | Mar 17, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Jonathan Petersen | $84 | $90.76 | +24.2% | Jan 1, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Brett Feldman | $120 | $112.38 | +77.4% | Oct 21, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Michael Rollins | $128 | $115.68 | +89.3% | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | David Barden | $115 | $110.39 | +70.0% | Aug 13, 2024 |
| Williams Trading | Gregory Williams | $127 | $106.31 | +87.8% | Jul 18, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | James Schneider | $104 | $97.7 | +53.8% | Jul 1, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Matthew Niknam | $103 | $96.41 | +52.3% | Jun 21, 2024 |
| RBC Capital | Jonathan Atkin | $100 | $95.92 | +47.9% | May 7, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Eric Luebchow | $100 | $94.37 | +47.9% | Apr 19, 2024 |
| Barclays | Tim Long | $111 | $92.88 | +64.1% | Apr 18, 2024 |
| Scotiabank | Maher Yaghi | $118 | $93.05 | +74.5% | Apr 18, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Ari Klein | $105 | $93.05 | +55.3% | Apr 18, 2024 |
| MoffettNathanson | Nick Del Deo | $119 | $100.78 | +76.0% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Ari Klein | $110 | $107.97 | +62.6% | Jan 19, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Eric Luebchow | $115 | $117.95 | +70.0% | Dec 5, 2023 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Ari Klein | $113 | $114.97 | +67.1% | Jul 13, 2023 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $175 | $150.99 | +158.8% | Jan 13, 2023 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $152 | $151.59 | +124.8% | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $105 | $144.92 | +55.3% | Jan 10, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $80 | $146.42 | +18.3% | Jan 9, 2023 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $90 | $138 | +33.1% | Dec 15, 2022 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $201 | $173.01 | +197.2% | Jul 22, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $190 | $173.53 | +180.9% | Jul 20, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $175 | $170.13 | +158.8% | Jul 19, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $166 | $172.26 | +145.5% | Jul 12, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $170.95 | +195.7% | Jul 11, 2022 |
| Jefferies | Jonathan Petersen | $200 | $171.4 | +195.7% | Jul 11, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Matthew Niknam | $183 | $168.59 | +170.6% | Jun 28, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $200 | $182.5 | +195.7% | Jun 7, 2022 |
| KeyBanc | Brandon Nispel | $219 | $188.62 | +223.8% | Apr 27, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $215 | $195.4 | +217.9% | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Raymond James | Analyst unavailable | $206 | $196.4 | +204.6% | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Simon Flannery | $207 | $176.9 | +206.1% | Jan 26, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Brett Feldman | $183 | $176.29 | +170.6% | Oct 22, 2021 |
| KeyBanc | Brandon Nispel | $202 | $176.29 | +198.7% | Oct 22, 2021 |
| Wolfe Research | Andrew Rosivach CFA | $162 | $167.9 | +139.5% | Oct 12, 2021 |
| UBS | Batya Levi | $195 | $192.26 | +188.3% | Jun 7, 2021 |
Track every rating change on CCI the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationCrown 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. Through these vital connections, Crown Castle links communities and urban centers to essential data, cutting-edge technology, and indispensable wireless services, thereby delivering crucial information, innovative concepts, and communication capabilities to individuals and enterprises alike. More information can be found at www.crowncastle.com.
Historical context
All CCI earningsLatest beats and misses
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-25T11:31:08.264726+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-25T11:31:08.262420+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-25. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.