Crown Castle Inc. (CCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. Valued at $39.4 billion by market cap, the company manages and offers wireless communication coverage and infrastructure sites in the U.S. and Australia. The leading provider of wireless infrastructure is expected to announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for 2024 on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect CCI to report a profit of $1.74 per share on a diluted basis, down 4.4% from $1.82 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports.
For the full year, analysts expect CCI to report EPS of $6.67, down 11.7% from $7.55 in fiscal 2023. Its EPS is expected to decline 1.2% year over year to $6.59 in fiscal 2025.
CCI stock has significantly underperformed the S&P 500’s ($SPX) 23.7% gains over the past 52 weeks, with shares down 23.5% during this period. Similarly, it underperformed the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLRE) marginal losses over the same time frame.
CCI's underperformance can be linked to challenges such as elevated interest rates and tenant-related issues, which have impacted its growth trajectory. Furthermore, the company had to revise its full-year net income forecast downwards following the cancellation of contracts for 7,000 greenfield small cell nodes.
On Oct. 16, CCI shares closed up more than 1% after reporting its Q3 results. Its FFO of $1.84 surpassed Wall Street expectations of $1.80. The company’s revenue was $1.7 billion, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of $1.6 billion. Crown Castle expects full-year FFO in the range of $6.91 to $7.02.
Analysts’ consensus opinion on CCI stock is cautious, with a “Hold” rating overall. Out of 19 analysts covering the stock, four advise a “Strong Buy” rating, one suggests a “Moderate Buy,” 12 give a “Hold,” and two recommend a “Strong Sell.” CCI’s average analyst price target is $114.94, indicating a potential upside of 28.8% from the current levels.
