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Crown Castle's Q2 AFFO Surpasses Estimates, Revenues Fall Y/Y

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Key Takeaways

  • CCI posted Q2 AFFO per share of $1.02, beating estimates but down nearly 1% year over year.
  • Site rental revenues fell 5.3% Y/Y, while services and other revenues rose 20.9% to $52 million.
  • Crown Castle raised its 2025 AFFO per share, site rental revenues & adjusted EBITDA outlooks.

Crown Castle Inc. (CCI - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $1.02, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.00. 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 increased its outlook for 2025.

Net revenues of $1.06 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 billion but fell 4.2% year over year.

Key Earnings Takeaways for CCI

During the second quarter, CCI’s total site rental revenues declined 5.3% year over year to $1.00 billion. This fall was due to a $16 million decrease in amortization of prepaid rent and a $34 million decrease in straight-lined revenues. Our estimate for total site-rental revenues was pegged at $983.5 million.

The organic contribution to site rental billings of $45 million reflected 4.7% year-over-year organic growth, excluding the $51 million impact from Sprint Cancellations.

On the other hand, services and other revenues came in at $52 million, which rose 20.9% from the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for services and other revenues was pegged at $51.5 million.

The quarterly adjusted EBITDA was down 3% year over year to $705 million.

Net interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs rose 5.7% year over year to $243 million. Our estimate for the same was $247.3 million.

CCI’s Financial Position

Crown Castle exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $94 million, up from $60 million reported as of March 31, 2025.

Moreover, debt and other long-term obligations aggregated $22.04 billion as of June 30, 2025, decreasing 3.7% sequentially.

2025 Guidance for CCI

Crown Castle raised its guidance for 2025 AFFO per share in the range of $4.14-$4.25 compared to the prior guidance of $4.06-$4.17. The Zacks Consensus Estimate presently stands at $4.18, within the projected range.

CCI increased the site rental revenue range to $3.997-$4.042 billion compared to the previous range of $3.987-$4.032 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is estimated in the band of $2.780-$2.830 billion, up from the prior range of $2.755-$2.805 billion.

Crown Castle currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (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 and EPS Surprise

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

 

Performance of Other REITs

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (ARE - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 AFFO per share of $2.33, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.29. However, this shows a decline from the AFFO of $2.36 reported in the prior-year quarter.

Results reflect decent leasing activity and rental rate growth. However, lower occupancy and higher interest expenses year over year undermined the results to some extent.

Prologis, Inc. (PLD - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 core funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.46, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.41. This also compares favorably with the year-ago quarter’s figure of $1.34.

The quarterly results reflect a rise in rental revenues and healthy leasing activity. However, high interest expenses remain the undermining factor.

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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