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• Public Storage for cellular and fiber infrastructure.
• The electric company for your phone's signal.

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• Cell Towers: Leasing space on its extensive network of macro cell towers to wireless carriers for their antenna and equipment placement.
• Small Cells: Providing access to its comprehensive small cell solutions, which are network nodes designed to increase capacity and coverage in dense urban and suburban areas.
• Fiber Optic Cable: Offering fiber optic connectivity, including dark fiber and lit fiber solutions, essential for backhaul and supporting small cells and data centers.

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Crown Castle (symbol: CCI) primarily sells its services to other companies, specifically major wireless carriers and other telecommunication providers. As a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on communications infrastructure, their business model involves leasing space on their cell towers, small cells, and fiber networks to these companies.

Its major customers, which represent a substantial portion of its revenues, are:

• Verizon Communications (symbol: VZ)
• AT&T Inc. (symbol: T)
• T-Mobile US, Inc. (symbol: TMUS)

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• Ericsson (ERIC)
• Corning (GLW)
• Valmont Industries (VMI)

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Steven J. Moskowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer

Steven J. Moskowitz was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Crown Castle effective April 11, 2024. He brings over 25 years of experience in the wireless infrastructure and telecommunications industry, having held key leadership roles at major companies including American Tower Corporation, NextG Networks, and Centennial Towers Holding LP. At American Tower, he served for seven years as EVP and President of the U.S. Tower business, during which time the U.S. operations tripled in size to over 20,000 cell sites and expanded its indoor DAS network division, growing Adjusted EBITDA approximately 5x. As CEO of NextG Networks, he successfully scaled the business, significantly increasing revenue and cash flow, and doubling the asset base prior to its sale to Crown Castle in 2012. Most recently, he served as CEO of Centennial Towers Holding LP, where he created a leading provider of build-to-suit cell sites in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

Sunit Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Sunit Patel joined Crown Castle as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in April 2025, after serving on the Crown Castle Board of Directors from January 2024 to March 2025. He has over 25 years of executive leadership experience, including 15 years as a public telecommunications company CFO. In 2000, Mr. Patel co-founded Looking Glass Networks Inc., a facilities-based provider of metropolitan telecommunication transport services, and served as its CFO until 2003. From 2003 to 2018, he served as EVP and CFO of CenturyLink (now Lumen), a role he held for over 14 years at Level 3 prior to its 2017 merger with CenturyLink. From 2018 to 2020, he was EVP, Merger and Integration at T-Mobile, where he led strategic planning for the integration of T-Mobile's business with Sprint following their $26.5 billion merger.

Chris Levendos, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer-Network

Chris Levendos serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer-Network at Crown Castle. He has more than 30 years of experience operating and leading large organizations, having previously served in executive roles at Verizon, Frontier, and Google. Mr. Levendos began his career at New York Telephone (Verizon) as a field technician in Harlem and progressed through a series of leadership roles, concluding as Verizon's Region President – New York City. He also led the national deployment and operations team at Google Fiber, tripling their market footprint, and was Executive Vice President of Field Operations for Frontier.

Cathy Piche, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer—Towers

Cathy Piche is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer—Towers at Crown Castle. She was appointed to this role effective September 1, 2021, succeeding Robert C. Ackerman. Ms. Piche joined Crown Castle in 2011 and has held various leadership positions, including Senior Vice President–Project Delivery, Design & Construction for Crown Castle's Fiber business and Area President within the Tower organization. Prior to joining Crown Castle, she held leadership positions at American Tower Corporation and various site development roles at Sprint Corporation and AT&T Wireless.

Daniel K. Schlanger, Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer

Daniel K. Schlanger was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer in September 2025, after serving as interim President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2025. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Crown Castle in 2016, Mr. Schlanger was Senior Vice President of Global Products at Exterran Corporation. He also held various leadership roles with Exterran Holdings, Inc. and Exterran GP LLC from 2009 to 2015, including Senior Vice President and CFO of Exterran GP LLC. Earlier in his career, he worked as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Co., focusing on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions in the energy sector.

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The key risks to Crown Castle's business, in order from most significant to less significant, are:

1. Execution Risk of Fiber Business Sale and Strategic Transformation: Crown Castle is undergoing a significant strategic shift, divesting its fiber and small cell business to concentrate solely on its core tower infrastructure. This pivot carries substantial execution risks, including potential delays in regulatory approvals or closing the transaction, which could disrupt cash flow and divert focus from the tower business. The divestiture also removes a diversification benefit, increasing the company's exposure to tower-specific market dynamics. Furthermore, the company anticipates recording a loss of $700 to $800 million upon classifying the fiber business as held for sale, and an approximately $5 billion impairment charge related to the Fiber segment due to reduced demand and a change in strategic focus.
2. Demand for Communications Infrastructure and Tenant Investment: The company's business relies heavily on the demand for its communications infrastructure, primarily driven by data consumption. A slowdown in this demand or a reduction in network investment by its tenants could materially and adversely affect Crown Castle's operations. Specifically, Sprint cancellations have already led to year-over-year declines in site rental revenues and other financial metrics, an impact expected to continue. Increased competition from other infrastructure providers and the emergence of alternative broadband technologies also pose a risk by potentially weakening Crown Castle's bargaining power and slowing organic growth. Carrier consolidation among wireless operators could further reduce site leasing revenue as redundant infrastructure is rationalized.
3. Interest Rate Risks and High Indebtedness: Crown Castle faces significant exposure to interest rate risks due to its substantial debt. Fluctuations in interest rates, influenced by factors like Federal Reserve policies, can impact the cost of its variable-rate debt, affecting financial results and the company's ability to achieve dividend growth targets. The company also runs the risk of not being able to refinance its existing debt on favorable terms, which could lead to liquidity challenges. Additionally, rising interest rates and tighter credit markets could limit Crown Castle's access to cost-effective capital for expansion or refinancing, further impacting its financial flexibility.

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One clear emerging threat for Crown Castle (CCI) is the advent of satellite-to-phone communication technologies.

Companies like Starlink (SpaceX), AST SpaceMobile, and Lynk Global are developing and testing satellite constellations capable of providing direct cellular connectivity to unmodified smartphones. These technologies aim to fill coverage gaps, particularly in rural and remote areas, and for emergency services.

This development is significant because:

1. Direct Competition: While not a full replacement for high-bandwidth, low-latency terrestrial networks, satellite-to-phone services directly compete with the fundamental offering of Crown Castle's tower and small cell infrastructure – ubiquitous cellular coverage.
2. Carrier Partnerships: Key customers of Crown Castle, such as T-Mobile (with Starlink) and AT&T and Verizon (with AST SpaceMobile), are actively partnering with these satellite providers. This indicates a strategic interest from the wireless carriers in exploring alternatives or complements to their existing terrestrial infrastructure.
3. Emerging Reality: Initial test services and limited commercial rollouts for basic messaging and emergency services are planned for 2024, with voice and data capabilities expected to follow. This is beyond theoretical speculation and represents a tangible shift in the telecommunications landscape.

While terrestrial networks will remain essential for high-density urban areas and demanding data applications, the widespread adoption of satellite-to-phone services could potentially reduce the growth trajectory for new tower builds in less populated regions and diminish the perceived urgency for certain types of network densification, thereby impacting Crown Castle's long-term revenue and expansion opportunities.

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Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) primarily operates in the United States, providing shared communications infrastructure, including cell towers, small cells, and fiber solutions.

Addressable Markets for Main Products and Services (U.S. Region):

• Cell Towers: The U.S. Telecom Towers Market was valued at approximately USD 40 billion in 2024. This market is projected to reach USD 54.43 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% from 2026 to 2032.
• Small Cells: The U.S. Small Cell Networks Market size was valued at USD 3.10 billion in 2024. It is expected to grow significantly, reaching USD 16.99 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 23.68% over the forecast period of 2025–2032.
• Fiber Solutions: The United States fiber optics market size reached USD 3.1 billion in 2024. Experts anticipate this market to grow to USD 7.8 billion by 2033, showing a CAGR of 10.8% during the period of 2025-2033.

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Crown Castle (CCI) anticipates several key drivers for its future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years, primarily stemming from its strategic pivot to become a pure-play U.S. tower company and the ongoing demand for wireless infrastructure.

1. Accelerated 5G Deployment and Network Densification: The continued and accelerated expansion of 5G networks by major wireless carriers remains a primary driver for Crown Castle. This involves increased demand for tower space, co-locations, and tower enhancements as carriers densify their networks to provide higher bandwidth and lower latency.
2. Increased Tower Leasing Activity: Beyond new tower construction, Crown Castle expects a surge in leasing activity from existing and new tenants on its extensive tower portfolio. Wireless customers are continuing to augment capacity in their networks, leading to higher leasing and services activity.
3. Strategic Focus on Core Tower Business: Crown Castle is divesting its small cells and fiber solutions businesses, with the sale expected to close in the first half of 2026. This strategic shift allows the company to concentrate resources on its higher-margin U.S. tower operations, aiming to unlock substantial value by enhancing focus on operational excellence, customer service, and improved profitability.
4. Persistent Growth in Mobile Data Consumption: The underlying, relentless increase in mobile data demand across the U.S., driven by mobile entertainment, mobile internet, machine-to-machine applications, and other emerging wireless devices, will continue to necessitate investment in communication infrastructure. This fundamental trend provides a long-term tailwind for Crown Castle's tower assets.
5. Operational Efficiencies and Cost Optimization: The company is focused on implementing strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiencies and optimize costs across its tower business. This focus is expected to translate into stronger profitability and potentially higher earnings per share, even while navigating impacts like Sprint cancellations.

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Share Repurchases

• Crown Castle engaged in share repurchases of -$76 million in 2020, -$70 million in 2021, -$65 million in 2022, -$30 million in 2023, and -$33 million in 2024.
• The company announced a new share repurchase program of approximately $3.0 billion in March 2025, following the planned sale of its fiber and small cell businesses.
• This $3.0 billion share repurchase program is intended to be funded by the proceeds from the fiber segment sale.

Outbound Investments

• Crown Castle entered into an agreement to sell its fiber and small cell businesses for $8.5 billion, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026.
• The sale positions Crown Castle to become a pure-play U.S. tower operator.

Capital Expenditures

• Total capital expenditures were $1.4 billion in 2023, consisting of $1.3 billion in discretionary capital expenditures and $83 million in sustaining capital expenditures.
• In 2024, capital expenditures totaled $1.2 billion, representing a $202 million decrease from 2023, with approximately $1.0 billion attributable to Fiber and $100 million to Towers.
• For 2025, expected annual net capital expenditures on towers, land purchase, and technology enhancements are projected to be between $150 million and $250 million, with a focus on its U.S. tower business post-divestiture.