Crown Castle International Corp.

Overview

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases shared communications infrastructure across the U.S., with a primary focus on towers. The company's revenue model centers on long-term site rental contracts with wireless tenants.

Core assets

• Approximately 40,000 towers
• Approximately 105,000 small cell nodes (either generating revenue or under contract)
• Approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber (primarily supporting small cells and fiber solutions)

Strategic transaction and reporting status

• On March 13, 2025, Crown Castle signed a definitive agreement to sell its Fiber segment (Strategic Fiber Transaction):
  • Fiber solutions sold to Zayo Group Holdings Inc.; small cell business sold to EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund
  • Aggregate sale price: $8.5 billion, subject to closing adjustments
  • Expected closing: first half of 2026
• The Fiber Business is presented as discontinued operations; comparable prior periods have been recast
• Pending closing, Fiber Business operations continue under the Strategic Fiber Agreement

Segments and diversification

• Prior to the Strategic Fiber Transaction the company operated two segments: Towers and Fiber
• Following the sale of the Fiber Business, Crown Castle will have one reportable segment: Towers (continuing operations)
• Towers are the primary revenue-generating assets; Fiber is being divested

Revenue composition and tenants

• Site rental revenues accounted for 95% of 2025 net revenues
• The three largest tenants — T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Wireless — collectively accounted for approximately 90% of 2025 site rental revenues
• Tower land contracts have long terms, with an average remaining life of about six years (weighted by towers’ Adjusted Site Rental Gross Margin)
• Site rental cash inflows (excluding DISH) were projected at approximately $23.7 billion as of 2025

Tenant contracts and land rights

• Tenant concentration is high, with a small number of major carriers accounting for most site rental revenue
• Land interests (owned, leased or under easements) and rights-of-way are essential to ongoing operations
• Carrier options to purchase towers at the end of certain lease terms:
  • AT&T: option to purchase ~22% of towers for about $4.2 billion (due 2032–2048)
  • T‑Mobile (including entities from the Sprint merger): option to purchase ~32% of towers in two stages (up to $2.3 billion in 2037 for about half; up to $2.0 billion for the remainder, due 2035–2049)
  • Additional ~1% of towers under arrangements with both AT&T and T‑Mobile
• Bankruptcy-remote subsidiary structures may affect site rights for certain carrier-related sites

Customers and DISH exposure

• Largest customers are wireless carriers, with the top three tenants dominating site rental revenues
• The company has exposure to DISH, with material receivable and revenue implications tied to ongoing disputes and default actions as of December 31, 2025

Workforce and offices

• As of January 31, 2026: approximately 4,000 employees (about 2,500 of whom are part of the discontinued Fiber operations)
• After the Fiber sale, Crown Castle expects to maintain four offices, including its principal corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas

Financial snapshot (selected figures)

• Indebtedness: approximately $24.2 billion of debt outstanding (as of February 19, 2026)
• Debt maturity and liquidity:
  • About 60% of fixed-rate debt matures over the next five years
  • $7.0 billion senior unsecured revolving facility (2016 Credit Agreement) with about $5.2 billion undrawn
  • $2.0 billion unsecured commercial paper program with about $1.9 billion outstanding
• Equity and capitalization:
  • Approximately 436 million shares of common stock outstanding (as of February 19, 2026)
  • Approximately 14 million shares reserved for issuance under stock compensation plans
• REIT status and tax considerations:
  • Operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is required to distribute at least 90% of REIT taxable income to stockholders
  • Quarterly common stock dividend levels for 2025 are described in the filing
  • REIT rules introduce considerations such as a potential 4% excise tax and ownership tests that affect capital allocation
• Net operating loss carryforwards: approximately $1.4 billion
• Taxable REIT Subsidiary (TRS) rules: 2026 adjustments increase permissible TRS asset ownership limits from 20% to 25% of assets

Employees and restructuring

• The company has implemented multiple restructuring plans (2023, 2024 and 2026) to align costs with lower tower activity and improve efficiency
• The 2026 Restructuring Plan targets an approximate 20% headcount reduction in towers and corporate areas
• Recent management changes include several CEO and CFO transitions identified in the filing

Regulatory, environmental and operating context

• Operations are subject to federal (FCC/FAA) and state/local requirements governing tower siting, safety and environmental matters
• Climate-related and other risk factors can affect deployment timelines and costs
• The Fiber sale remains subject to regulatory approvals and to the operational separation of fiber and small cell assets

Summary

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused owner, operator and lessor of shared communications infrastructure, with towers as the core continuing business. The company is divesting its Fiber segment in a strategic transaction valued at $8.5 billion, expected to close in the first half of 2026. Crown Castle emphasizes recurring site rental revenue, a concentrated tenant base, a substantial debt load, REIT tax and distribution rules, and active capital-allocation and restructuring efforts to optimize the towers business. As of early 2026, the company employed about 4,000 people (roughly 2,500 in the Fiber segment being divested) and reported approximately $24.2 billion of debt outstanding.