Do Wall Street Analysts Like Crown Castle Stock?

Company Overview - Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) has a market capitalization of $39.3 billion and operates approximately 40,000 cell towers and 90,000 route miles of fiber, providing essential communications infrastructure across major U.S. markets [1] Stock Performance - Over the past 52 weeks, CCI shares have decreased by 16.7%, underperforming the S&P 500 Index, which has risen by 18.5% [2] - CCI's stock has also seen a slight decline year-to-date, contrasting with the S&P 500's 15.1% increase [2] - Compared to the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE), which declined by 5.3% over the same period, CCI's underperformance is more pronounced [3] Financial Results - Following the Q3 2025 results released on October 22, CCI shares experienced a marginal recovery, reporting an AFFO of $1.12 per share and revenue of $1.07 billion, both exceeding estimates [4] - The company has raised its annual site rental revenue forecast to between $4.01 billion and $4.05 billion, indicating strong demand from major carriers transitioning to 5G [4] Future Projections - For the fiscal year ending December 2025, analysts predict a 41.1% year-over-year decline in AFFO per share to $4.11 [5] - CCI has a positive earnings surprise history, having beaten consensus estimates in the last four quarters [5] Analyst Ratings - Among 19 analysts covering CCI, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy," consisting of 12 "Strong Buy" ratings, one "Moderate Buy," and six "Holds" [5] - The current analyst sentiment is more bullish than three months ago, with 10 "Strong Buy" ratings [6] - On October 23, JPMorgan reduced its price target for CCI to $115 while maintaining a "Neutral" rating, with a mean price target of $115.44 suggesting a 27.8% premium to current price levels [6] - The highest price target of $127 indicates a potential upside of 40.6% [6]