Crown Castle Inc. CCI is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results on March 12, after the closing bell. In anticipation of the announcement, industry analysts and investors are eager to assess the company's performance and prospects in the current economic climate.

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In the last reported quarter, this Houston, TX-based real estate investment trust’s (REIT) adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.2%. Results reflected a rise in site rental revenues and a decline in total operating expenses year over year. However, a decrease in services and other revenues affected the results to some extent.

Over the preceding four quarters, CCI’s AFFO per share surpassed estimates on three occasions and missed in the other period, with the average beat being 0.67%. This is depicted in the graph below:

Crown Castle Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

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

Let’s see how things have shaped up before this announcement.

Factors to Consider Ahead of CCI’s Results

Crown Castle has an unmatched portfolio of wireless communication infrastructure assets in the United States. As wireless data consumption is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, service providers will likely continue their network expansion and densification efforts to meet this incremental demand.

However, customer concentration remains a concern. Any loss of its customers or consolidation among them is likely to have impacted the company’s top line.

Our estimate for quarterly site rental revenues stands at $1.59 billion, implying a marginal decrease year over year. We estimate revenues from the total services and other segment to decline 39% year over year to $43.3 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.64 billion, indicating a decrease of 2.2% from the year-ago reported number.

Also, high interest expenses are likely to have been a spoilsport for CCI during the to-be-reported quarter. We expect fourth-quarter 2024 interest expenses and amortization of deferred financing costs to rise 7.8% year over year.

Crown Castle’s activities in the to-be-reported quarter were inadequate to garner analysts’ confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarterly AFFO per share remained unchanged at $1.82 over the past month. The figure, too, remains unchanged from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

2024 Projections for CCI

For full-year 2024, Crown Castle expected its guidance for AFFO per share in the range of $6.91-$7.02. The company projected its site rental revenues between $6.317 billion and $6.362 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the band of $4.143-$4.193 billion.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFFO per share has been unrevised at $7.00 over the past month. The figure indicates a 7.3% decrease from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 revenues is pegged at $6.55 billion, indicating a decrease of 6.2% from the year-ago reported number.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not conclusively predict a surprise in terms of AFFO per share for Crown Castle this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an AFFO beat, which is not the case here.

Crown Castle currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Performance of Other REITs

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. HST reported fourth-quarter AFFO per share of 44 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. The figure remained unchanged from the prior-year quarter.

Results reflected higher revenues, driven by year-over-year comparable hotel total RevPAR growth. The company issued its outlook for 2025 adjusted AFFO per share. Presently, HST carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

American Tower Corporation AMT reported fourth-quarter 2024 AFFO, attributable to AMT common stockholders per share of $2.32, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.33 but climbed 1.3% year over year.

Results reflected a year-over-year rise in revenues, aided by revenue growth across its property and service operations segment. The company recorded healthy year-over-year organic tenant billings growth of 5% and total tenant billings growth of 5.7%. AMT carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

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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