CCI CROWN CASTLE INC.

NYSE Real Estate Investment Trusts DE CIK: 0001051470
AI RATING
SELL
88% Confidence

Investment Thesis

CCI exhibits severe financial distress with negative stockholders' equity of -$1.9B and critical liquidity crisis (0.27x current ratio with only $55M cash), despite strong operating cash generation. The extreme leverage ($24.8B debt) with thin interest coverage (1.9x) creates material refinancing and solvency risk that overshadows positive operating margins and cash flow metrics.

Strengths

  • + Strong operating margin of 46% demonstrates pricing power and operational efficiency
  • + Robust free cash flow of $452M ($452M FCF margin of 44.8%) shows core business cash generation capability
  • + Positive operating cash flow of $509M indicates business fundamentals are cash generative despite balance sheet distress

Risks

  • ! Negative stockholders' equity of -$1.9B indicates technical insolvency and structural balance sheet deterioration
  • ! Critically low current ratio of 0.27x with only $55M cash creates acute liquidity crisis and refinancing risk
  • ! Extreme leverage with $24.8B long-term debt and thin 1.9x interest coverage leaves minimal margin for error; covenant violations or rate rises pose existential threat

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
1.0B
Net Income
151.0M
EPS (Diluted)
$0.34
Free Cash Flow
452.0M
Total Assets
31.4B
Cash
55.0M

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin N/A
Operating Margin 46.0%
Net Margin 15.0%
ROE N/A
ROA 0.5%
FCF Margin 44.8%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
0.27x
Quick Ratio
0.27x
Debt/Equity
N/A
Debt/Assets
106.1%
Interest Coverage
1.92x
Long-term Debt
24.8B
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-05-08T06:19:18.787846 | Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Powered by Claude AI