The business behind the dividend
| Measure | CCI | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | — | — | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | 8.1% | 10.1% | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $952.00m | $632.00m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $2.88bn | $746.10m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | — | — | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | — | — | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | — | — | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 2.13x | 4.43x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 0.26x | 1.25x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 6.89x | 1.78x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
Not computed here: Debt to equity, Long-term debt to working capital, Return on equity — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | — | — | 23.5% | 22.5% | 13.3% | 11.2% | 8.2% | 5.4% | 3.7% | 4.9% | 11.2% |
| Return on capital employed | 8.1% | 8.6% | 7.0% | 8.1% | 6.9% | 6.5% | 5.4% | 4.9% | 3.4% | 4.9% | 6.5% |
| Net margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 85.3% | 51.9% | 51.9% |
| Debt to equity | — | — | 3.72x | 3.03x | 2.51x | 2.05x | 1.74x | 1.45x | 1.36x | 1.70x | 2.05x |
| Current ratio | 0.26x | 0.50x | 0.40x | 0.45x | 0.62x | 0.56x | 0.63x | 0.82x | 0.88x | 1.38x | 0.56x |
| Cash conversion | 6.89x | — | 2.08x | 1.72x | 2.54x | 2.89x | 3.14x | 4.02x | 4.57x | 5.01x | 3.14x |
How it compares in real estate
Among the 46 real estate companies here measured on funds from operations, Crown Castle pays out less than 1 of them. The median for that group is 65.5%, against this company’s 183.0%.
Closest on funds from operations
- Realty Income (O) 85.8%
- Americold Realty Trust (COLD) 88.0%
- Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) 96.4%
- W. P. Carey (WPC) 100.3%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 50 in real estate →