v3.25.1
General
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2025
General  
General General
The information contained in the following notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements is condensed from that which would appear in the annual consolidated financial statements; accordingly, the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein should be reviewed in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and related notes thereto, included in the 2024 Form 10-K filed by Crown Castle Inc. ("CCI") with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined in these notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have the same meaning given to them in the 2024 Form 10-K. References to the "Company" refer to CCI and its predecessor, as applicable, and their subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated or the context indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term "including," and any variation thereof means "including without limitation." The use of the word "or" herein is not exclusive. Unless the context suggests otherwise, references to "U.S." are to the United States of America and Puerto Rico, collectively.
The Company owns, operates and leases shared communications infrastructure that is geographically dispersed throughout the U.S., including (1) towers and other structures, such as rooftops (collectively, "towers"), and (2) fiber primarily supporting small cell networks ("small cells") and fiber solutions. The Company's towers, small cells and fiber assets are collectively referred to herein as "communications infrastructure," and the Company's customers on its communications infrastructure are referred to herein as "tenants." The Company provides access, including space or capacity, to its communications infrastructure via long-term contracts in various forms, including lease, license, sublease and service agreements (collectively, "tenant contracts").
On March 13, 2025, management signed a definitive agreement ("Strategic Fiber Agreement") to sell the small cells and fiber solutions businesses, together with certain supporting assets and personnel ("Fiber Business"), with Zayo Group Holdings Inc. ("Zayo") acquiring the fiber solutions business and EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund ("EQT") acquiring the small cells business ("Strategic Fiber Transaction"). Under the Strategic Fiber Agreement, the Company will receive $8.5 billion in aggregate cash proceeds, subject to certain closing adjustments.
As the aforementioned sale represents a material strategic shift for the Company, the Fiber Business' results and net assets are presented herein as discontinued operations and comparable prior periods have been recast to reflect this change. Upon classification as "held for sale", the Company recognized a loss of $830 million, inclusive of estimated transaction fees, during the first quarter of 2025. The Strategic Fiber Transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to certain closing conditions and required government and regulatory approvals. Pending the closing of the Strategic Fiber Transaction, we will continue to operate the Fiber Business in accordance with the Strategic Fiber Agreement. See note 3 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a further discussion of discontinued operations.
As part of the Company's effort to provide efficient and cost effective solutions, the Company also offers certain site development services relating to existing or new tenant equipment installations, including: site acquisition, architectural and engineering, or zoning and permitting (collectively, "site development services") as an ancillary offering relating to its towers.
The Company operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, the Company has certain taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). See note 7.
Approximately 54% of the Company's towers are leased or subleased or operated and managed under master leases, subleases, and other agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile (including those which T-Mobile assumed in its merger with Sprint). The Company has the option to purchase these towers at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company has no obligation to exercise such purchase options.
Basis of Presentation
The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited; however, they include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to state fairly the condensed consolidated financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2025, the condensed consolidated results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, and the condensed consolidated cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data, that was derived from audited financial statements, was recast following the Fiber Business being classified as discontinued operations and does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.
Following the classification of the Fiber Business as discontinued operations, the Company has one reportable segment that constitutes consolidated results consisting of its towers operations. Unless otherwise noted, all activities and amounts reported in the following notes relate to the continuing operations of the Company and exclude activities and amounts related to discontinued operations. See notes 3 and 11 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a discussion of discontinued operations and the Company's operating segment.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.