On October 18, 2023, Crown Castle Inc (CCI, Financial) released its third quarter 2023 earnings report and provided its full year 2024 outlook. Despite facing some challenges, the company demonstrated resilience and maintained a positive outlook for the upcoming year.
Q3 2023 Performance
CCI's Q3 2023 net income was $265 million, a decrease of 37% compared to the same period in 2022. Site rental revenues saw a slight increase of 1%, reaching $1,577 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $1.05 billion, a decrease from $1.08 billion in Q3 2022. The decrease was primarily due to lower services contribution and higher interest expense.
Full Year 2024 Outlook
Looking ahead, CCI issued its full year 2024 outlook. The company expects site rental revenues to be $6,370 million, a decrease of 2% compared to the previous year. Net income is projected to be $1,253 million, a decrease of 15% compared to the previous year. Despite these decreases, CCI's CEO, Jay Brown, expressed confidence in the company's ability to grow its dividend beyond 2025 and maintain its current annualized dividend of $6.26 per share.
Financial Highlights
CCI's financial achievements for the quarter included paying common stock dividends of approximately $680 million, an increase of 6.5% on a per share basis compared to the same period a year ago. In addition, the company repaid in full the previously outstanding 3.150% senior unsecured notes upon scheduled maturity, funded with its revolving credit facility.
Management Changes
CCI also announced that Dan Schlanger, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will depart the company effective March 31, 2024. The company will begin a search for Mr. Schlanger's replacement, considering both internal and external candidates.
Future Plans
CCI plans to deploy discretionary capital of approximately $1.2 billion in 2024 without issuing equity. The company also plans to deliver approximately 14,000 small cell nodes in 2024, a significant increase from the 10,000 expected in 2023. This demonstrates further capital efficiency gains as the company expects to increase node construction by approximately 40% while increasing capital requirements by only approximately 20%.
Despite the challenges faced in Q3 2023, CCI remains optimistic about its future performance and continues to focus on delivering the highest risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders.
