Free cash flow
Crown Castle Free cash flow decreased by 44.3% to $452.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric declined by 24.8%, from $601.00M to $452.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 16.5% CAGR. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $480.00M | $401.00M | $397.00M | $277.00M | $476.00M | $364.00M | $451.00M | $265.00M | $740.00M | $186.00M | $1.69B | $552.00M | $729.00M | $661.00M | $825.00M | $601.00M | $792.00M | $671.00M | $811.00M | $452.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | -16.5% | -1.0% | -30.2% | +71.8% | -23.5% | +23.9% | -41.2% | +179.2% | -74.9% | +809.7% | -67.4% | +32.1% | -9.3% | +24.8% | -27.2% | +31.8% | -15.3% | +20.9% | -44.3% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -0.8% | -9.2% | +13.6% | -4.3% | +55.5% | -48.9% | +275.2% | +108.3% | -1.5% | +255.4% | -51.2% | +8.9% | +8.6% | +1.5% | -1.7% | -24.8% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Crown Castle's free cash flow?
- Crown Castle (CCI) reported free cash flow of $452.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has Crown Castle's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Crown Castle's free cash flow decreased by 24.8% year-over-year, from $601.00M to $452.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Crown Castle's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Crown Castle's free cash flow has grown at a 16.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.56B to $2.88B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.