Crown Castle International Corp vs Digital Realty Trust, Inc. — how do they compare? Crown Castle International Corp trades at $79.21 (market cap $34.50B), while Digital Realty Trust, Inc. trades at $174.82 (market cap $64.05B). The key difference: Digital Realty Trust, Inc. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Crown Castle International Corp pays the higher dividend (5.38%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CCI | DLR | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $34.50B | $64.05B |
Sector | Real Estate | Real Estate |
52-Week High | $113.91 | $203.91 |
52-Week Low | $74.92 | $147.93 |
Enterprise Value | $64.33B | $81.57B |
Dividend Yield | 5.38% | 2.82% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Crown Castle (CCI) trades at $79.84, up 0.23% on the day, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed Q1 2026 earnings, missing EPS estimates, but maintains strong profitability with a 73.82% gross margin. Recent news highlights its pure-play U.S. tower focus and upcoming Q2 2026 earnings call on July 22, 2026.
CCI presents a turnaround opportunity with analyst consensus targeting $97.33, implying 22% upside, but faces risks from high debt levels and volatile earnings. The stock's negative equity and bearish technicals warrant caution despite attractive dividend yield and cost reduction initiatives.
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) trades at $177.92, down 1.38% on the day, with a bearish technical signal and mixed earnings history. The company shows strong fundamentals with 2025 revenue of $6.11B and net income of $1.31B, though its P/E ratio of 47.19 suggests premium valuation. Recent news highlights DLR's $7.8B acquisition of Blackstone's data center stake, positioning it for AI-driven growth.
DLR presents a growth opportunity in data center infrastructure supported by AI demand, with a consensus price target of $219.50 implying 23% upside. Risks include high debt levels, execution of recent acquisitions, and interest rate sensitivity. Analyst sentiment remains bullish with 59.57% buy ratings, but investors should weigh valuation concerns against long-term expansion potential.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Crown Castle International owns and leases roughly 40,000 cell towers in the United States. It also owns more than 85,000 route miles of fiber. It leases space on its towers to wireless service providers, which install equipment on the towers to support their wireless networks. The company's fiber is primarily leased by wireless service providers to set up small-cell network infrastructure and by enterprises for their internal connection needs. Crown Castle's towers and fiber are predominantly located in the largest U.S. cities. The company has a very concentrated customer base, with more than 70% of its revenue coming from the big three U.S. mobile carriers. Crown Castle operates as a real estate investment trust.
Read more on CCI →Digital Realty owns and operates nearly 300 data centers worldwide. It has more than 35 million rentable square feet across five continents. Digital's offerings range from retail co-location, where an enterprise may rent a single cabinet and rely on Digital to provide all the accommodations, to cold shells, where hyperscale cloud service providers can simply rent much, or all, of a barren, power-connected building. In recent years, Digital Realty has de-emphasized cold shells and now primarily provides higher-level service to tenants, which outsource their related IT needs to Digital. Digital Realty has also moved more into the co-location business, increasingly serving enterprises and facilitating network connections. Digital Realty operates as a real estate investment trust.
Read more on DLR →