Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA outlook midpoint by $25 million to $2,715 million and lifted AFFO by $5 million to $1,980 million, citing higher ground-lease buyout activity, additional operational efficiencies, and a customer agreement.

Chief Financial Officer Sunit Patel said the company acquired an outstanding residual economic interest on a subset of tower sites and extended the term of a significant customer on those sites. Those actions, together with efficiencies, underpinned the outlook update issued alongside third-quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2026.

Site rental revenues from continuing operations were $966 million in the third quarter, down $46 million, or 5%, from $1,012 million a year earlier. The year-ago decline was $41 million, or 4%, in the second quarter. The company said the drop reflected a $3 million decrease in amortization of prepaid rent and a $14 million decrease in straight-lined revenues.

Organic Contribution to Site Rental Billings was $35 million, or 3.5% organic growth, excluding an unfavorable $61 million impact from DISH Terminations and a $5 million impact from Sprint Cancellations. Organic growth was 3.8% if DISH revenues are excluded from prior-year site rental billings. That DISH-excluded organic rate was 4.2% in the second quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $673 million, down from $718 million a year earlier. The company said the decrease was primarily a result of lower site rental revenues and lower services contribution, partially offset by lower selling, general and administrative expenses. AFFO was $530 million, or $1.24 a share, up 8% and 11% from $490 million, or $1.12 a share, a year earlier. The company attributed the AFFO increase primarily to lower interest expense and fewer outstanding common shares after using proceeds from the sale of its Fiber and Small Cell businesses, partially offset by the revenue changes.

Net income was $283 million, or $0.67 a share, compared with $323 million, or $0.74 a share, a year earlier. The Fiber Business remains in discontinued operations through April 30, 2026.

Capital expenditures were $66 million, including $58 million of discretionary spending and $8 million of sustaining spending. That total was up 57% from $42 million of continuing-operations capital spending a year earlier, primarily driven by a $24 million increase in land capital expenditures. The common dividend was $1.0625 a share, unchanged from a year earlier, with about $452 million paid in the quarter.

The updated full-year 2026 outlook now puts site rental revenues at a $3,853 million to $3,898 million range, a $20 million midpoint increase from higher straight-lined revenues related to contractual term extensions. Site rental costs of operations are expected at $963 million to $1,008 million, a $5 million midpoint decrease from higher ground-lease buyout activity and additional operational efficiencies. Discretionary capital expenditures are now $190 million to $290 million, a $40 million midpoint increase from the same land activity.

The company said it expects to finish the year towards the bottom end of the $60 million to $70 million range for core leasing activity. Full-year Organic Contribution to Site Rental Billings, excluding DISH Terminations and Sprint Cancellations, is expected to remain unchanged at approximately $135 million, or 3.4% at the midpoint. Straight-lined revenues are expected to be $20 million higher due to contractual term extensions.

Net income for the full year is now expected at $755 million to $1,035 million, or $1.76 to $2.41 a share. AFFO is expected at $1,955 million to $2,005 million, or $4.54 to $4.66 a share. Patel said the company ended the third quarter with 97% fixed-rate debt, a weighted average debt maturity of approximately 7 years, and about $3.9 billion of availability under its revolving credit facility.