CCI vs DLR: Crown Castle and Digital Realty Trust compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Digital Realty Trust is the larger company, worth $62.4B, about 1.9 times Crown Castle.
- Digital Realty Trust grew revenue faster over the last year (+16.2% vs -21.1%).
- Crown Castle keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (976.9% vs 11.5%).
- On earnings, Crown Castle is the cheaper stock (32.5x vs 46.2x).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | CCI | DLR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $33.6B | $62.4B |
| Share price | $79.64 | $178.76 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $215M | $6.1B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $2.9B | — |
| Revenue growth, last year | -21.1% | +16.2% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | -23.3% | +8.4% |
| Operating margin | 976.9% | 11.5% |
| Net margin | 424.6% | 21.7% |
| Return on equity | — | 5.9% |
| P/E (trailing) | 32.5x | 46.2x |
| Price / free cash flow | 11.7x | 25.8x |
| EV / EBITDA | 24.0x | 22.6x |
| FCF growth the price implies | -2.1% | — |
| Dividend yield | 5.5% | 2.7% |
| Debt / equity | — | 1.00x |
| Fundamental grade | D | C |
| Superinvestors holding it | 2 | 5 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 6 | 3 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Crown Castle
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $621M | $1.6B | 322.2% |
| 2022 | $697M | $1.6B | 347.9% |
| 2023 | $421M | $2.9B | 498.1% |
| 2024 | $192M | $2.8B | 1103.1% |
| 2025 | $215M | $2.9B | 965.1% |
Digital Realty Trust
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4.4B | — | 15.7% |
| 2022 | $4.7B | — | 12.6% |
| 2023 | $5.5B | — | 9.6% |
| 2024 | $5.6B | — | 8.5% |
| 2025 | $6.1B | — | 10.8% |
Where the revenue comes from
Crown Castle · by segments, 2024
Towers$192M91%
Fiber$18M9%
Digital Realty Trust · by products, 2025
Rental and other services$6.0B98%
Fee income and other$144M2%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open CCI in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Crown Castle or Digital Realty Trust?
Digital Realty Trust (DLR), at $62.4B against $33.6B.
Is CCI or DLR cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Crown Castle (32.5x) is cheaper than Digital Realty Trust (46.2x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, CCI or DLR?
Digital Realty Trust: revenue grew +16.2% over the last year, against -21.1%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.