10:10 AM EDT, 03/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
CCI announced the sale of its Fiber segment for $8.5B to EQT and Zayo Group Holdings, with the transaction expected to close in 1H 2026. The company plans to use sale proceeds to reduce debt by $5.5B-$6B, saving $235M in annual interest expense, and initiate a $3B share buyback program in 2H 2026. Management also cut the annual dividend by 32.1% to $4.25 per share and provided 2025 guidance of $4.0B in site rental revenue and $2.7B in adjusted EBITDA. Q4 FFO of $1.70 beat consensus by $0.05 but declined from $1.82 last year. Q4 organic revenue increased 4.6% (excluding the impact of Spring churn), with towers +4.1%, small cells +14.4%, and fiber +2.3%. In Q4, CCI recorded a $4.96B goodwill impairment charge due to reduced small cell development plans and recalibrated customer deployment schedules. We believe the transformation into a pure-play U.S. tower company, combined with debt reduction and buyback plans, positions CCI for improved FFO growth despite the near-term dividend reduction.