CCI vs. DLR: Crown Castle vs. Digital Realty Trust Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Crown Castle (CCI) and Digital Realty Trust (DLR) both belong to the Specialized REITs industry, though CCI is classified under Telecom Tower REITs while DLR falls under Data Center REITs.

Both Crown Castle (CCI) and Digital Realty Trust (DLR) are REITs — read their payout ratios and P/E alongside FFO (funds from operations) rather than at face value.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Digital Realty Trust (DLR) earns 3.34% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Crown Castle (CCI) has no ROE this period.

Neither Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is well served by net margin: heavy depreciation makes net income a poor profitability proxy in their businesses, where FFO-based measures are the standard read.

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funding costs are part of the core business, so net margin and ROE are the cleaner profitability reads.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 10.04% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Crown Castle (CCI) at -4.39% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Crown Castle (CCI) at 0.23 and Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 0.58 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Digital Realty Trust (DLR) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69 against its industry range, while Crown Castle (CCI) reports no figure this period.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Crown Castle (CCI) at 4.67% pays a yield in its industry’s typical range, while Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 2.79% falls in the bottom quartile of its peers.

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): their distributions are mandated and conventionally measured against FFO, so the accounting-earnings ratio overstates both.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

P/E ratio is not a meaningful valuation yardstick for either Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): depreciation suppresses reported earnings in their businesses, and price-to-FFO is the conventional yardstick instead.

Both Crown Castle (CCI) at 9.23 and Digital Realty Trust (DLR) at 9.47 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Crown Castle (CCI) reports a negative P/B ratio of -11.02, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Digital Realty Trust (DLR) reports 2.39, ranking against industry peers normally.

Valuation Metrics