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CCI vs. PSA: Crown Castle vs. Public Storage Stock Comparison

How do Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA) both belong to the Specialized REITs industry, though CCI is classified under Telecom Tower REITs while PSA falls under Self-Storage REITs.

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

Company profile comparison for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
Profile ItemCCIPSA
NameCrown Castle Inc.Public Storage
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorReal EstateReal Estate
GICS Industry GroupEquity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
GICS IndustrySpecialized REITsSpecialized REITs
GICS Sub-IndustryTelecom Tower REITsSelf-Storage REITs
Market Capitalization37.70 billion USD63.05 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateAugust 18, 1998November 18, 1980
Security TypeREITREIT

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CCI
PSA
GSPC
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Total Return (1Y)3.98%28.30%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)2.86%16.16%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)-8.91%5.67%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CCI
PSA
GSPC
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)35.72%23.47%
Beta (5Y)0.880.87
Max Drawdown (5Y)-59.72%-37.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)4.10M891.05K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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CCI and PSA are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.011.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.011.58

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Public Storage (PSA) earns 15.60% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Crown Castle (CCI) has no ROE this period.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

--

Max
22.74%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%
CCI
--

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

15.60%

Max
22.74%
PSA
15.60%
Q3
10.54%
Median
6.38%
Q1
1.69%
Min
-10.86%
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): CCI does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; PSA is benchmarked against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Neither Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Public Storage (PSA) 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.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Neither side reports a meaningful operating margin: for Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Public Storage (PSA) 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

Profitability metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
ROE (TTM)--15.60%
ROA (TTM)4.69%5.70%
Net Margin (TTM)----
Operating Margin (TTM)----
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Public Storage (PSA) at 2.74% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Crown Castle (CCI) at -4.39% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

EPS growth isn't a meaningful figure for either Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Public Storage (PSA) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) under our convention.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Revenue Growth (YoY)-4.39%2.74%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)-15.17%4.88%
EPS Growth (YoY)----
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)----

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Crown Castle (CCI) at 0.23 and Public Storage (PSA) at 0.37 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.23

Max
4.19
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
CCI
0.23
Min
0.06

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.37

Max
4.19
Q3
2.11
Median
1.31
Q1
0.62
PSA
0.37
Min
0.06
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): A comparison of their current ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Public Storage (PSA) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80 against its industry range, while Crown Castle (CCI) reports no figure this period.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

--

Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
Q1
0.72
Min
0.20
CCI
--

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

0.80

Max
2.72
Q3
1.59
Median
0.99
PSA
0.80
Q1
0.72
Min
0.20
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): CCI does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; PSA is benchmarked against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.230.37
Debt / Equity (MRQ)--0.80
Net Debt / EBITDA8.613.30

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Crown Castle (CCI) at 4.67% and Public Storage (PSA) at 3.52% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

4.67%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
CCI
4.67%
Median
4.34%
Q1
3.26%
Min
0.00%

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

3.52%

Max
8.62%
Q3
5.95%
Median
4.34%
PSA
3.52%
Q1
3.26%
Min
0.00%
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

An earnings-based payout ratio fits neither Crown Castle (CCI) in Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) nor Public Storage (PSA) 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

Dividend metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
Dividend Yield (TTM)4.67%3.52%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)----

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Crown Castle (CCI) at 9.23 and Public Storage (PSA) at 12.50 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

9.23

Max
14.47
CCI
9.23
Q3
8.02
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

12.50

Max
14.47
PSA
12.50
Q3
8.02
Median
5.98
Q1
3.27
Min
0.43
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

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 Public Storage (PSA) reports 6.45, ranking against industry peers normally.

CCI

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

-11.02

Max
4.06
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21
CCI
-11.02

PSA

Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group

6.45

PSA
6.45
Max
4.06
Q3
2.53
Median
1.64
Q1
1.06
Min
0.21
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Crown Castle (CCI) vs. Public Storage (PSA): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Crown Castle (CCI) and Public Storage (PSA)
MetricCCIPSA
P/E Ratio (TTM)----
P/S Ratio (TTM)9.2312.50
P/B Ratio (MRQ)-11.026.45
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----