Crown Castle Shares Jump 12% as SpaceX Hunts for 80,000 Cell Sites to Build a Fourth US Wireless Network

NEW YORK — Crown Castle shares rose more than 12% in early trading Friday. The move followed a report that Elon Musk's SpaceX is negotiating access to at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites as it works toward a nationwide wireless network, with the tower operator among the companies in talks.

The stock gained $9.83 to $89.00, its largest rise in weeks. Before Friday it was down nearly 20% over the past 12 months.

Bloomberg News reported Thursday that SpaceX is seeking to lease space on tens of thousands of towers as part of a plan to become a fourth national wireless carrier. The report named Crown Castle as one of the companies in discussions and said the potential deals could be worth billions of dollars.

CEO hints at talks

Crown Castle's CEO, Chris Hillabrant, had hinted at such talks a day earlier. On the company's third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, an analyst asked about potential arrangements with SpaceX, Amazon and other satellite communications companies.

"I don't think I want to get into a customer-specific detail, but you can assume that we're talking to all parties," Hillabrant said.

Crown Castle, based in Houston, operates about 40,000 towers across the U.S. It sold its fiber and small-cell businesses to become a pure U.S. tower company. That leaves its revenue closely tied to spending by the big wireless carriers. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile accounted for about 90% of its site rental revenue in 2025.

Those carriers have been cutting back. Verizon has reduced planned network spending, and Crown Castle has absorbed contract cancellations tied to the Sprint merger and DISH Network's network shutdown. A new nationwide customer would ease a long-running concern for the stock.

Carriers fall as towers rise

The SpaceX report split the telecom industry in two. Tower owners rallied, while the carriers that rent their space sold off on fears of a new, well-funded competitor.

In after-hours trading Thursday, Verizon fell 3.7%, T-Mobile fell 4.3% and AT&T fell 3.3%. Peer tower companies American Tower and SBA Communications rose alongside Crown Castle.

The report builds on a deal SpaceX announced earlier this month to buy a nationwide block of 800-megahertz spectrum from private equity firm Grain Management for about $8 billion in cash. Low-band airwaves travel long distances and pass through buildings well, which makes them useful for a land-based cellular network. That deal lifted tower stocks sharply at the time.

"This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America," Musk said when the spectrum purchase was announced.

Mixed quarter, higher guidance

Crown Castle's third-quarter results, released after the close Wednesday, had drawn little reaction before the SpaceX news. The stock edged up 0.2% on Thursday.

Revenue was $995 million, below the analyst estimate of $1.01 billion and down from a year earlier as rental income weakened and the services business continued to struggle. Per-share results of $1.24 beat expectations of $1.16. The company raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA outlook by $25 million, to a midpoint of $2.715 billion, helped by cost cuts and purchases of the land under its towers.

Analysts weigh in

Several analysts adjusted their views after the report:

TD Cowen raised its price target to $98 from $92 and kept a Buy rating. Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating with a $120 target. BMO Capital kept its Outperform rating but trimmed its target to $91 from $93.

Morningstar analyst Michael Hodel said Crown Castle improved per-share cash flow in the quarter despite falling revenue and slow carrier demand. He kept a $113 fair value estimate. He expects new leasing activity this year to come in at the bottom of the company's projected range, but said SpaceX could eventually become a customer as it builds its network. Hodel said he still prefers internationally diversified peers American Tower and SBA Communications.

Still early

SpaceX has not announced any tower agreements or committed to a full ground network. Analysts have noted that improvements in satellite technology could reduce how much tower infrastructure such a network needs.

Even so, a buyer seeking tens of thousands of sites would rank among the largest new tenants the U.S. tower industry has seen in years. Before Friday, Crown Castle shares had traded between $65.32 and $100.50 over the past year.