Crown Castle (CCI)

The sleeper story is edge data center momentum building faster than management admits, with 'several trials' and 'increasing interest' using the classic sandbag language that precedes a new revenue stream announcement. The Street's fixating on the DISH bankruptcy drama, but that's a 2027 story at best with maybe 20 cents on the dollar recovery. The real binding constraint is carrier spending frozen by 'large-scale waves of layoffs' that forced a mid-quarter services cut, signaling 2027 organic growth could disappoint. Management's tell: 'We're not the only vendor that provides services,' translation: carriers are pulling back broadly. My view changes if AT&T deploys 600MHz aggressively in H2 or if edge trials convert to contracted revenue by year-end.