Crown Castle Slips Premarket After CEO Moskowitz Exits, Retail Cautiously Looks For Answers

Crown Castle (CCI) stock fell 1.7% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company said Steven Moskowitz had been terminated as president and CEO.

The communications-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) named Chief Financial Officer Dan Schlanger as interim chief executive, effective immediately.

Crown Castle said its board has initiated a search for a successor and is retaining a leading executive search firm to assist in the process.

The company said Schlanger will continue to serve as the company’s CFO until April 1, when former T-Mobile executive Sunit Patel will assume the role.

The deal comes after Crown Castle said earlier this month that it would sell its small cells and fiber solutions businesses for a total of $8.5 billion to become a pure-play U.S. tower firm.

The company launched a strategic review of the assets in December 2023 after activist investor Elliott Investment Management pushed for changes, citing the stock's underperformance.

Its long-term CEO, Jay Brown, had also stepped down after Elliott publicly demanded a change in management.

“Moskowitz’s termination was not a result of any disagreement regarding Crown Castle’s policies or financial performance and was not made for cause or related to any ethical or compliance concern,” the company said in a statement.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits declined to the ‘neutral’ (53/100) territory from ‘bullish’(57/100) a day ago, while retail chatter was ‘normal.’

Investors wondered why Moskowitz got fired.

Crown Castle shares have gained nearly 15% year-to-date (YTD).  

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