10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

____________________________________

FORM 10-Q

___________________________________

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2022

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period              to             

Commission File Number 001-16441

____________________________________

CROWN CASTLE INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	76-0470458
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

8020 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77024

(Address of principal executives office) (Zip Code)

(713) 570-3000

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

____________________________________

 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par value	CCI	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Number of shares of common stock outstanding at November 2, 2022: 433,048,001

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX

		Page
PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION		3
ITEM 1.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	3
	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Unaudited)	3
	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited)	4
	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)	5
	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY (Unaudited)	6
	NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)	8
ITEM 2.	MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	20
ITEM 3.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	34
ITEM 4.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	35
PART II—OTHER INFORMATION		35
ITEM 1.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	35
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	35
ITEM 2.	UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS	35
ITEM 6.	EXHIBITS	36
EXHIBIT INDEX		36
SIGNATURES		37

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q ("Form 10-Q") contains forward-looking statements that are based on our management's expectations as of the filing date of this report with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Statements that are not historical facts are hereby identified as forward-looking statements. In addition, words such as "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe," "expect," "likely," "predicted," "positioned," "continue," "target," "seek," "focus" and any variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include plans, projections and estimates contained in "Part I—Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" ("MD&A") and "Part I—Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" herein. Such forward-looking statements include (1) benefits and opportunities stemming from our strategy, strategic position, business model and capabilities, (2) the strength and growth potential of the U.S. market for shared communications infrastructure investment, (3) expectations regarding anticipated growth in the wireless industry, and consumption of and demand for data, including growth in, and factors driving, consumption and demand, (4) potential benefits of our communications infrastructure (on an individual and collective basis) and expectations regarding demand therefore, including potential benefits and continuity of and factors driving such demand, (5) expectations regarding construction, including duration of our construction projects, and acquisition of communications infrastructure, (6) the utilization of our net operating loss carryforwards ("NOLs"), (7) expectations regarding wireless carriers' focus on improving network quality and expanding capacity, (8) expectations regarding continued increase in usage of high-bandwidth applications by organizations, (9) expected use of net proceeds from issuances under the commercial paper program ("CP Program"), (10) our full year 2022 and 2023 outlook and the anticipated growth in our financial results, including future revenues and operating cash flows, and the expectations regarding our capital expenditures, as well as the factors impacting expected growth in financial results and the levels of capital expenditures, (11) expectations regarding our capital structure and the credit markets, our availability and cost of capital, capital allocation, our leverage ratio target, our ability to service our debt and comply with debt covenants and the plans for and the benefits of any future refinancings, (12) expectations related to our ability to remain qualified as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") and the advantages, benefits or impact of, or opportunities created by, our REIT status, (13) adequacy, projected sources and uses of liquidity, (14) our dividend policy and the timing, amount, growth or tax characterization of our dividends, (15) availability of spectrum, (16) the T-Mobile Agreement (as defined below), including expectations related thereto and the benefits that may be derived therefrom, and the the impact from the T-Mobile and Sprint network consolidation contemplated therein, (17) discretionary investments and the benefits that may be derived therefrom, (18) potential adjustments in the interest rate spread and unused commitment fee percentage on our 2016 Credit Facility, (19)

1

the outcome of outstanding litigation and (20) the utility of certain financial measures, including non-GAAP financial measures. All future dividends are subject to declaration by our board of directors.

Such forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including prevailing market conditions, risk factors described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 ("2021 Form 10-K") and other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected.

Our filings with the SEC are available through the SEC website at www.sec.gov or through our investor relations website at investor.crowncastle.com. We use our investor relations website to disclose information about us that may be deemed to be material. We encourage investors, the media and others interested in us to visit our investor relations website from time to time to review up-to-date information or to sign up for e-mail alerts to be notified when new or updated information is posted on the site.

Interpretation

As used herein, the term "including," and any variation thereof, means "including without limitation." The use of the word "or" herein is not exclusive. Unless this Form 10-Q indicates otherwise or the context otherwise requires, the terms "we," "our," "our company," "the company" or "us" as used in this Form 10-Q refer to Crown Castle Inc. ("CCI") (formerly, Crown Castle International Corp.) and its predecessor (organized in 1995), as applicable, each a Delaware corporation, and their subsidiaries. Additionally, unless the context suggests otherwise, references to "U.S." are to the United States of America and Puerto Rico, collectively. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Form 10-Q have the same meaning given to them in the 2021 Form 10-K.

2

PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions, except par values)

	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	174	$	292
Restricted cash	168		169
Receivables, net	535		543
Prepaid expenses	111		105
Other current assets	194		145
Total current assets	1,182		1,254
Deferred site rental receivables	1,880		1,588
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $12,780 and $11,937, respectively	15,265		15,269
Operating lease right-of-use assets	6,613		6,682
Goodwill	10,087		10,078
Other intangible assets, net	3,699		4,046
Other assets, net	135		123
Total assets	$	38,861	$	39,040
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	229	$	246
Accrued interest	119		182
Deferred revenues	686		776
Other accrued liabilities	387		401
Current maturities of debt and other obligations	819		72
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	344		349
Total current liabilities	2,584		2,026
Debt and other long-term obligations	20,664		20,557
Operating lease liabilities	5,941		6,031
Other long-term liabilities	1,993		2,168
Total liabilities	31,182		30,782
Commitments and contingencies (note 8)
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 1,200 shares authorized; shares issued and outstanding: September 30, 2022—433 and December 31, 2021—432	4		4
Additional paid-in capital	18,087		18,011
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(7)		(4)
Dividends/distributions in excess of earnings	(10,405)		(9,753)
Total equity	7,679		8,258
Total liabilities and equity	$	38,861	$	39,040

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

3

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions, except per share amounts)

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Net revenues:
Site rental	$	1,568	$	1,451	$	4,711	$	4,245
Services and other	178		167		511		441
Net revenues	1,746		1,618		5,222		4,686
Operating expenses:
Costs of operations:(a)
Site rental	405		397		1,204		1,168
Services and other	119		115		344		301
Selling, general and administrative	187		167		558		500
Asset write-down charges	3		—		26		9
Acquisition and integration costs	—		—		1		1
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	430		413		1,276		1,229
Total operating expenses	1,144		1,092		3,409		3,208
Operating income (loss)	602		526		1,813		1,478
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs	(177)		(163)		(506)		(493)
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	(2)		(1)		(28)		(145)
Interest income	1		—		1		1
Other income (expense)	(2)		(4)		(5)		(16)
Income (loss) before income taxes	422		358		1,275		825
Benefit (provision) for income taxes	(3)		(7)		(14)		(20)
Income (loss) from continuing operations	419		351		1,261		805
Discontinued operations:
Net gain (loss) from disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax	—		—		—		(62)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	—		—		—		(62)
Net income (loss)	419		351		1,261		743
Net income (loss)	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	743
Foreign currency translation adjustments	(2)		(1)		(3)		1
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	(2)		(1)		(3)		1
Comprehensive income (loss)	$	417	$	350	$	1,258	$	744
Net income (loss), per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, basic	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.72
Income (loss) from continuing operations, diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, diluted	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.71
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic	433		432		433		432
Diluted	434		434		434		434

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

4

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(In millions of dollars)

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$	1,261	$	805
Adjustments to reconcile income (loss) from continuing operations to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	1,276		1,229
(Gains) losses on retirement of long-term obligations	28		145
Amortization of deferred financing costs and other non-cash interest, net	10		9
Stock-based compensation expense	120		100
Asset write-down charges	26		9
Deferred income tax (benefit) provision	2		4
Other non-cash adjustments, net	6		18
Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding the effects of acquisitions:
Increase (decrease) in accrued interest	(63)		(59)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable	(10)		16
Increase (decrease) in other liabilities	(256)		(57)
Decrease (increase) in receivables	8		(62)
Decrease (increase) in other assets	(370)		(102)
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities	2,038		2,055
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(921)		(892)
Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired	(15)		(27)
Other investing activities, net	(10)		8
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities	(946)		(911)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	748		3,985
Principal payments on debt and other long-term obligations	(55)		(1,057)
Purchases and redemptions of long-term debt	(1,274)		(2,089)
Borrowings under revolving credit facility	2,625		580
Payments under revolving credit facility	(2,580)		(870)
Net issuances (repayments) under commercial paper program	1,329		380
Payments for financing costs	(14)		(43)
Purchases of common stock	(64)		(69)
Dividends/distributions paid on common stock	(1,924)		(1,738)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities	(1,209)		(921)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash - continuing operations	(117)		223
Discontinued operations:
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities	—		(62)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash - discontinued operations	—		(62)
Effect of exchange rate changes	(2)		—
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period	466		381
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period	$	347	$	542

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

5

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY

(Amounts in millions) (Unaudited)

	Common Stock					Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) ("AOCI")
	Shares	($0.01 Par)		Additional Paid-in Capital		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments		Dividends/Distributions in Excess of Earnings		Total
Balance, June 30, 2022	433	$	4	$	18,050	$	(5)	$	(10,188)	$	7,861
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures	—	—		38		—		—		38
Purchases and retirement of common stock	—	—		(1)		—		—		(1)
Other comprehensive income (loss)(a)	—	—		—		(2)		—		(2)
Common stock dividends/distributions(b)	—	—		—		—		(636)		(636)
Net income (loss)	—	—		—		—		419		419
Balance, September 30, 2022	433	$	4	$	18,087	$	(7)	$	(10,405)	$	7,679

	Common Stock					Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) ("AOCI")
	Shares	($0.01 Par)		Additional Paid-in Capital		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments		Dividends/Distributions in Excess of Earnings		Total
Balance, June 30, 2021	432	$	4	$	17,951	$	(2)	$	(9,240)	$	8,713
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures	—	—		32		—		—		32
Purchases and retirement of common stock	—	—		(1)		—		—		(1)
Other comprehensive income (loss)(a)	—	—		—		(1)		—		(1)
Common stock dividends/distributions(b)	—	—		—		—		(578)		(578)
Net income (loss)	—	—		—		—		351		351
Balance, September 30, 2021	432	$	4	$	17,982	$	(3)	$	(9,467)	$	8,516

(a)See the condensed consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) for the components of other comprehensive income (loss).

(b)See notes 7 and 9 for information regarding common stock dividends declared per share.

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

6

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY

(Amounts in millions) (Unaudited)

	Common Stock					AOCI
	Shares	($0.01 Par)		Additional paid-in capital		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments		Dividends/Distributions in Excess of Earnings		Total
Balance, December 31, 2021	432	$	4	$	18,011	$	(4)	$	(9,753)	$	8,258
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures	1	—		140		—		—		140
Purchases and retirement of common stock	—	—		(64)		—		—		(64)
Other comprehensive income (loss)(a)	—	—		—		(3)		—		(3)
Common stock dividends/distributions(b)	—	—		—		—		(1,913)		(1,913)
Net income (loss)	—	—		—		—		1,261		1,261
Balance, September 30, 2022	433	$	4	$	18,087	$	(7)	$	(10,405)	$	7,679

	Common Stock					AOCI
	Shares	($0.01 Par)		Additional paid-in capital		Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments		Dividends/Distributions in Excess of Earnings		Total
Balance, December 31, 2020	431	$	4	$	17,933	$	(4)	$	(8,472)	$	9,461
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures	1	—		118		—		—		118
Purchases and retirement of common stock	—	—		(69)		—		—		(69)
Other comprehensive income (loss)(a)	—	—		—		1		—		1
Common stock dividends/distributions(b)	—	—		—		—		(1,738)		(1,738)
Net income (loss)	—	—		—		—		743		743
Balance, September 30, 2021	432	$	4	$	17,982	$	(3)	$	(9,467)	$	8,516

(a)See the condensed consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) for the components of other comprehensive income (loss).

(b)See notes 7 and 9 for information regarding common stock dividends declared per share.

7

CROWN CASTLE INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS-Unaudited

(Tabular dollars in millions, except per share amounts)

1.General

The information contained in the following notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements is condensed from that which would appear in the annual consolidated financial statements; accordingly, the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein should be reviewed in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and related notes thereto, included in the 2021 Form 10-K filed by Crown Castle Inc. ("CCI") (formerly, Crown Castle International Corp.) with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined in these notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have the same meaning given to them in the 2021 Form 10-K. References to the "Company" refer to CCI and its predecessor, as applicable, and their subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated or the context indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term "including," and any variation thereof means "including without limitation." The use of the word "or" herein is not exclusive. Unless the context suggests otherwise, references to "U.S." are to the United States of America and Puerto Rico, collectively.

The Company owns, operates and leases shared communications infrastructure that is geographically dispersed throughout the U.S., including (1) towers and other structures, such as rooftops (collectively, "towers"), and (2) fiber primarily supporting small cell networks ("small cells") and fiber solutions. The Company's towers, fiber and small cells assets are collectively referred to herein as "communications infrastructure," and the Company's customers on its communications infrastructure are referred to herein as "tenants."

The Company's core business is providing access, including space or capacity, to its shared communications infrastructure via long-term contracts in various forms, including lease, license, sublease and service agreements (collectively, "tenant contracts").

The Company's operating segments consist of (1) Towers and (2) Fiber. See note 10.

As part of the Company's effort to provide comprehensive communications infrastructure solutions, as an ancillary business, the Company also offers certain services primarily relating to its Towers segment, predominately consisting of (1) site development services primarily relating to existing or new tenant equipment installations, including: site acquisition, architectural and engineering, or zoning and permitting (collectively, "site development services") and (2) tenant equipment installation or subsequent augmentations (collectively, "installation services").

The Company operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, the Company has certain taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). See note 6.

Approximately 53% of the Company's towers are leased or subleased or operated and managed under master leases, subleases, and other agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile. The Company has the option to purchase these towers at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company has no obligation to exercise such purchase options.

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited; however, they include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to state fairly the condensed consolidated financial position of the Company at September 30, 2022, the condensed consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, and the condensed consolidated cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

2.Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

No accounting pronouncements adopted during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 had a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

8

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

No new accounting pronouncements issued but not yet adopted are expected to have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

3.Revenues

Site Rental Revenues

The Company generates site rental revenues from its core business by providing tenants with access, including space or capacity, to its shared communications infrastructure via long-term tenant contracts in various forms, including lease, license, sublease and service agreements. Providing such access over the length of the tenant contract term represents the Company’s sole performance obligation under its tenant contracts.

Site rental revenues from the Company's tenant contracts are recognized on a straight-line, ratable basis over the fixed, non-cancelable term of the relevant tenant contract, which generally ranges from five to 15 years for wireless tenants and three to 20 years for the Company's fiber solutions tenants (including from organizations with high-bandwidth and multi-location demands), regardless of whether the payments from the tenant are received in equal monthly amounts during the life of the tenant contract. Certain of the Company's tenant contracts contain (1) fixed escalation clauses (such as fixed dollar or fixed percentage increases) or inflation-based escalation clauses (such as those tied to the CPI), (2) multiple renewal periods exercisable at the tenant's option and (3) only limited termination rights at the applicable tenant's option through the current term. If the payment terms call for fixed escalations, upfront payments, or rent-free periods, the revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the fixed, non-cancelable term of the tenant contract. When calculating its straight-line rental revenues, the Company considers all fixed elements of tenant contractual escalation provisions, even if such escalation provisions contain a variable element in addition to a minimum. The Company's assets related to straight-line site rental revenues include current amounts of $116 million included in "Other current assets" and non-current amounts of $1.9 billion included in "Deferred site rental receivables" as of September 30, 2022. Amounts billed or received prior to being earned are deferred and reflected in "Deferred revenues" and "Other long-term liabilities" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet. Amounts to which the Company has an unconditional right to payment, which are related to both satisfied or partially satisfied performance obligations, are recorded within "Receivables, net" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Services and Other Revenues

As part of the Company’s effort to provide comprehensive communications infrastructure solutions, as an ancillary business, the Company offers certain services primarily relating to its Towers segment, predominately consisting of (1) site development services and (2) installation services. Upon contract commencement, the Company assesses its services to tenants and identifies performance obligations for each promise to provide a distinct service.

The Company may have multiple performance obligations for site development services, which primarily include: structural analysis, zoning, permitting and construction drawings. For each of these performance obligations, services revenues are recognized at completion of the applicable performance obligation, which represents the point at which the Company believes it has transferred goods or services to the tenant. The revenue recognized is based on an allocation of the transaction price among the performance obligations in a respective contract based on estimated standalone selling price. The volume and mix of site development services may vary among contracts and may include a combination of some or all of the above performance obligations. Payments generally are due within 45 to 60 days and generally do not contain variable-consideration provisions. The transaction price for the Company's tower installation services consists of amounts for (1) permanent improvements to the Company's towers that represent a lease component and (2) the performance of the service. Amounts under the Company's tower installation service agreements that represent a lease component are recognized as site rental revenues on a straight-line basis over the length of the associated estimated lease term. For the performance of the installation service, the Company has one performance obligation, which is satisfied at the time of the applicable installation or augmentation and recognized as services and other revenues on the Company's condensed consolidated statement of operations. Since performance obligations are typically satisfied prior to receiving payment from tenants, the unconditional right to payment is recorded within "Receivables, net" on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. The vast majority of the Company’s services generally have a duration of one year or less.

9

Additional Information on Revenues

As of January 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, $2.6 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively, of unrecognized revenue was reported in "Deferred revenues" and "Other long-term liabilities" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, approximately $495 million of the January 1, 2022 unrecognized revenue balance was recognized as revenue. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, approximately $455 million of the January 1, 2021 unrecognized revenue balance was recognized as revenue.

The following table is a summary of the non-cancelable contracted amounts owed to the Company by tenants pursuant to tenant contracts in effect as of September 30, 2022.

	Three Months Ending December 31,		Years Ending December 31,
	2022		2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter		Total
Contracted amounts(a)	$	1,208	$	4,760	$	4,338	$	4,010	$	3,929	$	22,736	$	40,981

(a)Based on the nature of the contract, tenant contracts are accounted for pursuant to relevant lease accounting (ASC 842) or revenue accounting (ASC 606) guidance. Excludes amounts related to services, as those contracts generally have a duration of one year or less.

See note 10 for further information regarding the Company's operating segments.

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4.Debt and Other Obligations

The table below sets forth the Company's debt and other obligations as of September 30, 2022.

	Original Issue Date		Final Maturity Date(a)		Balance as of September 30, 2022			Balance as of December 31, 2021		Stated Interest Rate as of September 30, 2022(a)
3.849% Secured Notes	Dec. 2012		Apr. 2023	(h)	$	—		$	998	N/A
Secured Notes, Series 2009-1, Class A-2	July 2009		Aug. 2029		48			53		9.0	%
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1	July 2018		July 2043	(h)	—			249		N/A
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2	May 2015		May 2045	(b)	697			696		3.7	%
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-2	July 2018		July 2048	(b)	745			744		4.2	%
Finance leases and other obligations	Various		Various	(c)	239			242		Various		(c)
Total secured debt					$	1,729		$	2,982
2016 Revolver	Jan. 2016		July 2027	(e)	$	710	(d)	$	665	4.1	%	(e)
2016 Term Loan A	Jan. 2016		July 2027	(e)	1,199			1,222		3.8	%	(e)
Commercial Paper Notes	Various	(f)	Various	(f)	1,594		(f)	265		3.8	%
3.150% Senior Notes	Jan. 2018		July 2023		749			747		3.2	%
3.200% Senior Notes	Aug. 2017		Sept. 2024		748			747		3.2	%
1.350% Senior Notes	June 2020		July 2025		496			496		1.4	%
4.450% Senior Notes	Feb. 2016		Feb. 2026		896			895		4.5	%
3.700% Senior Notes	May 2016		June 2026		747			746		3.7	%
1.050% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		July 2026		992			990		1.1	%
4.000% Senior Notes	Feb. 2017		Mar. 2027		497			496		4.0	%
2.900% Senior Notes	Mar. 2022		Mar. 2027	(g)	742			—		2.9	%
3.650% Senior Notes	Aug. 2017		Sept. 2027		995			995		3.7	%
3.800% Senior Notes	Jan. 2018		Feb. 2028		993			992		3.8	%
4.300% Senior Notes	Feb. 2019		Feb. 2029		594			593		4.3	%
3.100% Senior Notes	Aug. 2019		Nov. 2029		545			545		3.1	%
3.300% Senior Notes	Apr. 2020		July 2030		739			738		3.3	%
2.250% Senior Notes	June 2020		Jan. 2031		1,090			1,089		2.3	%
2.100% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		Apr. 2031		988			988		2.1	%
2.500% Senior Notes	June 2021		July 2031		741			741		2.5	%
2.900% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		Apr. 2041		1,233			1,233		2.9	%
4.750% Senior Notes	May 2017		May 2047		344			344		4.8	%
5.200% Senior Notes	Feb. 2019		Feb. 2049		396			395		5.2	%
4.000% Senior Notes	Aug. 2019		Nov. 2049		346			345		4.0	%
4.150% Senior Notes	Apr. 2020		July 2050		490			490		4.2	%
3.250% Senior Notes	June 2020		Jan. 2051		890			890		3.3	%
Total unsecured debt					$	19,754		$	17,647
Total debt and other obligations					21,483			20,629
Less: current maturities of debt and other obligations					819			72
Non-current portion of debt and other long-term obligations					$	20,664		$	20,557

(a)See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for additional information regarding the maturity and principal amortization provisions and interest rates relating to the Company's indebtedness.

(b)If the respective series of Tower Revenue Notes are not paid in full on or prior to an applicable anticipated repayment date, then Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the indenture) of the issuers of such notes will be used to repay principal of the applicable series and class of the Tower Revenue Notes, and additional interest (of an additional approximately 5% per annum) will accrue on the respective Tower Revenue Notes. As of September 30, 2022, the Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2 and Series 2018-2 have principal amounts of $700 million and $750 million, with anticipated repayment dates in 2025 and 2028, respectively.

(c)The Company's finance leases and other obligations relate to land, fiber, vehicles, and other assets and bear interest rates ranging up to 10% and mature in periods ranging from less than one year to approximately 25 years.

(d)As of September 30, 2022, the undrawn availability under the 2016 Revolver was $6.3 billion.

(e)In July 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to the Credit Agreement governing the Company's 2016 Credit Facility ("2022 Credit Agreement Amendment") that provided for, among other things, (1) the extension of the maturity date of the 2016 Credit Facility from June 2026 to July 2027, (2) an increase to the aggregate commitments under the 2016 Revolver from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, (3) certain modifications to a specified sustainability

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metric and (4) the replacement of the LIBOR pricing benchmark with a Term SOFR pricing benchmark. Both the 2016 Revolver and 2016 Term Loan A bear interest, at the Company's option, at either (1) Term SOFR plus (i) a credit spread adjustment of 0.10% per annum and (ii) a credit spread ranging from 0.875% to 1.750% per annum or (2) an alternate base rate plus a credit spread ranging from 0.000% to 0.750% per annum, in each case, with the applicable credit spread based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating. The Company pays a commitment fee ranging from 0.080% to 0.300%, based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating, per annum on the undrawn available amount under the 2016 Revolver. See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for information regarding potential adjustments to such percentages.

(f)In March 2022, the Company increased the size of its CP Program to permit the issuance of Commercial Paper Notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2.0 billion at any time outstanding. Notes under the CP Program may be issued, repaid and re-issued from time to time. The net proceeds of the Commercial Paper Notes are expected to be used for general corporate purposes. The maturities of the Commercial Paper Notes, when outstanding, may vary but may not exceed 397 days from the date of issue. The Commercial Paper Notes are issued under customary terms in the commercial paper market and are issued at a discount from par or, alternatively, can be issued at par and bear varying interest rates on a fixed or floating basis. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had net issuances of $1.6 billion under the CP Program. At any point in time, the Company intends to maintain available commitments under its 2016 Revolver in an amount at least equal to the amount of Commercial Paper Notes outstanding. While any outstanding Commercial Paper Notes generally have short-term maturities, the Company classifies the outstanding issuances, when applicable, as long-term based on its ability and intent to refinance the outstanding issuances on a long-term basis.

(g)In March 2022, the Company issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 2.900% senior unsecured notes due 2027 ("March 2022 Senior Notes"). The Company used the net proceeds from the March 2022 Senior Notes offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its CP Program and pay related fees and expenses.

(h)In March 2022, the Company (1) prepaid in full the previously outstanding Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1 and (2) redeemed in full the previously outstanding 3.849% Secured Notes.

Scheduled Principal Payments and Final Maturities

The following are the scheduled principal payments and final maturities of the total debt and other long-term obligations of the Company outstanding as of September 30, 2022, which do not consider the principal payments that will commence following the anticipated repayment dates on the Tower Revenue Notes.

	Three Months Ending December 31,			Years Ending December 31,										Total Cash Obligations		Unamortized Adjustments, Net		Total Debt and Other Obligations Outstanding
	2022			2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter
Scheduled principal payments and final maturities	$	1,614	(a)	$	819	$	830	$	591	$	2,770	$	15,017	$	21,641	$	(158)	$	21,483

(a)Predominately consists of outstanding indebtedness under the CP Program (as discussed in footnote (f) above).

Purchases and Redemptions of Long-Term Debt

The following is a summary of purchases and redemptions of long-term debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

	Principal Amount		Cash Paid(a)		Gains (Losses)(b)
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1	$	250	$	252	$	(3)
3.849% Secured Notes	1,000		1,022		(23)
2016 Revolver	—		—		(2)
Total	$	1,250	$	1,274	$	(28)

(a)Exclusive of accrued interest.

(b)Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

Interest Expense and Amortization of Deferred Financing Costs

The components of interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs are as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Interest expense on debt obligations	$	174	$	160	$	496	$	484
Amortization of deferred financing costs and adjustments on long-term debt, net	6		6		19		19
Capitalized interest	(3)		(3)		(9)		(10)
Total	$	177	$	163	$	506	$	493

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5.Fair Value Disclosures

	Level in Fair Value Hierarchy	September 30, 2022				December 31, 2021
		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1	$	174	$	174	$	292	$	292
Restricted cash, current and non-current	1	173		173		174		174
Liabilities:
Total debt and other obligations	2	21,483		18,926		20,629		21,588

The fair value of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash approximate the carrying value. The Company determines the fair value of its debt securities based on indicative, non-binding quotes from brokers. Quotes from brokers require judgment and are based on the brokers' interpretation of market information, including implied credit spreads for similar borrowings on recent trades or bid/ask prices or quotes from active markets if available. Since December 31, 2021, there have been no changes in the Company's valuation techniques used to measure fair values.

6.Income Taxes

The Company operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the Company is generally entitled to a deduction for dividends that it pays and therefore is not subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on its net taxable income that is currently distributed to its stockholders. The Company also may be subject to certain federal, state, local and foreign taxes on its income and assets, including (1) taxes on any undistributed income, (2) taxes related to the TRSs, (3) franchise taxes, (4) property taxes, and (5) transfer taxes. In addition, the Company could under certain circumstances be required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount, in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to maintain qualification for taxation as a REIT.

The Company's TRS assets and operations will continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes or to foreign taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located. The Company's foreign assets and operations (including its tower operations in Puerto Rico) are subject to foreign income taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located, regardless of whether they are included in a TRS or not.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company's effective tax rate differed from the federal statutory rate predominately due to the Company's REIT status, including the dividends paid deduction.

7.Per Share Information

Basic net income (loss), per common share, excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, diluted net income (loss), per common share, is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus any potential dilutive common share equivalents, including shares issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units as determined under the treasury stock method.

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	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Income (loss) from continuing operations for basic and diluted computations	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	805
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	—		—		—		(62)
Net income (loss)	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	743
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding (in millions):
Basic weighted-average number of common stock outstanding	433		432		433		432
Effect of assumed dilution from potential issuance of common shares relating to restricted stock units	1		2		1		2
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	434		434		434		434
Net income (loss), per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, basic	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.72
Income (loss) from continuing operations, diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, diluted	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.71
Dividends/distributions declared per share of common stock	$	1.47	$	1.33	$	4.41	$	3.99

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company granted one million restricted stock units to the Company's executives and certain other employees.

8.Commitments and Contingencies

Durham Lawsuits

The Company has received notices of claims and has been named as one of several defendants in lawsuits stemming from an April 2019 gas leak explosion in Durham, North Carolina, which occurred near an area where the Company's subcontractors were installing fiber. The explosion resulted in two fatalities, physical injuries (some of which were serious), and property damage to surrounding buildings and businesses. Currently, the Company is unable to determine the likelihood of an outcome or estimate a range of possible losses, if any, related to these lawsuits.

Other Matters

The Company is involved in various other claims, assessments, lawsuits or proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. While there are uncertainties inherent in the ultimate outcome of such other matters and it is impossible to presently determine the ultimate costs or losses that may be incurred, if any, management believes the adverse resolution of such uncertainties and the incurrence of such costs should not have a material adverse effect on the Company's condensed consolidated financial position or results of operations. Additionally, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries are contingently liable for commitments or performance guarantees arising in the ordinary course of business, including certain letters of credit or surety bonds. In addition, see note 1 for a discussion of the Company's option to purchase approximately 53% of its towers at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company has no obligation to exercise such purchase options.

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9.Equity

Declaration and Payment of Dividends

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the following dividends/distributions were declared or paid:

Equity Type	Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividends Per Share		Aggregate Payment Amount(a)
Common Stock	February 8, 2022	March 15, 2022	March 31, 2022	$	1.47	$	639
Common Stock	May 9, 2022	June 15, 2022	June 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	638
Common Stock	July 25, 2022	September 15, 2022	September 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	636

(a)Inclusive of dividends accrued for holders of unvested restricted stock units, which will be paid when and if the restricted stock units vest.

See also note 12 for a discussion of the Company's common stock dividend declared in October 2022.

Purchases of the Company's Common Stock

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company purchased 0.4 million shares of its common stock utilizing $64 million in cash. The shares of common stock purchased relate to shares withheld in connection with the payment of withholding taxes upon vesting of restricted stock units.

2021 "At-the-Market" Stock Offering Program

In March 2021, the Company established an "at-the-market" stock offering program through which it may issue and sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $750 million ("2021 ATM Program"). Sales under the 2021 ATM Program may be made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or, subject to the Company's specific instructions, at negotiated prices. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from any sales under the 2021 ATM Program for general corporate purposes, which may include (1) the funding of future acquisitions or investments or (2) the repayment or repurchase of any outstanding indebtedness. The Company has not sold any shares of common stock under the 2021 ATM Program.

10.Operating Segments

The Company's operating segments consist of (1) Towers and (2) Fiber. The Towers segment provides access, including space or capacity, to the Company's more than 40,000 towers geographically dispersed throughout the U.S. The Towers segment also reflects certain ancillary services relating to the Company's towers, predominately consisting of site development services and installation services. The Fiber segment provides access, including space or capacity, to the Company's approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber primarily supporting small cell networks and fiber solutions geographically dispersed throughout the U.S.

The measurements of profit or loss used by the Company's chief operating decision maker ("CODM") to evaluate the performance of its operating segments are (1) segment site rental gross margin, (2) segment services and other gross margin and (3) segment operating profit. The Company defines segment site rental gross margin as segment site rental revenues less segment site rental costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense and amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments recorded in consolidated site rental costs of operations. The Company defines segment services and other gross margin as segment services and other revenues less segment services and other costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense recorded in consolidated services and other costs of operations. The Company defines segment operating profit as segment site rental gross margin plus segment services and other gross margin, and segment other operating (income) expense, less selling, general and administrative expenses attributable to the respective segment. All of these measurements of profit or loss are exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion, which are shown separately.

The following tables set forth the Company's segment operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Costs that are directly attributable to Towers and Fiber are assigned to those respective segments. Additionally, certain costs are shared across segments and are reflected in the Company's segment measures through allocations that management believes to be reasonable. The "Other" column (1) represents amounts excluded from specific segments, such as asset write-down charges, acquisition and integration costs, depreciation, amortization and accretion, amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments, interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs, gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations, interest income, other income (expense), income (loss) from discontinued

15

operations, and stock-based compensation expense, and (2) reconciles segment operating profit to income (loss) before income taxes, as the amounts are not utilized in assessing each segment’s performance. The "Other" total assets balance includes corporate assets such as cash and cash equivalents which have not been allocated to specific segments. There are no significant revenues resulting from transactions between the Company's operating segments.

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	Three Months Ended September 30, 2022								Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	1,084	$	484			$	1,568	$	972	$	479			$	1,451
Segment services and other revenues	175		3				178		162		5				167
Segment revenues	1,259		487				1,746		1,134		484				1,618
Segment site rental costs of operations	230		166				396		227		163				390
Segment services and other costs of operations	114		3				117		108		4				112
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	344		169				513		335		167				502
Segment site rental gross margin	854		318				1,172		745		316				1,061
Segment services and other gross margin	61		—				61		54		1				55
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	28		47				75		27		44				71
Segment operating profit (loss)	887		271				1,158		772		273				1,045
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	81	81						$	69	69
Stock-based compensation expense					38		38						33		33
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					430		430						413		413
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					177		177						163		163
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					10		10						9		9
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	422							$	358
Capital expenditures	$	45	$	277	$	15	$	337	$	46	$	229	$	8	$	283
Total assets (at period end)	$	22,226	$	15,914	$	721	$	38,861	$	22,239	$	15,813	$	952	$	39,004

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation of $7 million and $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $4 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $31 million and $27 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

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	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022								Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	3,237	$	1,474			$	4,711	$	2,819	$	1,426			$	4,245
Segment services and other revenues	502		9				511		427		14				441
Segment revenues	3,739		1,483				5,222		3,246		1,440				4,686
Segment site rental costs of operations	689		490				1,179		659		485				1,144
Segment services and other costs of operations	329		7				336		285		10				295
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	1,018		497				1,515		944		495				1,439
Segment site rental gross margin	2,548		984				3,532		2,160		941				3,101
Segment services and other gross margin	173		2				175		142		4				146
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	84		140				224		78		133				211
Segment operating profit (loss)	2,637		846				3,483		2,224		812				3,036
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	234	234						$	205	205
Stock-based compensation expense					121		121						100		100
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					1,276		1,276						1,229		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					506		506						493		493
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					71		71						184		184
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	1,275							$	825
Capital expenditures	$	137	$	746	$	38	$	921	$	160	$	701	$	31	$	892

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation expense of $21 million and $16 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $12 million and $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $100 million and $84 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

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11.Supplemental Cash Flow Information

The following table is a summary of the Company's supplemental cash flow information:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash payments related to operating lease liabilities(a)	$	420	$	414
Interest paid	559		542
Income taxes paid	10		17
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash operating, investing and financing activities:
New ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities	162		456
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable for purchases of property and equipment	(7)		(13)
Purchase of property and equipment under finance leases and installment purchases	17		22

(a)Excludes the Company's contingent payments pursuant to operating leases, which are recorded as expense in the period such contingencies are resolved.

The reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within various lines on the condensed consolidated balance sheet to amounts reported in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows is shown below.

	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
Cash and cash equivalents	$	174	$	292
Restricted cash, current	168		169
Restricted cash reported within other assets, net	5		5
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	347	$	466

12.Subsequent Events

Common Stock Dividend

On October 18, 2022, the Company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.565 per common share. The quarterly dividend will be payable on December 30, 2022 to common stockholders of record as of December 15, 2022.

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ITEM 2.MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the response to Part I, Item 1 of this report and the consolidated financial statements of the Company including the related notes and "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" ("MD&A") included in the 2021 Form 10-K.

General Overview

Overview

We own, operate and lease shared communications infrastructure that is geographically dispersed throughout the U.S., including (1) more than 40,000 towers and (2) approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber primarily supporting small cells and fiber solutions.

Our towers have a significant presence in the top 100 basic trading areas ("BTAs"), and the majority of our small cells and fiber are located in major metropolitan areas. Site rental revenues represented 90% of our third quarter 2022 consolidated net revenues. Our Towers segment and Fiber segment accounted for 69% and 31%, respectively, of our third quarter 2022 site rental revenues. Within our Fiber segment, 68% and 32% of our third quarter 2022 Fiber site rental revenues related to fiber solutions and small cells, respectively. See note 10 to our condensed consolidated financial statements. The vast majority of our site rental revenues are of a recurring nature and are derived from long-term tenant contracts with our tenants.

Strategy

As a leading provider of shared communications infrastructure in the U.S., our strategy is to create long-term stockholder value via a combination of (1) growing cash flows generated from our existing portfolio of communications infrastructure, (2) returning a meaningful portion of our cash generated by operating activities to our common stockholders in the form of dividends and (3) investing capital efficiently to grow cash flows and long-term dividends per share. Our strategy is based, in part, on our belief that the U.S. is the most attractive market for shared communications infrastructure investment with the greatest long-term growth potential. We measure our efforts to create "long-term stockholder value" by the combined payment of dividends to stockholders and growth in our per-share results. The key elements of our strategy are to:

•Grow cash flows from our existing communications infrastructure. We are focused on maximizing the recurring site rental cash flows generated from providing our tenants with long-term access to our shared infrastructure assets, which we believe is the core driver of value for our stockholders. Tenant additions or modifications of existing tenant equipment (collectively, "tenant additions") enable our tenants to expand coverage and capacity in order to meet increasing demand for data while generating high incremental returns for our business. We believe our product offerings of towers and small cells provide a comprehensive solution to our wireless tenants' growing network needs through our shared communications infrastructure model, which is an efficient and cost-effective way to serve our tenants. Additionally, we believe our ability to share our fiber assets across multiple tenants to deploy both small cells and offer fiber solutions allows us to generate cash flows and increase stockholder return.

•Return cash generated by operating activities to common stockholders in the form of dividends. We believe that distributing a meaningful portion of our cash generated by operating activities appropriately provides common stockholders with increased certainty for a portion of expected long-term stockholder value while still allowing us to retain sufficient flexibility to invest in our business and deliver growth. We believe this decision reflects the translation of the high-quality, long-term contractual cash flows of our business into stable capital returns to common stockholders.

•Invest capital efficiently to grow cash flows and long-term dividends per share. In addition to adding tenants to existing communications infrastructure, we seek to invest our available capital, including the net cash generated by our operating activities and external financing sources, in a manner that will increase long-term stockholder value on a risk-adjusted basis. These investments include constructing and acquiring new communications infrastructure that we expect will generate future cash flow growth and attractive long-term returns by adding tenants to those assets over time. Our historical investments have included the following (in no particular order):

◦construction of towers, fiber and small cells;

◦acquisitions of towers, fiber and small cells;

◦acquisitions of land interests (which primarily relate to land assets under towers);

◦improvements and structural enhancements to our existing communications infrastructure;

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◦purchases of shares of our common stock from time to time; and

◦purchases, repayments or redemptions of our debt.

Our strategy to create long-term stockholder value is based on our belief that there will be considerable future demand for our communications infrastructure based on the location of our assets and the rapid growth in the demand for data. We believe that such demand for our communications infrastructure will continue, will result in growth of our cash flows due to tenant additions on our existing communications infrastructure, and will create other growth opportunities for us, such as demand for newly constructed or acquired communications infrastructure, as described above. Further, we seek to augment the long-term value creation associated with growing our recurring site rental cash flows by offering certain ancillary site development and installation services within our Towers segment.

Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results

•We operate as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes

◦As a REIT, we are generally entitled to a deduction for dividends that we pay and therefore are not subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our taxable income that is distributed to our stockholders.

◦To remain qualified and taxed as a REIT, we will generally be required to annually distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, after the utilization of our NOLs (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain).

◦See note 6 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our REIT status.

•Potential growth resulting from the increasing demand for data

◦We expect existing and potential new tenant demand for our communications infrastructure will result from (1) new technologies, (2) increased usage of mobile entertainment, mobile internet, and machine-to-machine applications, (3) adoption of other emerging and embedded wireless devices (including smartphones, laptops, tablets, wearables and other devices), (4) increasing smartphone penetration, (5) wireless carrier focus on expanding both network quality and capacity, including the use of both towers and small cells, (6) the adoption of other bandwidth-intensive applications (such as cloud services and video communications), (7) the availability of additional spectrum and (8) increased government initiatives to support connectivity throughout the U.S.

◦We expect U.S. wireless carriers will continue to focus on improving network quality and expanding capacity (including through 5G initiatives) by utilizing a combination of towers and small cells. We believe our product offerings of towers and small cells provide a comprehensive solution to our wireless tenants' growing communications infrastructure needs.

◦We expect organizations will continue to increase the usage of high-bandwidth applications that will require the utilization of more fiber infrastructure and fiber solutions, such as those we provide.

◦Within our Fiber segment, we are able to generate growth and returns for our stockholders by deploying our fiber for both small cells and fiber solutions tenants.

◦Tenant additions on our existing communications infrastructure are achieved at a low incremental operating cost, delivering high incremental returns.

•Substantially all of our communications infrastructure can accommodate additional tenancy, either as currently constructed or with appropriate modifications.

•Investing capital efficiently to grow long-term dividends per share (see also "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Strategy")

◦Discretionary capital expenditures of $856 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, predominately resulting from the construction of new communications infrastructure and improvements to existing communications infrastructure in order to support additional tenants.

◦We expect to continue to construct and acquire new communications infrastructure based on our tenants' needs and generate attractive long-term returns by adding additional tenants over time.

•Site rental revenues under long-term tenant contracts

◦Initial terms of five to 15 years for site rental revenues derived from wireless tenants, with contractual escalations and multiple renewal periods, exercisable at the option of the tenant, of five to 10 years each.

•On January 6, 2022, we entered into a 12-year agreement with T-Mobile ("T-Mobile Agreement"), which includes contracted new tower leasing activity and a base escalator that is consistent with historical levels for our Towers segment. The T-Mobile Agreement also includes a contractual commitment by T-Mobile for 35,000 new small cell nodes, including specific commitments in each of the next five years.

◦Initial terms that generally vary between three to 20 years for site rental revenues derived from our fiber solutions tenants (including from organizations with high-bandwidth and multi-location demands).

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◦Weighted-average remaining term of approximately seven years, exclusive of renewals exercisable at the tenants' option, currently representing approximately $41 billion of expected future cash inflows.

•Majority of our revenues from large wireless carriers

◦Approximately three-fourths of our site rental revenues were derived from T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Wireless for the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

•Majority of land under our towers under long-term control

◦Approximately 90% of our Towers site rental gross margin and approximately 80% of our Towers site rental gross margin is derived from towers located on land that we own or control for greater than 10 and 20 years, respectively. The aforementioned percentages include towers located on land that is owned, including through fee interests and perpetual easements, which represent approximately 40% of our Towers site rental gross margin.

•Majority of our fiber assets are located in major metropolitan areas and are on public rights-of-way.

•Minimal sustaining capital expenditure requirements

◦Sustaining capital expenditures represented approximately 1% of net revenues.

•Debt portfolio with long-dated maturities extended over multiple years, with the vast majority of such debt having a fixed rate (see note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a further discussion of our debt)

◦As of September 30, 2022, our outstanding debt had a weighted-average interest rate of 3.3% and weighted-average maturity of approximately eight years (assuming anticipated repayment dates on our outstanding Tower Revenue Notes).

◦84% of our debt has fixed rate coupons.

◦Our debt service coverage and leverage ratios are within their respective financial maintenance covenants.

•During 2022, we completed the following financing activities (see note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements)

◦In March 2022, we increased the size of our CP Program to permit the issuance of Commercial Paper Notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2.0 billion at any time outstanding. Notes under the CP Program may be issued, repaid and re-issued from time to time.

◦In March 2022, we issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 2.900% senior unsecured notes due 2027 ("March 2022 Senior Notes"). We used the net proceeds from the March 2022 Senior Notes offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under our CP Program and pay related fees and expenses.

◦In March 2022, we (1) prepaid in full the previously outstanding Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1 and (2) redeemed in full the previously outstanding 3.849% Secured Notes.

◦In July 2022, we entered into the 2022 Credit Agreement Amendment that provided for, among other things, (1) the extension of the maturity date of the 2016 Credit Facility from June 2026 to July 2027, (2) an increase to the aggregate commitments under the 2016 Revolver from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, (3) certain modifications to a specified sustainability metric and (4) the replacement of the LIBOR pricing benchmark with the Term SOFR pricing benchmark.

•Significant cash flows from operations

◦Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.0 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

◦In addition to the positive impact of contractual escalators, we expect to grow our core business of providing access to our communications infrastructure as a result of future anticipated additional demand for our communications infrastructure.

•Returning cash flows provided by operations to stockholders in the form of dividends

◦During each of the first three quarters of 2022, we paid a common stock dividend of $1.47 per share, totaling approximately $1.9 billion.

◦In October 2022, our board of directors declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $1.565 per share, which represents an increase of approximately 6.5% from the quarterly stock dividend declared during each of the first three quarters of 2022.

◦We currently expect our common stock dividends over the next 12 months to be a cumulative amount of at least $6.26 per share, or an aggregate amount of approximately $2.7 billion.

◦Over time, we expect to increase our dividend per share generally commensurate with our growth in cash flows. Any future common stock dividends are subject to declaration by our board of directors. See notes 9 and 12 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further information regarding our common stock and dividends.

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Outlook Highlights

The following are certain highlights of our full year 2022 and 2023 outlook that impact our business fundamentals described above.

•We expect that, when compared to full year 2021, our full year 2022 and 2023 site rental revenues will be positively impacted by tenant additions, as large wireless carriers and fiber solutions tenants continue to focus on meeting the increasing demand for data.

•We expect to continue to invest a meaningful amount of our available capital in the form of discretionary capital expenditures for 2022 and 2023 based on the anticipated returns on such discretionary investments.

•We also expect sustaining capital expenditures to be approximately 1% of net revenues for full year 2022 and 2023.

See also "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a discussion of our interest rate risks.

Results of Operations

The following discussion of our results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the 2021 Form 10-K.

The following discussion of our results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts (see "Item 2. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates" and note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K). See "Item 2. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters—Non-GAAP and Segment Financial Measures" for a discussion of our use of (1) segment site rental gross margin, (2) segment services and other gross margin, (3) segment operating profit, including their respective definitions, and (4) Adjusted EBITDA, including its definition, and a reconciliation to income (loss) from continuing operations.

Our operating segments consist of (1) Towers and (2) Fiber. See note 10 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our operating segments.

Highlights of our results of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are depicted below.

(In millions of dollars)	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2022	2021	$ Change	% Change
Site rental revenues:
Towers site rental revenues	$1,084	$972	+$112	+12%
Fiber site rental revenues	$484	$479	+$5	+1%
Total site rental revenues	$1,568	$1,451	+$117	+8%
Segment site rental gross margin:
Towers site rental gross margin(a)	$854	$745	+$109	+15%
Fiber site rental gross margin(a)	$318	$316	+$2	+1%
Segment services and other gross margin:
Towers services and other gross margin(a)	$61	$54	+$7	+13%
Fiber services and other gross margin(a)	—	$1	$(1)	(100)%
Segment operating profit:
Towers operating profit(a)	$887	$772	+$115	+15%
Fiber operating profit(a)	$271	$273	$(2)	(1)%
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$419	$351	+$68	+19%
Net income (loss)	$419	$351	+$68	+19%
Adjusted EBITDA(b)	$1,077	$976	+$101	+10%

(a)See note 10 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and "Item 2. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters—Non-GAAP and Segment Financial Measures" for further discussion of our definitions of segment site rental gross margin, segment services and other gross margin and segment operating profit.

(b)See reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to income (loss) from continuing operations and definition included in "Item 2. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters—Non-GAAP and Segment Financial Measures."

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Site rental revenues grew $117 million, or 8%, for the three months ended September 30, 2022 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2021. This growth was predominately comprised of the factors depicted in the chart below:

(In millions of dollars)

(a)Represents site rental revenues growth from tenant additions across our entire portfolio and renewals or extensions of tenant contracts, exclusive of the impacts from both straight-line accounting and amortization of prepaid rent in accordance with GAAP.

(b)Prepaid rent amortization includes amortization of up-front payments received from long-term tenant contracts and other deferred credits.

(c)Represents the contribution from recent acquisitions until the one-year anniversary of the acquisition.

Towers site rental revenues for the third quarter of 2022 were $1.1 billion and increased by $112 million, or 12%, from $972 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase in Towers site rental revenues was impacted by the following items, inclusive of straight-line accounting (including the impact of the T-Mobile Agreement): tenant additions across our entire portfolio, renewals or extensions of tenant contracts, escalations and non-renewals of tenants contracts. Tenant additions were influenced by our tenants' ongoing efforts to improve network quality and capacity.

Fiber site rental revenues for the third quarter of 2022 were $484 million and increased by $5 million, or 1%, from $479 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase in Fiber site rental revenues was predominately impacted by the increased demand for small cells and fiber solutions. Increased demand for small cells was driven by our tenants' network strategy in an effort to provide capacity and relieve network congestion, and increased demand for fiber solutions was driven by increasing demand for data.

The increase in Towers site rental gross margin from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022 was related to the previously-mentioned 12% increase in Towers site rental revenues and relatively fixed costs to operate our towers. The increase in Fiber site rental gross margin was predominately related to the previously-mentioned 1% increase in Fiber site rental revenues.

Towers services and other gross margin was $61 million for the third quarter of 2022 and increased by $7 million from $54 million during the same period in the prior year, which is a reflection of the volume of activity from carriers' network enhancements and the volume and mix of services and other work. Our services and other offerings are of a variable nature as these revenues are not under long-term contracts.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2022 were $187 million and increased by $20 million, or 12%, from $167 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily related to the growth in our business.

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Towers operating profit for the third quarter of 2022 increased by $115 million, or 15%, from the same period in the prior year. The increase in Towers operating profit was primarily related to the growth in our Towers site rental revenues and relatively fixed costs to operate our towers as well as the previously-mentioned increase in Towers services and other gross margin.

Depreciation, amortization and accretion was approximately $430 million for third quarter of 2022 and increased by $17 million, or 4% during the same period in the prior year. This increase predominately resulted from a corresponding increase in our gross property and equipment due to capital expenditures.

Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs were $177 million for the third quarter of 2022 and increased by $14 million, or 9%, from $163 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase predominately resulted from an increase in the variable interest rate on our 2016 Term Loan A, 2016 Revolver and outstanding Commercial Paper Notes, as well as an increase in our outstanding indebtedness due to the financing of our discretionary capital expenditures. See note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a further discussion of our debt and "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a further discussion of our interest rate exposure.

For the third quarter of 2022 and 2021, the effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate predominately due to our REIT status, including the dividends paid deduction.  See note 6 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and also note 9 to our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K.

Income from continuing operations was $419 million during the third quarter of 2022 compared to $351 million during the third quarter of 2021. The increase was predominately related to growth in our site rental activities in both our Towers and Fiber segments, partially offset by an increase in expenses, including (1) selling, general and administrative expenses, and (2) depreciation, amortization and accretion and (3) interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs.

Net income was $419 million during the third quarter of 2022 compared to $351 million during the third quarter of 2021. The increase was due to the previously-mentioned increase in income from continuing operations.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $101 million, or 10%, from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, reflecting the growth in our site rental activities in both our Towers and Fiber segments.

Highlights of our results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are depicted below.

(In millions of dollars)	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022	2021	$ Change	% Change
Site rental revenues:
Towers site rental revenues	$3,237	$2,819	+$418	+15%
Fiber site rental revenues	$1,474	$1,426	+$48	+3%
Total site rental revenues	$4,711	$4,245	+$466	+11%
Segment site rental gross margin:
Towers site rental gross margin(a)	$2,548	$2,160	+$388	+18%
Fiber site rental gross margin(a)	$984	$941	+$43	+5%
Segment services and other gross margin:
Towers services and other gross margin(a)	$173	$142	+$31	+22%
Fiber services and other gross margin(a)	$2	$4	$(2)	(50)%
Segment operating profit:
Towers operating profit(a)	$2,637	$2,224	+$413	+19
Fiber operating profit(a)	$846	$812	+$34	+4%
Income from continuing operations	$1,261	$805	+$456	+57%
Net income (loss)	$1,261	$743	+$518	+70%
Adjusted EBITDA(b)	$3,249	$2,831	+$418	+15%

(a)See note 10 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our definitions of segment site rental gross margin, segment services and other gross margin and segment operating profit.

(b)See reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to income (loss) from continuing operations and definition included in "Item 2. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters—Non-GAAP and Segment Financial Measures."

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Site rental revenues grew $466 million, or 11%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2021. This growth was predominately comprised of the factors depicted in the chart below:

(In millions of dollars)

(a)Represents site rental revenues growth from tenant additions across our entire portfolio and renewals or extensions of tenant contracts, exclusive of the impacts from both straight-line accounting and amortization of prepaid rent in accordance with GAAP.

(b)Prepaid rent amortization includes amortization of up-front payments received from long-term tenant contracts and other deferred credits.

(c)Represents the contribution from recent acquisitions until the one-year anniversary of the acquisition.

Towers site rental revenues for the first nine months of 2022 were $3.2 billion and increased by $418 million, or 15%, from the same period in the prior year. The increase in Towers site rental revenues was impacted by the following items, inclusive of straight-line accounting (including the impact of the T-Mobile Agreement): tenant additions across our entire portfolio, renewals or extensions of tenant contracts, escalations and non-renewals of tenant contracts. Tenant additions were influenced by our tenants' ongoing efforts to improve network quality and capacity.

Fiber site rental revenues for the first nine months of 2022 were $1.5 billion and increased by $48 million, or 3%, from $1.4 billion during the same period in the prior year. The increase in Fiber site rental revenues was predominately impacted by the increased demand for small cells and fiber solutions. Increased demand for small cells was driven by our tenants' network strategy in an effort to provide capacity and relieve network congestion, and increased demand for fiber solutions was driven by increasing demand for data.

The increase in Towers site rental gross margin was related to the previously-mentioned 15% increase in Towers site rental revenues and relatively fixed costs to operate our towers. The increase in Fiber site rental gross margin was predominately related to the previously-mentioned 3% increase in Fiber site rental revenues.

Towers services and other gross margin was $173 million for the first nine months of 2022 and increased by $31 million from $142 million during the same period in the prior year, which is a reflection of the volume of activity from carriers' network enhancements and the volume and mix of services and other work. Our services and other offerings are of a variable nature as these revenues are not under long-term contracts.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the first nine months of 2022 were $558 million and increased by $58 million, or 12%, from $500 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to the growth in our business.

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Towers operating profit for the first nine months of 2022 increased by $413 million, or 19%, from the prior year as a result of the previously-mentioned increase in Towers site rental gross margin as well as the previously-mentioned increase in Towers services and other gross margin.

Fiber operating profit for the first nine months of 2022 increased by $34 million, or 4%, from the same period in the prior year. The increase in Fiber operating profit was primarily related to the the previously-mentioned growth in our Fiber site rental gross margin.

Depreciation, amortization and accretion was $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2022 and increased by $47 million, or 4%, from the same period in the prior year. This increase predominately resulted from a corresponding increase in our gross property and equipment due to capital expenditures.

Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs were $506 million for the first nine months of 2022 and increased $13 million from $493 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase predominately resulted from an increase in the variable interest rate on our 2016 Term Loan A, 2016 Revolver and outstanding Commercial Paper Notes, as well as an increase in our outstanding indebtedness due to the financing of our discretionary capital expenditures, partially offset by a reduction in the weighted-average interest rate on our fixed rate debt as a result of our refinancing activities. See note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a further discussion of our debt and "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a further discussion of our interest rate exposure.

As a result of repaying certain of our indebtedness in conjunction with our refinancing activities, we incurred losses on retirement of long-term obligations of $28 million and $145 million during the first nine months of 2022 and 2021, respectively. See note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.

For the first nine months of 2022 and 2021, the effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate predominately due to our REIT status, including the dividends paid deduction.  See note 6 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and also note 9 to our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K.

Income from continuing operations was $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2022 compared to $805 million during the first nine months of 2021. The increase was related to (1) growth in our site rental activities in both our Towers and Fiber segments, (2) the previously-mentioned increase in Towers services activity and (3) the decrease in losses on retirement of long-term obligations, partially offset by by an increase in expenses, including (1) selling, general and administrative expenses, (2) depreciation, amortization and accretion and (3) interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs.

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, was $62 million for the first nine months of 2021 due to the ATO Settlement. See note 9 to our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K.

Net income was $1,261 million for the first nine months of 2022 compared to $743 million during the first nine months of 2021. The increase was due to (1) the previously-mentioned increase in income from continuing operations and (2) the previously-mentioned loss from discontinued operations, net of tax recorded during the first nine months of 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $418 million, or 15%, from the first nine months of 2021 to the first nine months of 2022, reflecting the growth in our site rental activities in both our Towers and Fiber segments as well as the previously-mentioned increase in Towers service activity.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

General. Our core business generates revenues under long-term tenant contracts (see "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Overview") from (1) the largest U.S. wireless carriers and (2) fiber solutions tenants. As a leading provider of shared communications infrastructure in the U.S., our strategy is to create long-term stockholder value via a combination of (1) growing cash flows generated from our portfolio of communications infrastructure, (2) returning a meaningful portion of our cash generated by operating activities to our stockholders in the form of dividends, and (3) investing capital efficiently to grow cash flows and long-term dividends per share. Our strategy is based, in part, on our belief that the U.S. is the most attractive market for shared communications infrastructure investment with the greatest long-term growth potential. We measure our efforts to create "long-term stockholder value" by the combined payment of dividends to stockholders and growth in our per share results.

We have engaged, and expect to continue to engage, in discretionary investments that we believe will maximize long-term stockholder value. Our historical discretionary investments include (in no particular order): constructing communications infrastructure, acquiring communications infrastructure, acquiring land interests (which primarily relate to land assets under towers), improving and structurally enhancing our existing communications infrastructure, purchasing shares of our common stock, and purchasing, repaying, or redeeming our debt. We have recently spent, and expect to continue to spend, a significant percentage of our discretionary investments on the construction of small cells and fiber. We seek to fund our discretionary investments with both net cash generated by operating activities and cash available from financing capacity, such as the use of our availability from the 2016 Revolver, issuances under our CP Program, debt financings and issuances of equity or equity-related securities, including under our 2021 ATM Program.

We seek to maintain a capital structure that we believe drives long-term stockholder value and optimizes our weighted-average cost of capital. We target a leverage ratio of approximately five times Adjusted EBITDA, subject to various factors, such as the availability and cost of capital and the potential long-term return on our discretionary investments. We may choose to increase or decrease our leverage from this target for various periods of time. We have no significant contractual debt maturities until July 2023 (other than Commercial Paper Notes that may be outstanding from time to time and principal payments on certain outstanding debt).

We operate as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We expect to continue to pay minimal cash income taxes as a result of our REIT status and our NOLs. See note 6 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and also the 2021 Form 10-K.

Liquidity Position. The following is a summary of our capitalization and liquidity position as of September 30, 2022. See "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" and note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our debt, as well as note 9 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our 2021 ATM Program.

(In millions of dollars)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash(a)	$	347
Undrawn 2016 Revolver availability(b)	6,254
Debt and other long-term obligations (current and non-current)(c)	21,483
Total equity	7,679

(a)Inclusive of $5 million included within "Other assets, net" on our condensed consolidated balance sheet.

(b)Availability at any point in time is subject to certain restrictions based on the maintenance of financial covenants contained in the 2016 Credit Facility. See the 2021 Form 10-K. At any point in time, we intend to maintain available commitments under our 2016 Revolver in an amount at least equal to the amount of outstanding Commercial Paper Notes.

(c)See "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results" and note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the CP Program.

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Over the next 12 months:

•Our liquidity sources may include (1) cash on hand, (2) net cash generated by our operating activities, (3) availability under our 2016 Revolver, (4) issuances under our CP Program, and (5) issuances of equity pursuant to our 2021 ATM Program. Our liquidity uses over the next 12 months are expected to include (1) debt obligations of $2.4 billion (consisting of Commercial Paper Notes, redemption of the 3.150% Senior Notes and principal payments), (2) cumulative common stock dividend payments expected to be at least $6.26 per share, or an aggregate amount of approximately $2.7 billion (see "Item 2. MD&A—Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results") and (3) capital expenditures. We may also purchase shares of our common stock. Additionally, amounts available under the CP Program may be repaid and re-issued from time to time. During the next 12 months, while our liquidity uses are expected to exceed our net cash provided by operating activities, we expect that our liquidity sources described above should be sufficient to cover our expected uses. Historically, from time to time, we have accessed the capital markets to issue debt and equity.

•See "Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a discussion of interest rate risk and note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a tabular presentation of our debt maturities and a discussion of anticipated repayment dates.

Summary Cash Flow Information

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions of dollars)	2022		2021		Change
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash:
Operating activities	$	2,038	$	2,055	$	(17)
Investing activities	(946)		(911)		(35)
Financing activities	(1,209)		(921)		(288)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash - continuing operations	(117)		223		(340)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	(2)		—		(2)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash - continuing operations	(119)		223		(342)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash - discontinued operations	—		(62)		62
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	$	(119)	$	161	$	(280)

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities of $2.0 billion for the first nine months of 2022 decreased by $17 million, or 1%, compared to the first nine months of 2021, due primarily to a net decrease from changes in working capital, which was partially offset by growth in our core business. Changes in working capital contribute to variability in net cash provided by operating activities, largely due to the timing of advanced payments by us and advanced receipts from tenants. We expect to grow our net cash provided by operating activities in the future (exclusive of changes in working capital) if we realize expected growth in our core business.

Investing Activities

Net cash used for investing activities of $946 million for the first nine months of 2022 increased by $35 million, or 4%, from the first nine months of 2021 primarily as a result of increased discretionary capital expenditures in our Fiber segment.

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Capital Expenditures

Our capital expenditures are categorized as discretionary or sustaining as described below.

•Discretionary capital expenditures are made with respect to activities which we believe exhibit sufficient potential to enhance long-term stockholder value. They primarily consist of expansion or development of communications infrastructure (including capital expenditures related to (1) enhancing communications infrastructure in order to add new tenants for the first time or support subsequent tenant equipment augmentations or (2) modifying the structure of a communications infrastructure asset to accommodate additional tenants) and construction of new communications infrastructure. Discretionary capital expenditures also include purchases of land interests (which primarily relate to land assets under towers as we seek to manage our interests in the land beneath our towers), certain technology-related investments necessary to support and scale future customer demand for our communications infrastructure, and other capital projects. The expansion or development of existing communications infrastructure to accommodate new leasing typically varies based on, among other factors: (1) the type of communications infrastructure, (2) the scope, volume, and mix of work performed on the communications infrastructure, (3) existing capacity prior to installation, or (4) changes in structural engineering regulations and standards. Currently, construction of new communications infrastructure is predominately comprised of the construction of small cells and fiber (including certain construction projects that may take 18 to 36 months to complete). Our decisions regarding discretionary capital expenditures are influenced by the availability and cost of capital and expected returns on alternative uses of cash, such as payments of dividends and investments.

•Sustaining capital expenditures consist of those capital expenditures not otherwise categorized as discretionary capital expenditures, such as (1) maintenance capital expenditures on our communications infrastructure assets that enable our tenants' ongoing quiet enjoyment of the communications infrastructure and (2) ordinary corporate capital expenditures.

Capital expenditures for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:

	For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2022								September 30, 2021
(In millions of dollars)	Towers		Fiber		Other		Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Total
Discretionary:
Purchases of land interests	$	37	$	—	$	—	$	37	$	46	$	—	$	—	$	46
Communications infrastructure improvements and other capital projects(a)	92		711		16		819		104		666		20		790
Sustaining	8		35		22		65		10		35		11		56
Total	$	137	$	746	$	38	$	921	$	160	$	701	$	31	$	892

(a)Towers segment includes $34 million and $47 million of capital expenditures incurred during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in connection with tenant installations and upgrades on our towers.

Discretionary capital expenditures were primarily impacted by the timing of both Towers and Fiber tenant activity during the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. See also "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Outlook Highlights" for our expectations surrounding 2022 and 2023 capital expenditures.

Financing Activities.

We seek to allocate cash generated by our operations in a manner that will enhance long-term stockholder value, which may include various financing activities such as (in no particular order): (1) paying dividends on our common stock (currently expected to total at least $6.26 per share over the next 12 months, or an aggregate amount of approximately $2.7 billion); (2) purchasing our common stock or (3) purchasing, repaying, or redeeming our debt. See notes 4, 9 and 12 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Net cash used for financing activities of $1.2 billion for the first nine months of 2022 increased by $288 million from the first nine months of 2021 as a result of the net impact from our issuances, purchases and repayments of debt (including with respect to our 2016 Credit Facility and CP Program), common stock dividend payments and purchases of our common stock. See Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results and notes 4 and 9 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further information.

In March 2022, we issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes, the net proceeds of which were used to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under our CP Program and pay related fees and expenses.

30

In March 2022, we (1) prepaid in full the previously outstanding Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1 and (2) redeemed in full the previously outstanding 3.849% Secured Notes.

Credit Facility. In July 2022, we entered into the 2022 Credit Agreement Amendment that provided for, among other things, (1) the extension of the maturity date of the 2016 Credit Facility from June 2026 to July 2027, (2) an increase to the aggregate commitments under the 2016 Revolver from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, (3) certain modifications to a specified sustainability metric and (4) the replacement of the LIBOR pricing benchmark with the Term SOFR pricing benchmark.

The proceeds of our 2016 Revolver may be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the financing of capital expenditures, acquisitions, purchases, repayment or redemption of our debt and purchases of our common stock. As of November 2, 2022, we had an outstanding balance of $985 million and $6.0 billion in undrawn availability under our 2016 Revolver. At any point in time, we intend to maintain available commitments under our 2016 Revolver in an amount at least equal to the amount of outstanding Commercial Paper Notes. See note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our Credit Facility.

Commercial Paper Program. See "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results" and note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further information regarding our CP Program. In March 2022, we increased the size of our CP Program to permit the issuance of Commercial Paper Notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2.0 billion at any time outstanding. The proceeds from our Commercial Paper Notes may be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the financing of capital expenditures, acquisitions purchases, repayment or redemption of our debt and purchases of our common stock. As of November 2, 2022, there was $1.2 billion outstanding under our CP Program.

Incurrence, Purchases, and Repayments of Debt. See "Item 2. MD&A—General Overview—Highlights of Business Fundamentals and Results" and note 4 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our recent issuances, purchases, redemption and repayments of debt.

Common Stock Activity. See notes 9 and 12 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further information regarding our common stock and dividends.

ATM Program. In March 2021, we established the 2021 ATM Program through which we may issue and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $750 million. Sales under the 2021 ATM Program may be made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or, subject to our specific instructions, at negotiated prices. We intend to use the net proceeds from any sales under the 2021 ATM Program for general corporate purposes, which may include (1) the funding of future acquisitions or investments or (2) the repayment or repurchase of any outstanding indebtedness. We have not sold any shares of common stock under the 2021 ATM Program.

Debt Covenants. Our Credit Agreement contains financial maintenance covenants. We are currently in compliance with these financial maintenance covenants and, based upon our current expectations, we believe we will continue to comply with our financial maintenance covenants. In addition, certain of our debt agreements contain restrictive covenants that place restrictions on us and may limit our ability to, among other things, incur additional debt and liens, purchase our securities, make capital expenditures, dispose of assets, undertake transactions with affiliates, make other investments, pay dividends or distribute excess cash flow. See the 2021 Form 10-K for a further discussion of our debt covenants, certain restrictive covenants and factors that are likely to determine our subsidiaries' ability to comply with current and future debt covenants.

Accounting and Reporting Matters

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our critical accounting policies and estimates are those that we believe (1) are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations or (2) require our most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically prescribed by GAAP. In other cases, management is required to exercise judgment in the application of accounting principles with respect to particular transactions. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from our estimates. Our critical accounting policies and estimates as of December 31, 2021 are described in "Item 7. MD&A—Accounting and Reporting Matters" and in note 2 of our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K.

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Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

See note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

See note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP and Segment Financial Measures

We use earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, as adjusted ("Adjusted EBITDA"), which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as an indicator of consolidated financial performance. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, including companies in the communications infrastructure sector or other REITs, and is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating income (loss), income (loss) from continuing operations, net income (loss), net cash provided by (used for) operating, investing and financing activities or other income statement or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP and should be considered only as a supplement to income (loss) from continuing operations computed in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. There are material limitations to using a measure such as Adjusted EBITDA, including the difficulty associated with comparing results among more than one company, including our competitors, and the inability to analyze certain significant items, including depreciation and interest expense, that directly affect our net income or loss. Management compensates for these limitations by considering the economic effect of the excluded expense items independently as well as in connection with their analysis of income (loss) from continuing operations.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as income (loss) from continuing operations plus restructuring charges (credits), asset write-down charges, acquisition and integration costs, depreciation, amortization and accretion, amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments, interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs, (gains) losses on retirement of long-term obligations, net (gain) loss on interest rate swaps, (gains) losses on foreign currency swaps, impairment of available-for-sale securities, interest income, other (income) expense, (benefit) provision for income taxes, cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle and stock-based compensation expense. The reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to our income (loss) from continuing operations is set forth below:

(In millions of dollars)	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	805
Adjustments to increase (decrease) income (loss) from continuing operations:
Asset write-down charges	3		—		26		9
Acquisition and integration costs	—		—		1		1
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	430		413		1,276		1,229
Amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments	4		4		12		14
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs	177		163		506		493
(Gains) losses on retirement of long-term obligations	2		1		28		145
Interest income	(1)		—		(1)		(1)
Other (income) expense	2		4		5		16
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	3		7		14		20
Stock-based compensation expense	38		33		121		100
Adjusted EBITDA(a)	$	1,077	$	976	$	3,249	$	2,831

(a)The above reconciliation excludes the items included in our Adjusted EBITDA definition which are not applicable to the periods shown.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors or other interested parties in evaluating our financial performance because:

•it is the primary measure used by our management (1) to evaluate the economic productivity of our operations and (2) for purposes of making decisions about allocating resources to, and assessing the performance of, our operations;

32

•although specific definitions may vary, it is widely used by investors or other interested parties in evaluation of the communications infrastructure sector and other REITs to measure financial performance without regard to items such as depreciation, amortization and accretion, which can vary depending upon accounting methods and the book value of assets;

•we believe it helps investors and other interested parties meaningfully evaluate and compare the results of our operations (1) from period to period and (2) to our competitors by removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges from our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation, amortization and accretion) from our financial results; and

•it is similar to the measure of current financial performance generally used in our debt covenant calculations.

Our management uses Adjusted EBITDA:

•as a performance goal in employee annual incentive compensation;

•as a measurement of financial performance because it assists us in comparing our financial performance on a consistent basis as it removes the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest charges from our outstanding debt) and asset base (primarily depreciation, amortization and accretion) from our operating results;

•in presentations to our board of directors to enable it to have the same measurement of financial performance used by management;

•for planning purposes, including preparation of our annual operating budget;

•as a valuation measure in strategic analyses in connection with the purchase and sale of assets;

•in determining self-imposed limits on our debt levels, including the evaluation of our leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio; and

•with respect to compliance with our debt covenants, which require us to maintain certain financial ratios that incorporate concepts such as, or similar to, Adjusted EBITDA.

In addition to the non-GAAP measures used herein and as discussed in note 10 to our condensed consolidated financial statements, we also provide (1) segment site rental gross margin, (2) segment services and other gross margin, and (3) segment operating profit, which are key measures used by management to evaluate the performance of our operating segments. These segment measures are provided pursuant to GAAP requirements related to segment reporting.

We define segment site rental gross margin as segment site rental revenues less segment site rental costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense and amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments recorded in consolidated site rental costs of operations. We define segment services and other gross margin as segment services and other revenues less segment services and other costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense recorded in consolidated services and other costs of operations. We define segment operating profit as segment site rental gross margin plus segment services and other gross margin, and segment other operating (income) expense, less selling, general and administrative expenses attributable to the respective segment. All of these measurements of profit or loss are exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion, which are shown separately. Additionally, certain costs are shared across segments and are reflected in our segment measures through allocations that management believes to be reasonable.

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ITEM 3.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

The following section updates "Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" in the 2021 Form 10-K and should be read in conjunction with that report as well as our condensed consolidated financial statements included in Part 1, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.

Interest Rate Risk

Our interest rate risk as of September 30, 2022 relates primarily to the impact of interest rate movements on the following:

•the potential refinancing of our existing debt ($21.6 billion outstanding at September 30, 2022 and $20.8 billion at December 31, 2021);

•our $3.5 billion and $2.2 billion of floating rate debt at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, which represented approximately 16% and 10% of our total debt, as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively; and

•potential future borrowings of incremental debt, including borrowings under our 2016 Credit Facility and issuances under the CP Program.

During the first eleven months of 2022, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate six times for a cumulative increase of 3.75%, and has signaled that they expect to further increase the federal funds rate in the near-term, which could further increase our costs of borrowing. Prior to 2022, the Federal Reserve had not raised the federal funds rate since December 2018.

We currently have no interest rate swaps.

Sensitivity Analysis

We manage our exposure to market interest rates on our existing debt by controlling the mix of fixed and floating rate debt. As of September 30, 2022, we had $3.5 billion of floating rate debt. As a result, a hypothetical unfavorable fluctuation in market interest rates on our existing debt of 1/8 of a percent point over a 12 month period would increase our interest expense by approximately $4 million.

Tabular Information

The following table provides information about our market risk related to changes in interest rates. The future principal payments and weighted-average interest rates are presented as of September 30, 2022. These debt maturities reflect final maturity dates and do not consider the impact of the principal payments that commence following the anticipated repayment dates of certain debt (see footnotes (b) and (d)). The information presented below regarding the variable rate debt is supplementary to our sensitivity analysis regarding the impact of changes in the interest rates. See notes 4 and 5 to our condensed consolidated financial statements and the 2021 Form 10-K for additional information regarding our debt.

	Future Principal Payments and Interest Rates by the Debt Instruments' Contractual Year of Maturity
(In millions of dollars)	2022				2023			2024			2025			2026			Thereafter			Total			Fair Value(a)
Debt:
Fixed rate(b)	$	12			$	789		$	785		$	531		$	2,679		$	13,341		$	18,137		$	15,422
Average interest rate(b)(c)(d)	4.6		%		3.2		%	3.3		%	1.5		%	3.0		%	3.9		%	3.6		%
Variable rate(e)	$	1,602		(f)	$	30		$	45		$	60		$	91		$	1,676		$	3,504		$	3,504
Average interest rate(e)	3.8		%		5.4		%	4.8		%	4.3		%	4.2		%	4.2		%	4.0		%

(a)The fair value of our debt is based on indicative quotes (that is, non-binding quotes) from brokers that require judgment to interpret market information, including implied credit spreads for similar borrowings on recent trades or bid/ask offers. These fair values are not necessarily indicative of the amount which could be realized in a current market exchange.

(b)The impact of principal payments that will commence following the anticipated repayment dates is not considered (see footnote (d) below). The Tower Revenue Notes Series 2015-2 and Series 2018-2 have principal amounts of $700 million and $750 million, respectively, with anticipated repayment dates in 2025 and 2028, respectively.

(c)The average interest rate represents the weighted-average stated coupon rate (see footnote (d) below).

(d)If the Tower Revenue Notes are not repaid in full by the applicable anticipated repayment dates, the applicable interest rate increases by approximately 5% per annum and monthly principal payments commence using the Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the indenture governing the applicable Tower Revenue Notes) of the issuers of the Tower Revenue Notes. The Tower Revenue Notes are presented based on their contractual maturity dates ranging from 2045 to 2048 and include the impact of an assumed 5% increase in interest rate that would occur following the anticipated repayment dates but exclude the impact of monthly principal payments that would commence using Excess Cash Flow of the issuers of the Tower Revenue Notes. The full year 2021 Excess Cash Flow of the issuers of the Tower Revenue Notes was approximately $933 million. We currently expect to refinance these notes on or prior to the respective anticipated repayment dates.

34

(e)See note 7 to our consolidated financial statements in the 2021 Form 10-K for information regarding potential upward or downward adjustments to the interest rate spread and unused commitment fee percentage on our 2016 Credit Facility if we achieve specified annual sustainability targets or fail to meet annual sustainability metrics. Each period presented assumes the downward adjustments in the interest rate spread and unused commitment fee percentage on our 2016 Credit Facility.

(f)Predominately consists of outstanding indebtedness under our CP Program. Such amounts may be issued, repaid or re-issued from time to time.

ITEM 4.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company conducted an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company's management, including the Company's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), of the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon their evaluation, the CEO and CFO concluded that as of September 30, 2022, the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were effective in alerting them in a timely manner to material information relating to the Company required to be included in the Company's periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in the Company's internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter covered by this Form 10-Q that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See the disclosure in note 8 to our condensed consolidated financial statements set forth in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.

ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS

There are no material changes to the risk factors discussed in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the 2021 Form 10-K.

ITEM 2.    UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

The following table summarizes information with respect to purchase of our equity securities during the third quarter of 2022:

Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
	(In thousands)
July 1 - July 31, 2022	1	$	171.40	—	—
August 1 - August 31, 2022	1	179.86		—	—
September 1 - September 30, 2022	3	174.55		—	—
Total	5	$	175.22	—	—

We paid approximately $1 million in cash to effect these purchases. The shares purchased relate to shares withheld in connection with the payment of withholding taxes upon vesting of restricted stock units.

35

ITEM 6.EXHIBITS

Exhibit Index

		Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit Number	Exhibit Description	Form	File Number	Date of Filing	Exhibit Number
3.1	Composite Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Crown Castle Inc.	10-Q	001-16441	August 5, 2022	3.1
3.2	Amended and Restated By-Laws of Crown Castle Inc., dated August 1, 2022	10-Q	001-16441	August 5, 2022	3.3
10.1	Amendment No. 7 dated as of July 8, 2022, among Crown Castle International Corp., the lenders and issuing banks party thereto, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, to the Credit Agreement dated as of January 21, 2016, by and among Crown Castle International Corp., the lenders and issuing banks from time to time party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent	8-K	001-16441	July 8, 2022	10.1
31.1*	Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002	—	—	—	—
31.2*	Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002	—	—	—	—
32.1†	Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002	—	—	—	—
101*	The following financial statements from Crown Castle Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss), (iii) Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statement of Equity, and (v) Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, tagged as blocks of text and including detailed tags	—	—	—	—
104*	The cover page from Crown Castle Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, formatted in Inline XBRL	—	—	—	—

* Filed herewith.

† Furnished herewith.

36

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

		CROWN CASTLE INC.
Date:	November 4, 2022	By:	/s/ DANIEL K. SCHLANGER
			Daniel K. Schlanger
			Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
			(Principal Financial Officer)
Date:	November 4, 2022	By:	/s/  ROBERT S. COLLINS
			Robert S. Collins
			Vice President and Controller
			(Principal Accounting Officer)

37

EX-31.1

Exhibit 31.1

Certification

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2022

I, Jay A. Brown, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Crown Castle Inc. ("registrant");

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  November 4, 2022

/s/ Jay A. Brown

Jay A. Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-31.2

Exhibit 31.2

Certification

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2022

I, Daniel K. Schlanger, certify that:

1.I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Crown Castle Inc. ("registrant");

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b)Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date:  November 4, 2022

/s/ Daniel K. Schlanger

Daniel K. Schlanger
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EX-32.1

Exhibit 32.1

Certification Pursuant to

18 U.S.C. Section 1350

As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Crown Castle Inc., a Delaware Corporation ("Company"), for the period ended September 30, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof ("Report"), each of the undersigned officers of the Company hereby certifies pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of such officer's knowledge:

1)the Report complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2)the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of September 30, 2022 (the last date of the period covered by the Report).

/s/ Jay A. Brown

Jay A. Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer

November 4, 2022

/s/ Daniel K. Schlanger

Daniel K. Schlanger
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

November 4, 2022

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	Sep. 30, 2022	Nov. 02, 2022
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2022
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-16441
Entity Registrant Name	CROWN CASTLE INC.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	76-0470458
Entity Address, Address Line One	8020 Katy Freeway
Entity Address, City or Town	Houston
Entity Address, State or Province	TX
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	77024
City Area Code	713
Local Phone Number	570-3000
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.01 par value
Trading Symbol	CCI
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		433,048,001
Entity Central Index Key	0001051470
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2022
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XML

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Assets, Current [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 174	$ 292
Restricted cash, current	168	169
Receivables, net	535	543
Prepaid expenses	111	105
Other current assets	194	145
Assets, Current, Total	1,182	1,254
Deferred site rental receivables	1,880	1,588
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $12,780 and $11,937, respectively	15,265	15,269
Operating lease right-of-use assets	6,613	6,682
Goodwill	10,087	10,078
Other intangible assets, net	3,699	4,046
Other assets, net	135	123
Assets, Total	38,861	39,040
Liabilities, Current [Abstract]
Accounts payable	229	246
Accrued interest	119	182
Deferred revenues	686	776
Other accrued liabilities	387	401
Current maturities of debt and other obligations	819	72
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	344	349
Liabilities, Current, Total	2,584	2,026
Debt and other long-term obligations	20,664	20,557
Operating lease liabilities	5,941	6,031
Other long-term liabilities	1,993	2,168
Liabilities, Total	$ 31,182	$ 30,782
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Stockholders' Equity Attributable to Parent [Abstract]
Common Stock, Value, Issued	$ 4	$ 4
Additional Paid in Capital	18,087	18,011
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax	(7)	(4)
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	(10,405)	(9,753)
Stockholders' Equity, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest, Total	7,679	8,258
Liabilities and Equity, Total	$ 38,861	$ 39,040

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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet (Parenthetical) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet (Parenthetical) [Abstract]
Accumulated depreciation, property and equipment	$ 12,780	$ 11,937
Common stock, shares outstanding	433	432
Common stock, shares authorized	1,200	1,200
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 174	$ 292

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Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions		3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021		Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021
Net revenues:
Site Rental		$ 1,568		$ 1,451		$ 4,711		$ 4,245
Services and other		178		167		511		441
Net Revenues		1,746		1,618		5,222		4,686
Operating expenses:
Site rental	[1]	405		397		1,204		1,168
Services and other	[1]	119		115		344		301
Selling, general and administrative		187		167		558		500
Asset write-down charges		3		0		26		9
Acquisition and integration costs		0		0		1		1
Depreciation, amortization and accretion		430		413		1,276		1,229
Total operating expenses		1,144		1,092		3,409		3,208
Operating income (loss)		602		526		1,813		1,478
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs		(177)		(163)		(506)		(493)
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations		(2)		(1)		(28)	[2]	(145)
Interest income		1		0		1		1
Other income (expense)		(2)		(4)		(5)		(16)
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes, Noncontrolling Interest		422		358		1,275		825
Benefit (provision) for income taxes		(3)		(7)		(14)		(20)
Income (loss) from continuing operations		419		351		1,261		805
Net gain (loss) from disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax		0		0		0		(62)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax		0		0		0		(62)
Net income (loss)		419		351		1,261		743
Foreign currency translation adjustments		(2)	[3]	$ (1)	[3]	(3)	[3]	1
Total other comprehensive income (loss)		$ (2)				$ (3)		$ 1
Income (loss) from continuing operations, per share - basic		$ 0.97		$ 0.81		$ 2.91		$ 1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, per share - basic		0		0		0		(0.14)
Income (loss) from continuing operations, per share - diluted		0.97		0.81		2.91		1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, per share - diluted		$ 0		$ 0		$ 0		$ (0.14)
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic		433		432		433		432
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, diluted		434		434		434		434
Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent		$ 417		$ 350		$ 1,258		$ 744

[1] Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

[2] Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

[3] See the condensed consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) for the components of other comprehensive income (loss).

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Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 1,261		$ 805
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) from continuing operations to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation, amortization and accretion	1,276		1,229
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	28	[1]	145
Amortization of deferred financing costs and other non-cash interest, net	10		9
Stock-based compensation expense	120		100
Asset write-down charges	26		9
Deferred income tax (benefit) provision	2		4
Other non-cash adjustments, net	6		18
Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding the effects of acquisitions:
Increase (decrease) in accrued interest	(63)		(59)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable	(10)		16
Increase (decrease) in other liabilities	(256)		(57)
Decrease (increase) in receivables	8		(62)
Decrease (increase) in other assets	(370)		(102)
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities	2,038		2,055
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(921)		(892)
Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired	(15)		(27)
Other investing activities, net	(10)		8
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities	(946)		(911)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	748		3,985
Principal payments on debt and other long-term obligations	(55)		(1,057)
Purchases and redemptions of long-term debt	(1,274)		(2,089)
Borrowings under revolving credit facility	2,625		580
Payments under revolving credit facility	(2,580)		(870)
Net issuances (repayments) under commercial paper program	1,329		380
Payments for financing costs	(14)		(43)
Purchases of common stock	(64)		(69)
Dividends/distributions paid on common stock	(1,924)		(1,738)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities	(1,209)		(921)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	(117)		223
Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities, Discontinued Operations	0		(62)
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Discontinued Operations	0		(62)
Effect of Exchange Rate on Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents	(2)		0
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period	466		381
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	$ 347		$ 542

[1] Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

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Condensed Consolidated Statement of Equity - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions		Total	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Accumulated Foreign Currency Adjustment Attributable to Parent [Member]		Dividends/Distributions in Excess of Earnings [Member]
Balance, shares Period Start at Dec. 31, 2020			431
Balance, value Period Start at Dec. 31, 2020		$ 9,461	$ 4	$ 17,933	$ (4)		$ (8,472)
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures, value		118	$ 1	118
Purchases and retirement of common stock, value		(69)		(69)
Common stock dividends/distributions		(1,738)					1,738
Net income (loss)		743					743
Balance, shares Period End at Sep. 30, 2021			432
Balance, value Period End at Sep. 30, 2021		8,516	$ 4	17,982	(3)		(9,467)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)		1			1
Foreign currency translation adjustments		1
Balance, shares Period Start at Jun. 30, 2021			432
Balance, value Period Start at Jun. 30, 2021		8,713	$ 4	17,951	(2)		(9,240)
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures, value		32	$ 0	32
Purchases and retirement of common stock, value		(1)		(1)
Common stock dividends/distributions	[1]	(578)					578
Net income (loss)		351					351
Balance, shares Period End at Sep. 30, 2021			432
Balance, value Period End at Sep. 30, 2021		8,516	$ 4	17,982	(3)		(9,467)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	[2]				(1)
Foreign currency translation adjustments	[2]	$ (1)
Balance, shares Period Start at Dec. 31, 2021		432	432
Balance, value Period Start at Dec. 31, 2021		$ 8,258	$ 4	18,011	(4)		(9,753)
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures, value		140	$ 1	140
Purchases and retirement of common stock, value		(64)		(64)
Common stock dividends/distributions	[1]	(1,913)					1,913
Net income (loss)		$ 1,261					1,261
Balance, shares Period End at Sep. 30, 2022		433	433
Balance, value Period End at Sep. 30, 2022		$ 7,679	$ 4	18,087	(7)		(10,405)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)		(3)			(3)	[2]
Foreign currency translation adjustments	[2]	(3)
Balance, shares Period Start at Jun. 30, 2022			433
Balance, value Period Start at Jun. 30, 2022		7,861	$ 4	18,050	(5)		(10,188)
Stock-based compensation related activity, net of forfeitures, value		38		38
Purchases and retirement of common stock, value		(1)		(1)
Common stock dividends/distributions	[1]	(636)					636
Net income (loss)		$ 419					419
Balance, shares Period End at Sep. 30, 2022		433	433
Balance, value Period End at Sep. 30, 2022		$ 7,679	$ 4	$ 18,087	(7)		$ (10,405)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)		(2)			$ (2)	[2]
Foreign currency translation adjustments	[2]	$ (2)

[1] See notes 7 and 9 for information regarding common stock dividends declared per share.

[2] See the condensed consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) for the components of other comprehensive income (loss).

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General

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

General

General

General

The information contained in the following notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements is condensed from that which would appear in the annual consolidated financial statements; accordingly, the condensed consolidated financial statements included herein should be reviewed in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and related notes thereto, included in the 2021 Form 10-K filed by Crown Castle Inc. ("CCI") (formerly, Crown Castle International Corp.) with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined in these notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have the same meaning given to them in the 2021 Form 10-K. References to the "Company" refer to CCI and its predecessor, as applicable, and their subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated or the context indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term "including," and any variation thereof means "including without limitation." The use of the word "or" herein is not exclusive. Unless the context suggests otherwise, references to "U.S." are to the United States of America and Puerto Rico, collectively.

The Company owns, operates and leases shared communications infrastructure that is geographically dispersed throughout the U.S., including (1) towers and other structures, such as rooftops (collectively, "towers"), and (2) fiber primarily supporting small cell networks ("small cells") and fiber solutions. The Company's towers, fiber and small cells assets are collectively referred to herein as "communications infrastructure," and the Company's customers on its communications infrastructure are referred to herein as "tenants."

The Company's core business is providing access, including space or capacity, to its shared communications infrastructure via long-term contracts in various forms, including lease, license, sublease and service agreements (collectively, "tenant contracts").

The Company's operating segments consist of (1) Towers and (2) Fiber. See note 10.

As part of the Company's effort to provide comprehensive communications infrastructure solutions, as an ancillary business, the Company also offers certain services primarily relating to its Towers segment, predominately consisting of (1) site development services primarily relating to existing or new tenant equipment installations, including: site acquisition, architectural and engineering, or zoning and permitting (collectively, "site development services") and (2) tenant equipment installation or subsequent augmentations (collectively, "installation services").

The Company operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, the Company has certain taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). See note 6.

Approximately 53% of the Company's towers are leased or subleased or operated and managed under master leases, subleases, and other agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile. The Company has the option to purchase these towers at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company has no obligation to exercise such purchase options.

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein are unaudited; however, they include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to state fairly the condensed consolidated financial position of the Company at September 30, 2022, the condensed consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, and the condensed consolidated cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

No accounting pronouncements adopted during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 had a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

No new accounting pronouncements issued but not yet adopted are expected to have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Revenues (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]

Revenues

Site Rental Revenues

The Company generates site rental revenues from its core business by providing tenants with access, including space or capacity, to its shared communications infrastructure via long-term tenant contracts in various forms, including lease, license, sublease and service agreements. Providing such access over the length of the tenant contract term represents the Company’s sole performance obligation under its tenant contracts.

Site rental revenues from the Company's tenant contracts are recognized on a straight-line, ratable basis over the fixed, non-cancelable term of the relevant tenant contract, which generally ranges from five to 15 years for wireless tenants and three to 20 years for the Company's fiber solutions tenants (including from organizations with high-bandwidth and multi-location demands), regardless of whether the payments from the tenant are received in equal monthly amounts during the life of the tenant contract. Certain of the Company's tenant contracts contain (1) fixed escalation clauses (such as fixed dollar or fixed percentage increases) or inflation-based escalation clauses (such as those tied to the CPI), (2) multiple renewal periods exercisable at the tenant's option and (3) only limited termination rights at the applicable tenant's option through the current term. If the payment terms call for fixed escalations, upfront payments, or rent-free periods, the revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the fixed, non-cancelable term of the tenant contract. When calculating its straight-line rental revenues, the Company considers all fixed elements of tenant contractual escalation provisions, even if such escalation provisions contain a variable element in addition to a minimum. The Company's assets related to straight-line site rental revenues include current amounts of $116 million included in "Other current assets" and non-current amounts of $1.9 billion included in "Deferred site rental receivables" as of September 30, 2022. Amounts billed or received prior to being earned are deferred and reflected in "Deferred revenues" and "Other long-term liabilities" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet. Amounts to which the Company has an unconditional right to payment, which are related to both satisfied or partially satisfied performance obligations, are recorded within "Receivables, net" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Services and Other Revenues

As part of the Company’s effort to provide comprehensive communications infrastructure solutions, as an ancillary business, the Company offers certain services primarily relating to its Towers segment, predominately consisting of (1) site development services and (2) installation services. Upon contract commencement, the Company assesses its services to tenants and identifies performance obligations for each promise to provide a distinct service.

The Company may have multiple performance obligations for site development services, which primarily include: structural analysis, zoning, permitting and construction drawings. For each of these performance obligations, services revenues are recognized at completion of the applicable performance obligation, which represents the point at which the Company believes it has transferred goods or services to the tenant. The revenue recognized is based on an allocation of the transaction price among the performance obligations in a respective contract based on estimated standalone selling price. The volume and mix of site development services may vary among contracts and may include a combination of some or all of the above performance obligations. Payments generally are due within 45 to 60 days and generally do not contain variable-consideration provisions. The transaction price for the Company's tower installation services consists of amounts for (1) permanent improvements to the Company's towers that represent a lease component and (2) the performance of the service. Amounts under the Company's tower installation service agreements that represent a lease component are recognized as site rental revenues on a straight-line basis over the length of the associated estimated lease term. For the performance of the installation service, the Company has one performance obligation, which is satisfied at the time of the applicable installation or augmentation and recognized as services and other revenues on the Company's condensed consolidated statement of operations. Since performance obligations are typically satisfied prior to receiving payment from tenants, the unconditional right to payment is recorded within "Receivables, net" on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. The vast majority of the Company’s services generally have a duration of one year or less.

Additional Information on Revenues

As of January 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022, $2.6 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively, of unrecognized revenue was reported in "Deferred revenues" and "Other long-term liabilities" on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet. During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, approximately $495 million of the January 1, 2022 unrecognized revenue balance was recognized as revenue. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, approximately $455 million of the January 1, 2021 unrecognized revenue balance was recognized as revenue.

The following table is a summary of the non-cancelable contracted amounts owed to the Company by tenants pursuant to tenant contracts in effect as of September 30, 2022.

	Three Months Ending December 31,		Years Ending December 31,
	2022		2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter		Total
Contracted amounts(a)	$	1,208	$	4,760	$	4,338	$	4,010	$	3,929	$	22,736	$	40,981

(a)Based on the nature of the contract, tenant contracts are accounted for pursuant to relevant lease accounting (ASC 842) or revenue accounting (ASC 606) guidance. Excludes amounts related to services, as those contracts generally have a duration of one year or less.

See note 10 for further information regarding the Company's operating segments.

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Fair Value Disclosures

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Disclosures

Fair Value Disclosures

	Level in Fair Value Hierarchy	September 30, 2022				December 31, 2021
		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1	$	174	$	174	$	292	$	292
Restricted cash, current and non-current	1	173		173		174		174
Liabilities:
Total debt and other obligations	2	21,483		18,926		20,629		21,588

The fair value of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash approximate the carrying value. The Company determines the fair value of its debt securities based on indicative, non-binding quotes from brokers. Quotes from brokers require judgment and are based on the brokers' interpretation of market information, including implied credit spreads for similar borrowings on recent trades or bid/ask prices or quotes from active markets if available. Since December 31, 2021, there have been no changes in the Company's valuation techniques used to measure fair values.

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Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company operates as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the Company is generally entitled to a deduction for dividends that it pays and therefore is not subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on its net taxable income that is currently distributed to its stockholders. The Company also may be subject to certain federal, state, local and foreign taxes on its income and assets, including (1) taxes on any undistributed income, (2) taxes related to the TRSs, (3) franchise taxes, (4) property taxes, and (5) transfer taxes. In addition, the Company could under certain circumstances be required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount, in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to maintain qualification for taxation as a REIT.

The Company's TRS assets and operations will continue to be subject, as applicable, to federal and state corporate income taxes or to foreign taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located. The Company's foreign assets and operations (including its tower operations in Puerto Rico) are subject to foreign income taxes in the jurisdictions in which such assets and operations are located, regardless of whether they are included in a TRS or not.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company's effective tax rate differed from the federal statutory rate predominately due to the Company's REIT status, including the dividends paid deduction.

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Per Share Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Per Share Information

Per Share InformationBasic net income (loss), per common share, excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, diluted net income (loss), per common share, is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus any potential dilutive common share equivalents, including shares issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units as determined under the treasury stock method.

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Income (loss) from continuing operations for basic and diluted computations	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	805
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	—		—		—		(62)
Net income (loss)	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	743
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding (in millions):
Basic weighted-average number of common stock outstanding	433		432		433		432
Effect of assumed dilution from potential issuance of common shares relating to restricted stock units	1		2		1		2
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	434		434		434		434
Net income (loss), per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, basic	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.72
Income (loss) from continuing operations, diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, diluted	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.71
Dividends/distributions declared per share of common stock	$	1.47	$	1.33	$	4.41	$	3.99

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company granted one million restricted stock units to the Company's executives and certain other employees.

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Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Durham Lawsuits

The Company has received notices of claims and has been named as one of several defendants in lawsuits stemming from an April 2019 gas leak explosion in Durham, North Carolina, which occurred near an area where the Company's subcontractors were installing fiber. The explosion resulted in two fatalities, physical injuries (some of which were serious), and property damage to surrounding buildings and businesses. Currently, the Company is unable to determine the likelihood of an outcome or estimate a range of possible losses, if any, related to these lawsuits.

Other Matters

The Company is involved in various other claims, assessments, lawsuits or proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. While there are uncertainties inherent in the ultimate outcome of such other matters and it is impossible to presently determine the ultimate costs or losses that may be incurred, if any, management believes the adverse resolution of such uncertainties and the incurrence of such costs should not have a material adverse effect on the Company's condensed consolidated financial position or results of operations. Additionally, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries are contingently liable for commitments or performance guarantees arising in the ordinary course of business, including certain letters of credit or surety bonds. In addition, see note 1 for a discussion of the Company's option to purchase approximately 53% of its towers at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company has no obligation to exercise such purchase options.

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Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Equity [Abstract]

Equity

Equity

Declaration and Payment of Dividends

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the following dividends/distributions were declared or paid:

Equity Type	Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividends Per Share		Aggregate Payment Amount(a)
Common Stock	February 8, 2022	March 15, 2022	March 31, 2022	$	1.47	$	639
Common Stock	May 9, 2022	June 15, 2022	June 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	638
Common Stock	July 25, 2022	September 15, 2022	September 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	636

(a)Inclusive of dividends accrued for holders of unvested restricted stock units, which will be paid when and if the restricted stock units vest.

See also note 12 for a discussion of the Company's common stock dividend declared in October 2022.

Purchases of the Company's Common Stock

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company purchased 0.4 million shares of its common stock utilizing $64 million in cash. The shares of common stock purchased relate to shares withheld in connection with the payment of withholding taxes upon vesting of restricted stock units.

2021 "At-the-Market" Stock Offering Program

In March 2021, the Company established an "at-the-market" stock offering program through which it may issue and sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $750 million ("2021 ATM Program"). Sales under the 2021 ATM Program may be made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or, subject to the Company's specific instructions, at negotiated prices. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from any sales under the 2021 ATM Program for general corporate purposes, which may include (1) the funding of future acquisitions or investments or (2) the repayment or repurchase of any outstanding indebtedness. The Company has not sold any shares of common stock under the 2021 ATM Program.

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Operating Segments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Operating Segments

Operating Segments

The Company's operating segments consist of (1) Towers and (2) Fiber. The Towers segment provides access, including space or capacity, to the Company's more than 40,000 towers geographically dispersed throughout the U.S. The Towers segment also reflects certain ancillary services relating to the Company's towers, predominately consisting of site development services and installation services. The Fiber segment provides access, including space or capacity, to the Company's approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber primarily supporting small cell networks and fiber solutions geographically dispersed throughout the U.S.

The measurements of profit or loss used by the Company's chief operating decision maker ("CODM") to evaluate the performance of its operating segments are (1) segment site rental gross margin, (2) segment services and other gross margin and (3) segment operating profit. The Company defines segment site rental gross margin as segment site rental revenues less segment site rental costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense and amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments recorded in consolidated site rental costs of operations. The Company defines segment services and other gross margin as segment services and other revenues less segment services and other costs of operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense recorded in consolidated services and other costs of operations. The Company defines segment operating profit as segment site rental gross margin plus segment services and other gross margin, and segment other operating (income) expense, less selling, general and administrative expenses attributable to the respective segment. All of these measurements of profit or loss are exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion, which are shown separately.

The following tables set forth the Company's segment operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Costs that are directly attributable to Towers and Fiber are assigned to those respective segments. Additionally, certain costs are shared across segments and are reflected in the Company's segment measures through allocations that management believes to be reasonable. The "Other" column (1) represents amounts excluded from specific segments, such as asset write-down charges, acquisition and integration costs, depreciation, amortization and accretion, amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments, interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs, gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations, interest income, other income (expense), income (loss) from discontinued

operations, and stock-based compensation expense, and (2) reconciles segment operating profit to income (loss) before income taxes, as the amounts are not utilized in assessing each segment’s performance. The "Other" total assets balance includes corporate assets such as cash and cash equivalents which have not been allocated to specific segments. There are no significant revenues resulting from transactions between the Company's operating segments.

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2022								Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	1,084	$	484			$	1,568	$	972	$	479			$	1,451
Segment services and other revenues	175		3				178		162		5				167
Segment revenues	1,259		487				1,746		1,134		484				1,618
Segment site rental costs of operations	230		166				396		227		163				390
Segment services and other costs of operations	114		3				117		108		4				112
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	344		169				513		335		167				502
Segment site rental gross margin	854		318				1,172		745		316				1,061
Segment services and other gross margin	61		—				61		54		1				55
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	28		47				75		27		44				71
Segment operating profit (loss)	887		271				1,158		772		273				1,045
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	81	81						$	69	69
Stock-based compensation expense					38		38						33		33
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					430		430						413		413
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					177		177						163		163
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					10		10						9		9
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	422							$	358
Capital expenditures	$	45	$	277	$	15	$	337	$	46	$	229	$	8	$	283
Total assets (at period end)	$	22,226	$	15,914	$	721	$	38,861	$	22,239	$	15,813	$	952	$	39,004

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation of $7 million and $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $4 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $31 million and $27 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022								Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	3,237	$	1,474			$	4,711	$	2,819	$	1,426			$	4,245
Segment services and other revenues	502		9				511		427		14				441
Segment revenues	3,739		1,483				5,222		3,246		1,440				4,686
Segment site rental costs of operations	689		490				1,179		659		485				1,144
Segment services and other costs of operations	329		7				336		285		10				295
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	1,018		497				1,515		944		495				1,439
Segment site rental gross margin	2,548		984				3,532		2,160		941				3,101
Segment services and other gross margin	173		2				175		142		4				146
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	84		140				224		78		133				211
Segment operating profit (loss)	2,637		846				3,483		2,224		812				3,036
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	234	234						$	205	205
Stock-based compensation expense					121		121						100		100
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					1,276		1,276						1,229		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					506		506						493		493
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					71		71						184		184
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	1,275							$	825
Capital expenditures	$	137	$	746	$	38	$	921	$	160	$	701	$	31	$	892

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation expense of $21 million and $16 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $12 million and $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $100 million and $84 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

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Supplemental Cash Flow Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Supplemental Cash Flow Elements [Abstract]

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

The following table is a summary of the Company's supplemental cash flow information:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash payments related to operating lease liabilities(a)	$	420	$	414
Interest paid	559		542
Income taxes paid	10		17
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash operating, investing and financing activities:
New ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities	162		456
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable for purchases of property and equipment	(7)		(13)
Purchase of property and equipment under finance leases and installment purchases	17		22

(a)Excludes the Company's contingent payments pursuant to operating leases, which are recorded as expense in the period such contingencies are resolved.

The reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within various lines on the condensed consolidated balance sheet to amounts reported in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows is shown below.

	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
Cash and cash equivalents	$	174	$	292
Restricted cash, current	168		169
Restricted cash reported within other assets, net	5		5
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	347	$	466

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Subsequent Events

3 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

Subsequent Events [Text Block]

Subsequent Events

Common Stock Dividend

On October 18, 2022, the Company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.565 per common share. The quarterly dividend will be payable on December 30, 2022 to common stockholders of record as of December 15, 2022.

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Recent accounting prounouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

No accounting pronouncements adopted during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 had a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

No new accounting pronouncements issued but not yet adopted are expected to have a material impact on the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Revenues (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Lessor, Operating Lease, Payment to be Received, Fiscal Year Maturity

The following table is a summary of the non-cancelable contracted amounts owed to the Company by tenants pursuant to tenant contracts in effect as of September 30, 2022.

	Three Months Ending December 31,		Years Ending December 31,
	2022		2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter		Total
Contracted amounts(a)	$	1,208	$	4,760	$	4,338	$	4,010	$	3,929	$	22,736	$	40,981

(a)Based on the nature of the contract, tenant contracts are accounted for pursuant to relevant lease accounting (ASC 842) or revenue accounting (ASC 606) guidance. Excludes amounts related to services, as those contracts generally have a duration of one year or less.

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Debt and Other Obligations (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Debt and Other Obligations [Abstract]

Schedule of Long-Term Debt Instruments

The table below sets forth the Company's debt and other obligations as of September 30, 2022.

	Original Issue Date		Final Maturity Date(a)		Balance as of September 30, 2022			Balance as of December 31, 2021		Stated Interest Rate as of September 30, 2022(a)
3.849% Secured Notes	Dec. 2012		Apr. 2023	(h)	$	—		$	998	N/A
Secured Notes, Series 2009-1, Class A-2	July 2009		Aug. 2029		48			53		9.0	%
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1	July 2018		July 2043	(h)	—			249		N/A
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2	May 2015		May 2045	(b)	697			696		3.7	%
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-2	July 2018		July 2048	(b)	745			744		4.2	%
Finance leases and other obligations	Various		Various	(c)	239			242		Various		(c)
Total secured debt					$	1,729		$	2,982
2016 Revolver	Jan. 2016		July 2027	(e)	$	710	(d)	$	665	4.1	%	(e)
2016 Term Loan A	Jan. 2016		July 2027	(e)	1,199			1,222		3.8	%	(e)
Commercial Paper Notes	Various	(f)	Various	(f)	1,594		(f)	265		3.8	%
3.150% Senior Notes	Jan. 2018		July 2023		749			747		3.2	%
3.200% Senior Notes	Aug. 2017		Sept. 2024		748			747		3.2	%
1.350% Senior Notes	June 2020		July 2025		496			496		1.4	%
4.450% Senior Notes	Feb. 2016		Feb. 2026		896			895		4.5	%
3.700% Senior Notes	May 2016		June 2026		747			746		3.7	%
1.050% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		July 2026		992			990		1.1	%
4.000% Senior Notes	Feb. 2017		Mar. 2027		497			496		4.0	%
2.900% Senior Notes	Mar. 2022		Mar. 2027	(g)	742			—		2.9	%
3.650% Senior Notes	Aug. 2017		Sept. 2027		995			995		3.7	%
3.800% Senior Notes	Jan. 2018		Feb. 2028		993			992		3.8	%
4.300% Senior Notes	Feb. 2019		Feb. 2029		594			593		4.3	%
3.100% Senior Notes	Aug. 2019		Nov. 2029		545			545		3.1	%
3.300% Senior Notes	Apr. 2020		July 2030		739			738		3.3	%
2.250% Senior Notes	June 2020		Jan. 2031		1,090			1,089		2.3	%
2.100% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		Apr. 2031		988			988		2.1	%
2.500% Senior Notes	June 2021		July 2031		741			741		2.5	%
2.900% Senior Notes	Feb. 2021		Apr. 2041		1,233			1,233		2.9	%
4.750% Senior Notes	May 2017		May 2047		344			344		4.8	%
5.200% Senior Notes	Feb. 2019		Feb. 2049		396			395		5.2	%
4.000% Senior Notes	Aug. 2019		Nov. 2049		346			345		4.0	%
4.150% Senior Notes	Apr. 2020		July 2050		490			490		4.2	%
3.250% Senior Notes	June 2020		Jan. 2051		890			890		3.3	%
Total unsecured debt					$	19,754		$	17,647
Total debt and other obligations					21,483			20,629
Less: current maturities of debt and other obligations					819			72
Non-current portion of debt and other long-term obligations					$	20,664		$	20,557

(a)See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for additional information regarding the maturity and principal amortization provisions and interest rates relating to the Company's indebtedness.

(b)If the respective series of Tower Revenue Notes are not paid in full on or prior to an applicable anticipated repayment date, then Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the indenture) of the issuers of such notes will be used to repay principal of the applicable series and class of the Tower Revenue Notes, and additional interest (of an additional approximately 5% per annum) will accrue on the respective Tower Revenue Notes. As of September 30, 2022, the Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2 and Series 2018-2 have principal amounts of $700 million and $750 million, with anticipated repayment dates in 2025 and 2028, respectively.

(c)The Company's finance leases and other obligations relate to land, fiber, vehicles, and other assets and bear interest rates ranging up to 10% and mature in periods ranging from less than one year to approximately 25 years.

(d)As of September 30, 2022, the undrawn availability under the 2016 Revolver was $6.3 billion.

(e)In July 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to the Credit Agreement governing the Company's 2016 Credit Facility ("2022 Credit Agreement Amendment") that provided for, among other things, (1) the extension of the maturity date of the 2016 Credit Facility from June 2026 to July 2027, (2) an increase to the aggregate commitments under the 2016 Revolver from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, (3) certain modifications to a specified sustainability

metric and (4) the replacement of the LIBOR pricing benchmark with a Term SOFR pricing benchmark. Both the 2016 Revolver and 2016 Term Loan A bear interest, at the Company's option, at either (1) Term SOFR plus (i) a credit spread adjustment of 0.10% per annum and (ii) a credit spread ranging from 0.875% to 1.750% per annum or (2) an alternate base rate plus a credit spread ranging from 0.000% to 0.750% per annum, in each case, with the applicable credit spread based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating. The Company pays a commitment fee ranging from 0.080% to 0.300%, based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating, per annum on the undrawn available amount under the 2016 Revolver. See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for information regarding potential adjustments to such percentages.

(f)In March 2022, the Company increased the size of its CP Program to permit the issuance of Commercial Paper Notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2.0 billion at any time outstanding. Notes under the CP Program may be issued, repaid and re-issued from time to time. The net proceeds of the Commercial Paper Notes are expected to be used for general corporate purposes. The maturities of the Commercial Paper Notes, when outstanding, may vary but may not exceed 397 days from the date of issue. The Commercial Paper Notes are issued under customary terms in the commercial paper market and are issued at a discount from par or, alternatively, can be issued at par and bear varying interest rates on a fixed or floating basis. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had net issuances of $1.6 billion under the CP Program. At any point in time, the Company intends to maintain available commitments under its 2016 Revolver in an amount at least equal to the amount of Commercial Paper Notes outstanding. While any outstanding Commercial Paper Notes generally have short-term maturities, the Company classifies the outstanding issuances, when applicable, as long-term based on its ability and intent to refinance the outstanding issuances on a long-term basis.

(g)In March 2022, the Company issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 2.900% senior unsecured notes due 2027 ("March 2022 Senior Notes"). The Company used the net proceeds from the March 2022 Senior Notes offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its CP Program and pay related fees and expenses.

(h)In March 2022, the Company (1) prepaid in full the previously outstanding Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1 and (2) redeemed in full the previously outstanding 3.849% Secured Notes.

Schedule of Maturities of Long-term Debt

The following are the scheduled principal payments and final maturities of the total debt and other long-term obligations of the Company outstanding as of September 30, 2022, which do not consider the principal payments that will commence following the anticipated repayment dates on the Tower Revenue Notes.

	Three Months Ending December 31,			Years Ending December 31,										Total Cash Obligations		Unamortized Adjustments, Net		Total Debt and Other Obligations Outstanding
	2022			2023		2024		2025		2026		Thereafter
Scheduled principal payments and final maturities	$	1,614	(a)	$	819	$	830	$	591	$	2,770	$	15,017	$	21,641	$	(158)	$	21,483

(a)Predominately consists of outstanding indebtedness under the CP Program (as discussed in footnote (f) above).

Debt Instrument Redemption [Table Text Block]

Purchases and Redemptions of Long-Term Debt

The following is a summary of purchases and redemptions of long-term debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

	Principal Amount		Cash Paid(a)		Gains (Losses)(b)
Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1	$	250	$	252	$	(3)
3.849% Secured Notes	1,000		1,022		(23)
2016 Revolver	—		—		(2)
Total	$	1,250	$	1,274	$	(28)

(a)Exclusive of accrued interest.

(b)Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

Components of Interest Expense and Amortization of Deferred Financing Costs

Interest Expense and Amortization of Deferred Financing Costs

The components of interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs are as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Interest expense on debt obligations	$	174	$	160	$	496	$	484
Amortization of deferred financing costs and adjustments on long-term debt, net	6		6		19		19
Capitalized interest	(3)		(3)		(9)		(10)
Total	$	177	$	163	$	506	$	493

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Fair Value Disclosures (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Estimated Fair Values and Carrying Amounts of Assets and Liabilities

	Level in Fair Value Hierarchy	September 30, 2022				December 31, 2021
		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value		Carrying  Amount		Fair Value
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1	$	174	$	174	$	292	$	292
Restricted cash, current and non-current	1	173		173		174		174
Liabilities:
Total debt and other obligations	2	21,483		18,926		20,629		21,588

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Per Share Information (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Reconciliation of the Numerators and Denominators of the Basic and Diluted Per Share Computations

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021
Income (loss) from continuing operations for basic and diluted computations	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	805
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	—		—		—		(62)
Net income (loss)	$	419	$	351	$	1,261	$	743
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding (in millions):
Basic weighted-average number of common stock outstanding	433		432		433		432
Effect of assumed dilution from potential issuance of common shares relating to restricted stock units	1		2		1		2
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	434		434		434		434
Net income (loss), per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, basic	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—basic	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.72
Income (loss) from continuing operations, diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, diluted	—		—		—		(0.14)
Net income (loss)—diluted	$	0.97	$	0.81	$	2.91	$	1.71
Dividends/distributions declared per share of common stock	$	1.47	$	1.33	$	4.41	$	3.99

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Equity (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Equity [Abstract]

Dividends Declared

Declaration and Payment of Dividends

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the following dividends/distributions were declared or paid:

Equity Type	Declaration Date	Record Date	Payment Date	Dividends Per Share		Aggregate Payment Amount(a)
Common Stock	February 8, 2022	March 15, 2022	March 31, 2022	$	1.47	$	639
Common Stock	May 9, 2022	June 15, 2022	June 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	638
Common Stock	July 25, 2022	September 15, 2022	September 30, 2022	$	1.47	$	636

(a)Inclusive of dividends accrued for holders of unvested restricted stock units, which will be paid when and if the restricted stock units vest.

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Operating Segments Operating Segments (Tables)

3 Months Ended

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Sep. 30, 2022

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2022								Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	1,084	$	484			$	1,568	$	972	$	479			$	1,451
Segment services and other revenues	175		3				178		162		5				167
Segment revenues	1,259		487				1,746		1,134		484				1,618
Segment site rental costs of operations	230		166				396		227		163				390
Segment services and other costs of operations	114		3				117		108		4				112
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	344		169				513		335		167				502
Segment site rental gross margin	854		318				1,172		745		316				1,061
Segment services and other gross margin	61		—				61		54		1				55
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	28		47				75		27		44				71
Segment operating profit (loss)	887		271				1,158		772		273				1,045
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	81	81						$	69	69
Stock-based compensation expense					38		38						33		33
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					430		430						413		413
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					177		177						163		163
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					10		10						9		9
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	422							$	358
Capital expenditures	$	45	$	277	$	15	$	337	$	46	$	229	$	8	$	283
Total assets (at period end)	$	22,226	$	15,914	$	721	$	38,861	$	22,239	$	15,813	$	952	$	39,004

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation of $7 million and $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $4 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $31 million and $27 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022								Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total		Towers		Fiber		Other		Consolidated Total
Segment site rental revenues	$	3,237	$	1,474			$	4,711	$	2,819	$	1,426			$	4,245
Segment services and other revenues	502		9				511		427		14				441
Segment revenues	3,739		1,483				5,222		3,246		1,440				4,686
Segment site rental costs of operations	689		490				1,179		659		485				1,144
Segment services and other costs of operations	329		7				336		285		10				295
Segment costs of operations(a)(b)	1,018		497				1,515		944		495				1,439
Segment site rental gross margin	2,548		984				3,532		2,160		941				3,101
Segment services and other gross margin	173		2				175		142		4				146
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses(b)	84		140				224		78		133				211
Segment operating profit (loss)	2,637		846				3,483		2,224		812				3,036
Other selling, general and administrative expenses(b)					$	234	234						$	205	205
Stock-based compensation expense					121		121						100		100
Depreciation, amortization and accretion					1,276		1,276						1,229		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs					506		506						493		493
Other (income) expenses to reconcile to income (loss) before income taxes(c)					71		71						184		184
Income (loss) before income taxes							$	1,275							$	825
Capital expenditures	$	137	$	746	$	38	$	921	$	160	$	701	$	31	$	892

(a)Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

(b)Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation expense of $21 million and $16 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $12 million and $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $100 million and $84 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(c)See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

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Supplemental Cash Flow Information (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Supplemental Cash Flow Elements [Abstract]

Schedule of Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures [Table Text Block]

The following table is a summary of the Company's supplemental cash flow information:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2022		2021
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash payments related to operating lease liabilities(a)	$	420	$	414
Interest paid	559		542
Income taxes paid	10		17
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash operating, investing and financing activities:
New ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities	162		456
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable for purchases of property and equipment	(7)		(13)
Purchase of property and equipment under finance leases and installment purchases	17		22

(a)Excludes the Company's contingent payments pursuant to operating leases, which are recorded as expense in the period such contingencies are resolved.

Schedule of Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within various lines on the condensed consolidated balance sheet to amounts reported in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows is shown below.

	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
Cash and cash equivalents	$	174	$	292
Restricted cash, current	168		169
Restricted cash reported within other assets, net	5		5
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	347	$	466

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General Business (Details)	Sep. 30, 2022
Subject to Capital Lease with TMO or AT&T [Member]
Purchase Option, Percentage of Towers	53.00%

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Revenues (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Revenue Recognition Non-cancelable Lease Term for Wireless Tenants		five to 15 years
Revenue Recognition for Fiber Solutions Tenants		three to 20 years
Deferred site rental receivables		$ 1,880		$ 1,588
Revenue, Performance Obligation, Description of Payment Terms		45 to 60 days
Revenue, Remaining Performance Obligation, Amount		$ 2,400		$ 2,600
Revenue Recognized on Deferred Revenues		495	$ 455
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, remainder of year	[1]	1,208
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, in Two Years	[1]	4,760
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, in Three Years	[1]	4,338
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, in Four Years	[1]	4,010
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, in Five Years	[1]	3,929
Contracted Amounts Receivable from Customers, Thereafter	[1]	22,736
Lessor, Operating Lease, Payments to be Received	[1]	40,981
Other Current Assets [Member]
Deferred site rental receivables		116
Other Noncurrent Assets [Member]
Deferred site rental receivables		$ 1,900

[1] Based on the nature of the contract, tenant contracts are accounted for pursuant to relevant lease accounting (ASC 842) or revenue accounting (ASC 606) guidance. Excludes amounts related to services, as those contracts generally have a duration of one year or less.

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Debt and Other Obligations (Indebtedness) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021	Jun. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 21,483			$ 21,483				$ 20,629
Less: current maturities of debt and other obligations		819			819				72
Non-current portion of long-term debt and other long-term obligations		20,664			20,664				20,557
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations		2		$ 1	28	[1]	$ 145
2015 Tower Revenue Notes 3.663% due 2045 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		700			700
2018 Tower Revenue Notes 4.241% due 2048 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		750			$ 750
Fixed Rate Securitized Debt July 2018 Tower Revenue Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Increase (Decrease)					5.00%
Finance Lease Obligations and Other [Member] | Securitized Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations	[2]	$ 239			$ 239				242
High Yield Bonds [Member] | Senior Unsecured 2016 Notes 4.450% [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.50%			4.50%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 896			$ 896				895
High Yield Bonds [Member] | 4.000% Senior Unsecured Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.00%			4.00%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 497			$ 497				496
High Yield Bonds [Member] | 4.750% Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.80%			4.80%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 344			$ 344				344
High Yield Bonds [Member] | August 2017 Senior Unsecured 3.200% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.20%			3.20%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 748			$ 748				747
High Yield Bonds [Member] | June 2020 Senior Unsecured 1.350% Notes [Domain]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	1.40%			1.40%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 496			$ 496				496
High Yield Bonds [Member] | August 2017 Senior Unsecured 3.650% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.70%			3.70%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 995			$ 995				995
High Yield Bonds [Member] | 3.150% Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.20%			3.20%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 749			$ 749				747
High Yield Bonds [Member] | 3.800% Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.80%			3.80%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 993			$ 993				992
High Yield Bonds [Member] | February 2019 Senior Unsecured 4.300% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.30%			4.30%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 594			$ 594				593
High Yield Bonds [Member] | February 2019 Senior Unsecured 5.200% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	5.20%			5.20%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 396			$ 396				395
High Yield Bonds [Member] | August 2019 Senior Unsecured 3.100% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.10%			3.10%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 545			$ 545				545
High Yield Bonds [Member] | August 2019 Senior Unsecured 4.000% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.00%			4.00%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 346			$ 346				345
High Yield Bonds [Member] | April 2020 Senior Unsecured 3.300% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.30%			3.30%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 739			$ 739				738
High Yield Bonds [Member] | June 2020 Senior Unsecured 2.250% Notes [Domain]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	2.30%			2.30%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 1,090			$ 1,090				1,089
High Yield Bonds [Member] | April 2020 Senior Unsecured 4.150% Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.20%			4.20%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 490			$ 490				490
High Yield Bonds [Member] | June 2020 Senior Unsecured 3.250% Notes [Domain]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.30%			3.30%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 890			$ 890				890
High Yield Bonds [Member] | February 2021 Senior Unsecured 2.100% Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	2.10%			2.10%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 988			$ 988				988
High Yield Bonds [Member] | February 2021 Senior Unsecured 2.900% Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	2.90%			2.90%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 1,233			$ 1,233				1,233
High Yield Bonds [Member] | February 2021 Senior Unsecured 1.050% Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	1.10%			1.10%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 992			$ 992				990
High Yield Bonds [Member] | Senior Unsecured 2016 Notes 3.7% [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.70%			3.70%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 747			$ 747				746
High Yield Bonds [Member] | June 2021 Senior Unsecured 2.500% Notes [Domain]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	2.50%			2.50%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 741			$ 741				741
High Yield Bonds [Member] | 2.900% Senior Unsecured Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		$ 750			$ 750
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		2.90%			2.90%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 742	[4]		$ 742	[4]			0
Unsecured Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		19,754			19,754				17,647
Securitized Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 1,729			$ 1,729				2,982
Securitized Debt [Member] | 2015 Tower Revenue Notes 3.663% due 2045 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.70%			3.70%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations	[5]	$ 697			$ 697				696
Securitized Debt [Member] | 2018 Tower Revenue Notes 3.720% due 2043 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 0	[6]		$ 0	[6]			249	[5]
Securitized Debt [Member] | 2018 Tower Revenue Notes 4.241% due 2048 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	4.20%			4.20%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations	[5]	$ 745			$ 745				744
Securitized Debt [Member] | 3.849% Secured Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 0	[6]		$ 0	[6]			998
Securitized Debt [Member] | Fixed Rate Debt 2009 Securitized Notes A-2 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	9.00%			9.00%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 48			$ 48				53
Bank Debt [Member] | 2016 Term Loan A [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3],[7]	3.80%			3.80%
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 1,199			$ 1,199				1,222
Bank Debt [Member] | Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[3]	3.80%			3.80%
Bank Debt [Member] | Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	[7]	4.10%			4.10%
Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial Paper - Outstanding		$ 1,600			$ 1,600
3.849% Secured Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	[1]				$ (23)
Maximum [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.75%			0.75%
Maximum [Member] | Finance Lease Obligations and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		10.00%			10.00%
Maximum [Member] | Finance Lease Obligations and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument Maturity Date Range					25 years
Minimum [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.00%			0.00%
Minimum [Member] | Finance Lease Obligations and Other [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument Maturity Date Range					one year
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		1.75%			1.75%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.875%			0.875%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unused Borrowing Capacity, Amount		$ 6,300			$ 6,300			$ 5,000
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations	[8]	710			710				665
Commercial Paper - Maximum Available		7,000			$ 7,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Percentage					0.30%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Percentage					0.08%
Commercial Paper [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations	[9]	1,594			$ 1,594				$ 265
Commercial Paper - Maximum Available		$ 2,000			$ 2,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date, Description					397 days
Term SOFR Adjustment
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.10%			0.10%

[1] Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

[2] The Company's finance leases and other obligations relate to land, fiber, vehicles, and other assets and bear interest rates ranging up to 10% and mature in periods ranging from less than one year to approximately 25 years.

[3] See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for additional information regarding the maturity and principal amortization provisions and interest rates relating to the Company's indebtedness.

[4] In March 2022, the Company issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 2.900% senior unsecured notes due 2027 ("March 2022 Senior Notes"). The Company used the net proceeds from the March 2022 Senior Notes offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its CP Program and pay related fees and expenses.

[5] If the respective series of Tower Revenue Notes are not paid in full on or prior to an applicable anticipated repayment date, then Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the indenture) of the issuers of such notes will be used to repay principal of the applicable series and class of the Tower Revenue Notes, and additional interest (of an additional approximately 5% per annum) will accrue on the respective Tower Revenue Notes. As of September 30, 2022, the Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2 and Series 2018-2 have principal amounts of $700 million and $750 million, with anticipated repayment dates in 2025 and 2028, respectively.

[6] In March 2022, the Company (1) prepaid in full the previously outstanding Tower Revenue Notes, Series 2018-1 and (2) redeemed in full the previously outstanding 3.849% Secured Notes.

[7] In July 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to the Credit Agreement governing the Company's 2016 Credit Facility ("2022 Credit Agreement Amendment") that provided for, among other things, (1) the extension of the maturity date of the 2016 Credit Facility from June 2026 to July 2027, (2) an increase to the aggregate commitments under the 2016 Revolver from $5.0 billion to $7.0 billion, (3) certain modifications to a specified sustainability metric and (4) the replacement of the LIBOR pricing benchmark with a Term SOFR pricing benchmark. Both the 2016 Revolver and 2016 Term Loan A bear interest, at the Company's option, at either (1) Term SOFR plus (i) a credit spread adjustment of 0.10% per annum and (ii) a credit spread ranging from 0.875% to 1.750% per annum or (2) an alternate base rate plus a credit spread ranging from 0.000% to 0.750% per annum, in each case, with the applicable credit spread based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating. The Company pays a commitment fee ranging from 0.080% to 0.300%, based on the Company's senior unsecured debt rating, per annum on the undrawn available amount under the 2016 Revolver. See the 2021 Form 10-K, including note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, for information regarding potential adjustments to such percentages.

[8] As of September 30, 2022, the undrawn availability under the 2016 Revolver was $6.3 billion.

[9] In March 2022, the Company increased the size of its CP Program to permit the issuance of Commercial Paper Notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2.0 billion at any time outstanding. Notes under the CP Program may be issued, repaid and re-issued from time to time. The net proceeds of the Commercial Paper Notes are expected to be used for general corporate purposes. The maturities of the Commercial Paper Notes, when outstanding, may vary but may not exceed 397 days from the date of issue. The Commercial Paper Notes are issued under customary terms in the commercial paper market and are issued at a discount from par or, alternatively, can be issued at par and bear varying interest rates on a fixed or floating basis. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had net issuances of $1.6 billion under the CP Program. At any point in time, the Company intends to maintain available commitments under its 2016 Revolver in an amount at least equal to the amount of Commercial Paper Notes outstanding. While any outstanding Commercial Paper Notes generally have short-term maturities, the Company classifies the outstanding issuances, when applicable, as long-term based on its ability and intent to refinance the outstanding issuances on a long-term basis.

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Debt and Other Obligations (Components of Interest Expense and Amortization of Deferred Financing Costs) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021
Debt and Other Obligations [Abstract]
Interest Expense, Debt, Excluding Amortization	$ 174	$ 160	$ 496	$ 484
Amortization of deferred financing costs and adjustments on long-term debt, net	6	6	19	19
Capitalized interest	(3)	(3)	(9)	(10)
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs	$ 177	$ 163	$ 506	$ 493

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Debt and Other Obligations Contractual Maturities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		Sep. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Contractual Obligation, Fiscal Year Maturity Schedule [Abstract]
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, remainder of year	[1]	$ 1,614
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, Year Two		819
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, Year Three		830
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, Year Four		591
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, Year Five		2,770
Long-Term Debt, Maturity, after Year Five		15,017
Total Cash Obligations		21,641
Unamortized Adjustments, Net		(158)
Debt and Finance Lease Obligations		$ 21,483	$ 20,629

[1] Predominately consists of outstanding indebtedness under the CP Program (as discussed in footnote (f) above).

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Debt and Other Obligations Extinguishment of Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2021
Extinguishment of Debt [Line Items]
Principal amount				$ 1,250
Cash paid	[1]			1,274
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations		$ (2)	$ (1)	(28)	[2]	$ (145)
3.849% Secured Notes [Member]
Extinguishment of Debt [Line Items]
Principal amount				1,000
Cash paid	[1]			1,022
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	[2]			23
2018 Tower Revenue Notes 3.720% due 2043 [Member]
Extinguishment of Debt [Line Items]
Principal amount				250
Cash paid	[1]			252
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	[2]			$ 3
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Extinguishment of Debt [Line Items]
Gains (losses) on retirement of long-term obligations	[2]	$ 2

[1] Exclusive of accrued interest.

[2] Inclusive of the write off of respective deferred financing costs.

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Fair Value Disclosures (Estimated Fair Values and Carrying Amounts of Assets and Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 174	$ 292
Cash and cash equivalents, fair value	174	292
Restricted Cash Fair Value Disclosure	173	174
Restricted Cash	173	174
Long-term debt and other obligations, carrying amount	21,483	20,629
Long-term debt and other obligations, fair value	$ 18,926	$ 21,588

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Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Net gain (loss) from disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ (62)

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Per Share Information (Reconciliation of the Numerators and Denominators of the Basic and Diluted Per Share Computations) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 419	$ 351	$ 1,261	$ 805
Net income (loss)	419	351	1,261	743
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	0	0	(62)
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic	$ 419	$ 351	$ 1,261	$ 743
Basic weighted-average number of common stock outstanding	433	432	433	432
Effect of assumed dilution from potential issuance of common shares relating to restricted stock units	1	2	1	2
Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding	434	434	434	434
Income (loss) from continuing operations, per share - basic	$ 0.97	$ 0.81	$ 2.91	$ 1.86
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, per share - basic	0	0	0	(0.14)
Earnings Per Share, Basic	0.97	0.81	2.91	1.72
Income (loss) from continuing operations, per share - diluted	0.97	0.81	2.91	1.85
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, per share - diluted	0	0	0	(0.14)
Earnings Per Share, Diluted	0.97	0.81	2.91	1.71
Dividends/distributions declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 1.47	$ 1.33	$ 4.41	$ 3.99

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Per Share Information Stock Issued During Period, Restricted Stock Award (Details) shares in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022 shares
Restricted stock units granted [Abstract]
Restricted stock award granted	1

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Commitments and Contingencies Commitment and Contingencies (Details)	Sep. 30, 2022
Subject to Capital Lease with TMO or AT&T [Member]
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Purchase Option, Percentage of Towers	53.00%

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Equity (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022	Jun. 30, 2022		Jun. 30, 2022		Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Nov. 04, 2022
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Cash Paid	$ 1.47	$ 1.47		$ 1.47
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash	$ 636	$ 638	[1]	$ 639	[1]
Common stock repurchased during period, shares						0.4
Purchases of common stock						$ (64)	$ (69)
Availability Under ATM	$ 750					$ 750
Subsequent Event
Dividends Payable, Amount Per Share								$ 1.565
Common Stock [Member]
Dividends Payable, Date Declared	Jul. 25, 2022	May 09, 2022		Feb. 08, 2022
Dividends Payable, Date of Record	Sep. 15, 2022	Jun. 15, 2022		Mar. 15, 2022
Dividends Payable, Date to be Paid	Sep. 30, 2022	Jun. 30, 2022		Mar. 31, 2022

[1] Inclusive of dividends accrued for holders of unvested restricted stock units, which will be paid when and if the restricted stock units vest.

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Operating Segments Operating Segments Table (Details) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2022 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Tower Count		40,000				40,000
Fiber Miles		85,000				85,000
Amortization of prepaid lease purchase price adjustments		$ 4		$ 4		$ 12		$ 14
Site Rental		1,568		1,451		4,711		4,245
Services and other		178		167		511		441
Segment Revenues		1,746		1,618		5,222		4,686
Segment site rental cost of operations	[1]	405		397		1,204		1,168
Services and other	[1]	119		115		344		301
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses		187		167		558		500
Stock-based compensation expense						120		100
Depreciation, Amortization and Accretion, Net		430		413		1,276		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs		177		163		506		493
Capital expenditures						921		892
Total Assets		38,861				38,861				$ 39,040
Segments [Domain]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Site Rental		1,568		1,451		4,711		4,245
Services and other		178		167		511		441
Segment Revenues		1,746		1,618		5,222		4,686
Segment site rental cost of operations		396		390		1,179		1,144
Services and other		117		112		336		295
Segment cost of operations	[2]	513	[3]	502	[3]	1,515	[4]	1,439	[4]
Segment site rental gross margin		1,172		1,061		3,532		3,101
Segment services gross margin		61		55		175		146
Segment General and Administrative Expenses [Line Items]		75	[3]	71	[3]	224	[4]	211	[4]
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses		81		69		234		205
Segment Operating Profit		1,158		1,045		3,483		3,036
Stock-based compensation expense		38		33		121		100
Depreciation, Amortization and Accretion, Net		430		413		1,276		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs		177		163		506		493
Other expenses to reconcile to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	[5]	10		9		71		184
Income (loss) before income taxes		422		358		1,275		825
Capital expenditures		337		283		921		892
Total Assets		38,861		39,004		38,861		39,004
Segment cost of operations share-based compensation [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense		7		6		21		16
Towers [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Site Rental		1,084		972		3,237		2,819
Services and other		175		162		502		427
Segment Revenues		1,259		1,134		3,739		3,246
Segment site rental cost of operations		230		227		689		659
Services and other		114		108		329		285
Segment cost of operations	[2]	344	[3]	335	[3]	1,018	[4]	944	[4]
Segment site rental gross margin		854		745		2,548		2,160
Segment services gross margin		61		54		173		142
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses		28	[3]	27	[3]	84	[4]	78	[4]
Segment Operating Profit		887		772		2,637		2,224
Capital expenditures		45		46		137		160
Total Assets		22,226		22,239		22,226		22,239
Fiber [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Site Rental		484		479		1,474		1,426
Services and other		3		5		9		14
Segment Revenues		487		484		1,483		1,440
Segment site rental cost of operations		166		163		490		485
Services and other		3		4		7		10
Segment cost of operations	[2]	169	[3]	167	[3]	497	[4]	495	[4]
Segment site rental gross margin		318		316		984		941
Segment services gross margin		0		1		2		4
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses		47	[3]	44	[3]	140	[4]	133	[4]
Segment Operating Profit		271		273		846		812
Capital expenditures		277		229		746		701
Total Assets		15,914		15,813		15,914		15,813
Corporate and Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment selling, general and administrative expenses		81		69		234		205
Stock-based compensation expense		38		33		121		100
Depreciation, Amortization and Accretion, Net		430		413		1,276		1,229
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs		177		163		506		493
Other expenses to reconcile to income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	[5]	10		9		71		184
Capital expenditures		15		8		38		31
Total Assets		721		952		721		952
Segment G&A share-based compensation [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense		$ 31		$ 27		$ 100		$ 84

[1] Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

[2] Exclusive of depreciation, amortization and accretion shown separately.

[3] Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation of $7 million and $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $4 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $31 million and $27 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

[4] Segment costs of operations excludes (1) stock-based compensation expense of $21 million and $16 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and (2) prepaid lease purchase price adjustments of $12 million and $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Selling, general and administrative expenses exclude stock-based compensation expense of $100 million and $84 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

[5] See condensed consolidated statement of operations for further information.

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Supplemental Cash Flow Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2022	Sep. 30, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Supplemental Cash Flow Information [Line Items]
Cash payments related to operating lease liabilities	[1]	$ 420	$ 414
Interest Paid		559	542
Income Taxes Paid		10	17
New ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities		162	456
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable for purchases of property and equipment		(7)	(13)
Purchase of property and equipment under capital leases and installment purchases		17	22
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents		174		$ 292
Restricted cash, current		168		169
Restricted Cash, Noncurrent		5		5
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Restricted Cash Equivalents		$ 347	$ 542	$ 466	$ 381

[1] Excludes the Company's contingent payments pursuant to operating leases, which are recorded as expense in the period such contingencies are resolved.

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Subsequent Events (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Billions	Nov. 04, 2022	Sep. 30, 2022
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Commercial Paper - Maximum Available		$ 7.0
Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Dividends Payable, Amount Per Share	$ 1.565