8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 12, 2026

Crown Castle Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

8020 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77024-1908

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (713) 570-3000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

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. ☐

ITEM 2.02—RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

On January 12, 2026, Crown Castle Inc. ("Company") issued a press release announcing that the Company delivered a notice of default and termination to DISH Wireless L.L.C. ("DISH") relating to the Company's Master Lease Agreement and related agreements with DISH. As indicated in the press release, the Company does not anticipate the exercise of its termination rights to impact the Company's financial results for full year 2025. The notice and related circumstances are more fully described in the Company's press release, which is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information in Item 2.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K ("Form 8-K") and Exhibit 99.1 in Item 9.01 attached hereto are furnished as part of this Form 8-K and shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall such information or exhibits be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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, which include plans, projections and anticipated impacts regarding the termination of the Company's agreements with DISH. 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 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. Unless legally required, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

ITEM 9.01—FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit Index

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 hereunto duly authorized.

Date: January 12, 2026

Document

Exhibit 99.1

DISH Wireless Defaults on Payment Obligations to Crown Castle

DISH Obligated to Pay Crown in Excess of $3.5 Billion as Crown Castle Terminates Contract

HOUSTON, Jan. 12, 2026 – Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) ("Crown Castle") today announced that DISH Wireless (“DISH”) has defaulted on its payment obligations to Crown Castle, causing Crown Castle to terminate its wireless infrastructure agreement with DISH.

Statement by Crown Castle:

“Crown Castle and many other American businesses helped DISH and its parent company, EchoStar, build its wireless communications network with the expectation that it would provide a meaningful service to Americans and help the U.S. continue to lead in wireless.

“After DISH’s parent company, EchoStar, announced last summer that it was selling public spectrum licenses to AT&T and SpaceX, DISH notified Crown Castle and other partners in September 2025 that it was discontinuing its network business. DISH further asserted that due to actions taken by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), DISH believed it was no longer required to honor remaining contractual obligations to those businesses and workers who built and supported its business.

“While it initially continued to make its required payments, DISH recently failed to do so and defaulted on its obligations under the agreement with Crown Castle. In an effort to protect its shareholders, Crown Castle exercised its right to terminate the agreement and to recover in excess of $3.5 billion in remaining payments owed.

“We do not anticipate these actions to impact Crown Castle’s full-year 2025 results.

“We are supportive of AT&T and SpaceX obtaining the 3.45 GHz, 600 MHz, AWS-4, H-block and unpaired AWS-3 spectrum bands and putting this public resource into active use for the American people. That said, we will do everything we can to enforce our rights under our agreement with DISH and keep DISH to its word.

“DISH is refusing to pay the American workers and businesses it used to build its network and meet the minimum FCC coverage requirements necessary to retain its spectrum licenses — an American public resource. Now those same spectrum licenses are being sold for more than $40 billion.”

ABOUT CROWN CASTLE

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases approximately 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service – bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them. For more information on Crown Castle, please visit www.crowncastle.com.

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Crown Castle management's current expectations. Such statements include plans, projections and estimates regarding Crown Castle’s wireless infrastructure agreements with DISH, including the termination thereof and ability to recover payments. More information about potential risk factors that could affect Crown Castle and its results is included in Crown Castle's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The term "including," and any variation thereof, means "including, without limitation."

INVESTOR CONTACT

Kris Hinson

713-570-3050

MEDIA CONTACT

Phil West

Media.relations@crowncastle.com

281-270-1950