Is the Crown Castle CEO Overpaid?
On pay-for-performance, Crown Castle scores D (38/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Steven Moskowitz earned $8.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -23.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
This page answers a common executive-compensation question: Is the Crown Castle CEO Overpaid?. The answer draws on SEC DEF 14A proxy statements, the public disclosure mechanism for U.S. public-company executive pay. Every public company must file an annual proxy statement disclosing CEO and named-executive-officer compensation in detail. Why this matters for shareholders: executive compensation is the single most-disclosed governance metric at U.S. public companies, and the Dodd-Frank-mandated say-on-pay vote gives shareholders an explicit channel to express approval or dissent. Reading pay data well — including pay-versus-performance, peer-group selection, and time-vesting structures — is a basic part of stock-by-stock fundamental analysis.
The detailed answer below uses the actual proxy-statement filings, explains how to read them, and translates the executive-compensation accounting into the shareholder-relevant interpretation.
Crown Castle Pay-for-Performance Scorecard
- Pay-for-Performance grade
- D (38/100)
- 3-yr shareholder return
- -23.0%
- 3-yr revenue growth
- -21.9%
- Say-on-pay approval
- 86.0%
- CEO total comp
- $8.0M
- CEO-to-worker ratio
- 114:1
Source: Crown Castle SEC DEF 14A proxy statement. Pay-for-Performance grade is CEOPay's proprietary score (TSR alignment 40%, revenue-vs-pay growth 30%, say-on-pay 20%, pay ratio vs peers 10%).
The CEOPay Pay-for-Performance Score grades Crown Castle a D (38/100). It weighs four factors pulled from the company's SEC filings: three-year total shareholder return alignment (27/100), revenue growth versus compensation growth (6/100), say-on-pay vote support (80/100), and CEO-to-worker pay ratio versus peers (93/100). Steven Moskowitz's $8,000,000 package is the number those factors judge.
Over the trailing three years, Crown Castle delivered -23.0% total shareholder return on -21.9% revenue growth, and 86.0% of shareholders approved the pay plan in the most recent say-on-pay vote. When pay holds up or rises faster than the returns it is meant to reward, that is the pattern critics point to when they call a package "overpaid."
There is no single threshold for "overpaid." The package only pays out in full if performance and vesting conditions are met, and equity dominates it: $4,000,000 of Steven Moskowitz's 2025 pay came from stock awards versus $800,000 in base salary. Reasonable shareholders weigh the grade, the say-on-pay vote, and the peer-group context together rather than the headline number alone.
Pay & Performance Data
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Compensation | $8,000,000 |
| Base Salary | $800,000 |
| Stock Awards | $4,000,000 |
| Option Awards | $960,000 |
| Non-Equity Incentive | $1,200,000 |
| CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 114:1 |
| Pay-Performance Grade | D |
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Frequently Asked Questions
On pay-for-performance, Crown Castle scores D (38/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Steven Moskowitz earned $8.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -23.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
Our Pay-for-Performance Score rates Crown Castle as D (38/100), based on three-year total shareholder return of -23.0%, revenue growth of -21.9%, and shareholder say-on-pay vote approval.
Steven Moskowitz, CEO of Crown Castle, earned $8.0M in total compensation in 2025, including $4.0M in stock awards and $800,000 in base salary.
Crown Castle's CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 114:1. CEO Steven Moskowitz earns approximately 114 times the median worker's pay of $70,000, as disclosed in the company's SEC DEF 14A proxy statement.
Steven Moskowitz is the chief executive officer of Crown Castle (CCI).
More about Crown Castle
On pay-for-performance, Crown Castle scores D (38/100) on the CEOPay rubric: Steven Moskowitz earned $8.0M in 2025 while the company posted a -23.0% three-year total shareholder return — meaning pay has outpaced shareholder returns. "Overpaid" is ultimately a judgment, but the grade puts the pay package next to the results it was meant to reward.
Source: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements, 2026.