Crown Castle vs. Healthpeak: Which High-Yield REIT Has More Dividend Room?

Crown Castle and Healthpeak Properties both offer high dividend yields, but the source of each payout is different. Crown Castle is rebuilding around U.S. towers after selling its fiber and small-cell businesses. Healthpeak is leaning on healthcare property cash flows, acquisitions and a comparatively lower payout ratio.

The comparison favors Healthpeak on current dividend coverage, while Crown Castle offers a cleaner post-sale balance sheet and a more concentrated tower business.

Crown Castle is growing into its payout

Crown Castle's second-quarter 2026 site-rental revenue fell 4% to $967 million as Sprint cancellations and DISH terminations continued to roll through its portfolio. Adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, still increased to $1.13 a share from $1.02 because interest expense fell and interest income rose after the company received $8.4 billion of net proceeds from selling its fiber and small-cell operations.

The quarterly dividend was $1.0625 a share, only slightly below quarterly AFFO. That narrow cushion explains why the original comparison estimated a 2026 payout ratio near 93%, down from 109% in 2025. Crown Castle's outlook already includes an estimated $220 million effect from DISH non-renewals, so the key question is whether tower leasing growth can take over as those contract losses fade.

Healthpeak has more room, but different risks

Healthpeak's annualized dividend was $1.22 a share, paid in monthly installments of $0.10167. The healthcare REIT raised its 2026 adjusted FFO guidance in August to $1.73 to $1.77 a share and increased its same-store cash NOI outlook.

Using the $1.75 midpoint, the dividend equals about 70% of adjusted FFO guidance. That is a wider cushion than Crown Castle's current coverage, although FFO and AFFO are company-defined non-GAAP measures and are not perfectly interchangeable.

Healthpeak also had $3.4 billion of liquidity as of August 3 after using joint-venture proceeds to repay debt. Its risks are tied to healthcare real estate: tenant strength, senior-housing operations, laboratory demand and reimbursement policy. Crown Castle's risks are more concentrated in carrier spending, tenant cancellations and execution as a standalone tower company.

The investor choice

Healthpeak offers the stronger dividend cushion and a lower valuation in the original analysis, but it also carries more property-type complexity. Crown Castle's payout is tighter, yet its asset sale reduced financial pressure and left a simpler business.

For income investors prioritizing immediate coverage, Healthpeak has the clearer advantage. Crown Castle becomes more compelling if tower organic growth improves after the known Sprint and DISH headwinds, because even modest operating recovery would create more room beneath its dividend.