Intangible Assets, Goodwill and Other

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $5.0 billion related to the goodwill associated with its Fiber segment, which represents a reporting unit for purposes of evaluating goodwill, which resulted in no goodwill remaining for the Fiber reporting unit.

Management performed its annual goodwill impairment test in the fourth quarter of 2024. The means of estimating the fair value of the Company’s reporting units is using discounted cash flow ("DCF") models developed by management. Key assumptions and estimates used in the DCF models included projected future revenues, operating cash flows, capital expenditures (net of certain payments received from customers), an exit multiple and a discount rate. With respect to the Towers reporting unit, there was no indication of impairment following the quantitative assessment, as the estimated fair value was well in excess of the corresponding carrying amount.

The quantitative impairment test indicated that the carrying amount of the Company's Fiber reporting unit exceeded its estimated fair value. The impairment was due to a number of factors, one of which was a reduction in management’s assumptions for long-term revenue growth as actual demand, particularly related to small cells, has continued to be lower than previous expectations. In the face of this reduced demand, and consistent with the recently concluded operating review of the Fiber business, management implemented operational and strategic changes targeted at reducing future capital investment in the Fiber business by focusing primarily on colocation opportunities which require less capital expenditures than new-build opportunities. Although this more targeted strategy is focused on higher-return projects, the lower capital investment is expected to result in lower overall revenues and operating cash flows in the Fiber business. Following implementation of these changes, and consistent with the ongoing developments surrounding the Company's strategic review of its Fiber business, during the fourth quarter of 2024, management incorporated the anticipated impact of these changes in expectations into its long-term forecasts, which decreased the estimated fair value of the Fiber reporting unit. Additionally, management’s expectations regarding the terminal value of the projections decreased due to several factors, including lower operating cash flows forecasted by management in the terminal year as well as lower exit multiples derived from industry research firms' outlook reports, which management uses in its DCF models. Finally, changes in the macroeconomic environment, including elevated interest rates, resulted in an increase in the discount rate used in the valuation model, which had a negative impact on estimated fair value.

The impairment charges for the Fiber reporting unit are recorded in "Goodwill impairment charges" on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

The change in the carrying value of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows:


	Towers		Fiber		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2023	$	5,127	$	4,958	$	10,085
Impairment	—		(4,958)		(4,958)
Balance as of December 31, 2024	$	5,127	$	—	$	5,127

Intangible Assets

The following is a summary of the Company's intangible assets.


	As of December 31, 2024						As of December 31, 2023
	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization		Net Book Value		Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization		Net Book Value
Site rental contracts and tenant relationships	$	7,879	$	(5,152)	$	2,727	$	7,880	$	(4,758)	$	3,122
Other intangible assets	113		(59)		54		113		(56)		57
Total	$	7,992	$	(5,211)	$	2,781	$	7,993	$	(4,814)	$	3,179

Amortization expense related to intangible assets is classified as "Depreciation, amortization and accretion" on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss) and was $397 million, $447 million, and $446 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

The estimated annual amortization expense related to intangible assets for the years ending December 31, 2025 to 2029 is as follows:


	Years Ending December 31,
	2025		2026		2027		2028		2029
Estimated annual amortization	$	375	$	371	$	288	$	284	$	284