The takeaway
Crown Castle shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in May (+3.0%) and softest in September (−3.6%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 60% of years, averaging +1.5%, roughly 0.7 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
Crown Castle's most dependable month has been May, higher in 8 of 10 years; September has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in March (+3.4 pts); it has trailed the market most in September (−3.4 pts).
“vs S&P” is Crown Castle’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Crown Castle’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, May has closed higher 60% of the time versus 80% across the last 10 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) May return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. May stands out, higher in 8 of 10 Mays, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+3.0%) and median (+4.1%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. It is among its calmest months, too, its returns swinging least from year to year (a 5.3% spread). Crucially, the gain is the stock's own rather than a rising tide's: May has cleared the S&P 500 by +2.2 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages May only about 55% of the time.
A few other months pull their weight: January, March, and July have also closed higher more often than not. At the other end of the calendar, September has been the soft spot — the weakest of 3 months that average a loss (−3.6%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in September, October, and April. Its roughest month on record was a −15.2% September in 2022 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
At its steadiest, May strung together 7 straight positive years. The pattern has softened of late, May's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: May aside, the stock's months offer little reliable tilt.
Short answers on the stock's best month (May), its worst (September), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (May, +3.0%) has run well ahead of its worst (September, −3.6%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
May has been the strongest, averaging +3.0% and closing higher in 8 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −3.6% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade