HOUSTON (AP) _ Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Houston, said it had funds from operations of $593 million, or $1.42 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.49 per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $157 million, or 38 cents per share.

The operator of wireless communications towers, based in Houston, posted revenue of $1.42 billion in the period, also falling short of Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.45 billion.

Crown Castle expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $6.06 to $6.17 per share.

The company's shares have increased 11% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has fallen 9%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $157.21, a climb of 27% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CCI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CCI

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News