CDNL vs STRL: How Cardinal Infrastructure Group and Sterling Infrastructure Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: STRL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CDNL and STRL share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CDNL and STRL exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group (Nasdaq: CDNL) is a civil contracting and site development company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its crews handle what the industry calls wet utilities (water, sewer and stormwater installation) plus grading, site clearing, erosion control, drilling and blasting, and paving for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers concentrated in the southeastern United States. The work sits at the very front of the construction sequence, which means Cardinal's volume tracks how many subdivisions, distribution centers, data centers and municipal upgrades are actually breaking ground in states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. The company employs roughly 1,480 people and came public in December 2025.

Full CDNL guide

Sterling Infrastructure is a specialty infrastructure construction company organized around three segments. E-Infrastructure Solutions provides site development for data centers, distribution centers, e-commerce fulfillment facilities, and other large industrial sites. Transportation Solutions provides heavy civil construction for highways, bridges, ports, and aviation. Building Solutions provides concrete services for residential and commercial construction.

Full STRL guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CDNL drivers: Sun Belt population and construction migration; Backlog conversion.
• STRL drivers: Data center site development; Reshoring industrial site development.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The valuation is the loudest risk: roughly 5 to 6 times trailing revenue is a growth-software-style multiple applied to a business that digs trenches, and contractors historically trade at a fraction of that. For STRL, customer concentration in hyperscaler data center work.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CDNL if you believe its drivers more; STRL if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CDNL and STRL guides.

CDNL. Trailing GAAP net income is slightly negative (around negative $1.2 million) because of IPO-period and acquisition-related charges, so adjusted EBITDA and the forward multiple are what most coverage anchors on. Management raised 2026 revenue guidance to roughly $675 million to $685 million, which implies continued growth well above what the engineering and construction sector normally delivers. The gap between that growth rate and a typical contractor valuation is the entire argument on this stock.

STRL. Sterling trades at a premium to traditional construction reflecting the data center and reshoring exposure. The multiple has expanded with the AI infrastructure thesis. Smaller market cap creates higher volatility than larger infrastructure peers.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CDNL shows revenue (ttm) ~$542 million, up ~69% year over year, fy2025 revenue ~$456 million, up ~45% from ~$315 million, fy2025 adjusted ebitda ~$81.5 million, up ~44%, q1 2026 revenue / net income ~$167.5 million / ~$11.5 million; STRL shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.5 billion, operating margin ~12% (improving with mix), net income (ttm) ~$250 million, eps (ttm) ~$8.00.

CDNL and STRL are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CDNL and STRL exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.