CTRI vs MTZ: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 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: MTZ 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. CTRI and MTZ 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 CTRI and MTZ 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.

Centuri Holdings (NYSE: CTRI) is a utility infrastructure services company operating across the United States and Canada through four segments: U.S. Gas Utility Services, Canadian Operations, Union Electric Utility Services and Non-Union Electric Utility Services. Its crews replace aging gas distribution pipe, build and maintain electric distribution and transmission lines, and handle related industrial and energy work under brands including NPL, Linetec, Riggs Distler and the recently acquired J.J. White. Roughly 80% to 85% of its backlog sits under multi-year master service agreements with regulated utilities, which makes a large share of the revenue recurring maintenance and replacement work rather than one-off construction. The company was carved out of Southwest Gas Holdings in an April 2024 IPO, and Southwest Gas sold its last shares in September 2025, so Centuri is now fully independent.

Full CTRI guide

MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) is a Coral Gables, Florida based engineering and construction firm that builds and maintains large-scale infrastructure across four segments: Communications (wireless and wireline/fiber), Power Delivery (utility transmission and distribution), Pipeline Infrastructure (natural gas installation and maintenance), and Clean Energy and Infrastructure (renewables engineering, construction, and heavy civil). The company works for utilities, telecom carriers, energy operators, and government customers, and grows both organically and through acquisitions such as the roughly $1.65 billion Superior Group deal, which closed in July 2026 and adds electrical contracting for data centers and other critical facilities.

Full MTZ guide

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

• CTRI drivers: Utility capital spending on aging networks; Electric grid work and load growth.
• MTZ drivers: Record backlog and demand acceleration; Grid, data-center, and electrification tailwinds.

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 central risk is that revenue keeps growing without margin following: adjusted EBITDA rose ~5% on ~33% revenue growth in the June 2026 quarter, pressured by fuel and startup costs on new work. For MTZ, masTec is cyclical and project-based, so revenue and margins can swing with customer capital budgets, permitting delays, weather, and the timing of large contracts.

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 CTRI if you believe its drivers more; MTZ 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 CTRI and MTZ guides.

CTRI. The trailing P/E near 60 and forward P/E near 20 describe the same fact from two angles: today's earnings are tiny relative to revenue, and the multiple only looks ordinary if the margin plan works. At $19.80 on October 16, 2026 the shares sit just above the bottom of a 52-week range of $18.79 to $42.99, and the six-analyst mean target is about $28.50. Third-quarter results are due November 4, 2026, with consensus EPS of about $0.24 on ~$1.03B of revenue, against full year 2026 guidance of revenue of ~$3.59B to ~$3.79B and adjusted EBITDA of ~$285M to ~$310M.

MTZ. The steep autumn decline has reset the multiple: at ~$190 on October 16, 2026 MasTec trades near 30 times trailing earnings and about 15 times consensus 2027 EPS of ~$12.38, versus a trailing P/E in the 60s when this page was first written, and at under 1 times sales. Management's raised guidance of about $9.30 of 2026 adjusted EPS has not changed, so the debate has moved to cash conversion and debt after negative first-half free cash flow and the Superior Group purchase. Third quarter results on October 29, 2026 (consensus ~$2.97 EPS on ~$4.94 billion revenue) are the next data point.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CTRI shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.39B, q2 2026 revenue ~$962M, up ~33% year over year, q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$76M, up ~5%, margins (gross / operating / net) ~7.8% / ~2.8% / ~0.9%; MTZ shows revenue (ttm) ~$16.1B, q2 2026 revenue ~$4.4B (up ~23% YoY), q2 2026 adjusted eps ~$2.22 (vs ~$2.23 est.), operating / net margin (ttm) ~5.4% / ~3.1%.

CTRI and MTZ 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 CTRI and MTZ exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.