CTRI vs PWR: How Centuri Holdings and Quanta Services 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: CTRI 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 PWR 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 PWR 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

Quanta Services is the largest specialty contractor for electric power, oil and gas pipeline, and communications infrastructure in North America. The company designs and constructs the physical infrastructure that delivers electricity from generation to customers: transmission lines, distribution networks, substations, and increasingly renewable energy interconnections. Quanta also has a meaningful underground utility infrastructure business (water, sewer, gas pipelines) and a communications infrastructure business (broadband, fiber).

Full PWR 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.
• PWR drivers: Grid investment and AI data center load; Renewable energy interconnection.

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 PWR, utility regulatory cycles affect transmission and distribution capex pace.

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; PWR 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 PWR guides.

CTRI. The trailing P/E near 73 and forward P/E near 28 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. Shares traded around ~$22 in early August 2026 after a ~21% single-day drop on the Q2 report, against a 52-week range of roughly $19 to $43. Full year 2026 guidance was raised to revenue of ~$3.59B to ~$3.79B with adjusted EBITDA of ~$285M to ~$310M and adjusted net income of ~$60M to ~$75M.

PWR. Quanta trades at a premium reflecting the grid investment tailwind, the AI data center load growth narrative, and the structural labor moat. The multiple has expanded with recognition that utility capex is entering a generational increase to support AI and renewable interconnection.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): CTRI shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.4B, q2 2026 revenue ~$962M, up ~33% year over year, q2 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$76M, up ~5%, net income (ttm) ~$29M, ~0.9% net margin; PWR shows revenue (ttm) ~$25 billion, operating margin ~7% (cyclical and labor-intensive), net income (ttm) ~$1.2 billion, eps (ttm) ~$8.00.

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