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

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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: DY 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. DY 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 DY 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.

Dycom Industries, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is one of the largest specialty contractors serving US communications networks. Its crews engineer, build and maintain fiber-to-the-home networks, long-haul and middle-mile fiber routes, wireless sites and cable systems for carriers such as AT&T, Lumen, Comcast, Verizon and Charter, plus a growing set of hyperscale technology companies laying fiber between AI data centers. In December 2025 it closed the roughly $2.0 billion acquisition of Power Solutions, a Mid-Atlantic data center electrical contractor, which created a new Building Systems segment, and in fiscal Q2 2027 it added National Technology Integrators, a data center structured-cabling firm. Its fiscal year ends in late January.

Full DY 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.

• DY drivers: Fiber-to-the-home and rural broadband buildouts; Long-haul fiber for AI data centers.
• 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: Customer concentration is the structural risk: a handful of telecom carriers have historically supplied the majority of Dycom's revenue, so a capex cut, merger pause or vendor shift at one of them can move results quickly, as happened in 2018 and 2019. 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 DY 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 DY and MTZ guides.

DY. Dycom's valuation compressed sharply in 2026. In April the shares traded near 42x trailing GAAP earnings; by late October they were around 22x GAAP and ~15x adjusted, with the stock below both its 50-day (~$306) and 200-day (~$387) averages. Adjusted figures exclude acquisition amortization and deal costs, which became larger after Power Solutions, so the gap between GAAP and adjusted earnings is wider than before. Analysts' average target sits near $500 (Moderate Buy, 10 buys and 2 holds), though several firms cut targets after Q2. These figures are approximate and change daily.

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): DY shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.9 billion (fiscal Q2 2027 ~$2.01 billion, up ~46% year over year), adjusted eps (ttm) ~$16 (fiscal Q2 2027 ~$5.29 vs ~$4.70 consensus), p/e (trailing gaap / adjusted) ~22x / ~15x, market cap ~$6.8 billion (stock ~$225 in late October 2026, near its 52-week low); 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%.

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