CCI vs TDS Stock Comparison

Crown Castle and Telephone & Data Systems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CCI Crown Castle Inc.
$87.56 +29.1% 1M -11.1% 1Y
Market cap
$37.65B
P/E
45.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.08B
Div. yield
-0.06%
Tower REITs Real Estate
1 win

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Telephone & Data Systems leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Telephone & Data Systems 7, Crown Castle 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCCITDSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $37.65B $4.13B CCI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.8x 11.8x TDS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 43.3x 9.1x TDS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.3% +3.8% TDS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 27.7% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.8x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield -0.06% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.1% -8.3% TDS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.3%/yr +13.9%/yr TDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.2% 30.7% TDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 34/100 58/100 TDS

Percentile Scorecard

CCITDS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCCITDS
Valuation 60 #5 of 11 52 #24 of 49
Growth 0 #10 of 10 59 #19 of 45
Profitability 67 #4 of 10 57 #20 of 45
Financial Health 10 #10 of 11 98 #2 of 49
Shareholder Returns – 22 #29 of 37
Overall 34 58
  • CCI ranked among 11 companies in Infrastructure REITs
  • TDS ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCCITDSSPY
1 month +29.1%-0.5% -0.8%
3 months +18.2%+6.0% +3.5%
6 months +4.9%-19.1% +7.0%
Year to date -1.5%-13.0% +12.2%
1 year -11.1%-8.3% +13.0%
3 years -2.6%+100.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year -0.9%+26.1% +23.1%
5 years -50.9%+91.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -13.3%+13.9% +11.0%
10 years -5.4%+36.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.6%+3.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCCITDSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.2%30.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.5%30.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.190.51 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.32-0.27 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -68.3%-68.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.3%-25.0% -1.8%
52-week high $97.60$47.59 $779.14
52-week low $66.11$32.96 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCCITDS
P/E now vs peer median 46.1xmedian 24.3x 11.7xmedian 11.8x
P/S now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 6.4x 3.3xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 15.8x 3.2xmedian 6.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 18.4x -9.7xmedian 5.7x
P/B now vs peer median -10.9xmedian 2.3x 0.8xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median -2.42median 0.72 0.15median 0.24

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCCITDS
Revenue $4.08B $1.26B
Gross profit – $746.62M
Operating income $1.92B $465.89M
Net income $822.00M $544.60M
Free cash flow – -$424.28M
EPS (diluted) $1.89 $3.00
Cash & equivalents $133.00M $2.19B
Total debt – $680.09M
Shares (diluted) 434.00M 116.29M
Enterprise value $37.65B -$1.13B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCCITDS
P/E 46.1x 11.7x
P/FCF 11.9x -9.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.6x 30.7x
P/S 9.1x 3.3x
P/B -10.9x 0.8x
P/Tangible book -10.3x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA – 3.2x
EV/EBIT – 5.6x
EV/Revenue 9.1x 2.1x
EV/FCF – -6.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.6x 19.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.42 0.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCCITDS
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.3% 3.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -16.7% -38.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 9.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -35.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -9.4% 360.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 161.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 117.8% 1,371%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 174.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 117.9% 413.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.1% 77.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -30.7% -88.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.8% -47.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -139.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -8.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCCITDS
Gross margin – 59.4%
EBITDA margin – 65.4%
Operating margin – 37.0%
Pretax margin – 61.4%
Net margin – 27.7%
FCF margin – -33.7%
Operating cash flow margin 52.0% 10.6%
Return on equity – 10.0%
Return on assets 8.1% 6.4%
Return on invested capital – 6.6%
Return on capital employed – 6.1%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 0.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCCITDS
Debt / assets – 8.1%
Debt / equity – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.8x
Debt / FCF – -1.6x
Liabilities / assets 116.6% 35.6%
Equity / assets -16.6% 64.4%
Interest coverage – 6.1x
Current ratio 0.2x 3.8x
Quick ratio – 3.7x
Cash ratio – 3.6x
Altman Z-score – 1.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCCITDS
Dividend yield 4.8% 0.4%
Net buyback yield – –
Shareholder yield 4.8% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 281.1% 16.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -20.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 26.9% 0.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.4% -16.6%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCCITDS
Forward P/E 43.3xFY2026 9.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.02FY2026 $3.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +100.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +44.6% -94.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.82BFY2026 $1.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -10.3%FY2026 +7.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.5% -8.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCCITDS
Held by institutions 97.7% 92.5%
Institutions holding 930 348
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +5.4%
Institutions buying 438 182
Institutions selling 377 113
Buyers to sellers 1.16 1.61

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CCITDS
CCI 1.00 0.25
TDS 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CCI and TDS?

Crown Castle (CCI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Crown Castle (CCI) $37.65B, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) $4.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, CCI and TDS?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Crown Castle (CCI) 45.8x, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 11.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) is cheapest (Crown Castle (CCI) 43.3x, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 9.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Crown Castle (CCI) -5.3%, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +3.8%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) returned the most: Crown Castle (CCI) -11.1%, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) -8.3%. Over five years, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) compounded fastest (Crown Castle (CCI) -13.3%/yr, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) +13.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Crown Castle (CCI) -0.06%, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 0.02%. Crown Castle (CCI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) has been the steadiest (Crown Castle (CCI) 35.2%, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) 30.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CCI and TDS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.25, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CCI and TDS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.