Crown Castle International Corp vs MPLX LP — how do they compare? Crown Castle International Corp trades at $79.21 (market cap $34.50B), while MPLX LP trades at $56.58 (market cap $57.34B). The key difference: MPLX LP is the larger of the two by market cap, and MPLX LP pays the higher dividend (7.62%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CCI | MPLX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $34.50B | $57.34B |
Sector | Real Estate | Technology |
52-Week High | $113.91 | $59.17 |
52-Week Low | $74.92 | $47.80 |
Enterprise Value | $64.33B | $81.97B |
Dividend Yield | 5.38% | 7.62% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Crown Castle (CCI) trades at $79.84, up 0.23% on the day, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed Q1 2026 earnings, missing EPS estimates, but maintains strong profitability with a 73.82% gross margin. Recent news highlights its pure-play U.S. tower focus and upcoming Q2 2026 earnings call on July 22, 2026.
CCI presents a turnaround opportunity with analyst consensus targeting $97.33, implying 22% upside, but faces risks from high debt levels and volatile earnings. The stock's negative equity and bearish technicals warrant caution despite attractive dividend yield and cost reduction initiatives.
MPLX trades at $57.21, up 0.46% today, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and a consensus price target of $60.60. The company reported strong profitability with a 41.24% net income margin and robust cash flow from operations of $5.91B in 2025. Recent earnings showed beats in Q3 and Q4 2025 but a miss in Q1 2026, with Q2 2026 results pending. A dividend of $1.08 was declared for H1-26, reinforcing income appeal.
The stock presents a compelling value with a P/E of 12.23 and high analyst buy consensus (71.43%), though risks include earnings volatility and high debt-to-asset ratio of 90.06%. Upside is supported by stable midstream operations and Permian Basin exposure, but investors should monitor Q2 2026 earnings for growth sustainability.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Crown Castle International owns and leases roughly 40,000 cell towers in the United States. It also owns more than 85,000 route miles of fiber. It leases space on its towers to wireless service providers, which install equipment on the towers to support their wireless networks. The company's fiber is primarily leased by wireless service providers to set up small-cell network infrastructure and by enterprises for their internal connection needs. Crown Castle's towers and fiber are predominantly located in the largest U.S. cities. The company has a very concentrated customer base, with more than 70% of its revenue coming from the big three U.S. mobile carriers. Crown Castle operates as a real estate investment trust.
Read more on CCI →MPLX LP is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) formed by Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC). It is a diversified, growth-oriented company primarily engaged in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), as well as the transportation, storage, and distribution of crude oil and refined petroleum products. MPLX owns and operates a network of midstream energy infrastructure assets, providing essential services to the energy industry across the United States.
Read more on MPLX →