Crown Castle International Corp vs NRG Energy Inc — how do they compare? Crown Castle International Corp trades at $79.28 (market cap $34.50B), while NRG Energy Inc trades at $138.77 (market cap $29.19B). The key difference: Crown Castle International Corp is the larger of the two by market cap, and Crown Castle International Corp pays the higher dividend (5.38%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CCI | NRG | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $34.50B | $29.19B |
Sector | Real Estate | Utilities |
52-Week High | $113.91 | $184.03 |
52-Week Low | $74.92 | $120.65 |
Enterprise Value | $64.33B | $53.02B |
Dividend Yield | 5.38% | 1.37% |
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.
No Aura AI signal available yet.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →NRG Energy is one of the largest retail energy providers in the U.S., with 7 million customers, including its 2021 acquisition of Direct Energy. It also is one of the largest U.S. independent power producers, with 16 gigawatts of nuclear, coal, gas, and oil power generation capacity primarily in Texas. Since 2018, NRG has divested its 47% stake in NRG Yield, among other renewable energy and conventional generation investments. NRG exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a stand-alone entity in December 2003.
Read more on NRG →