SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › BAC vs CCI

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs Crown Castle Inc. (CCI): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-09-17, BAC is undervalued at $58, with a DCF intrinsic value of $142 and a margin of safety of 59%. CCI is fairly valued at $73, with an intrinsic value of $76 and a margin of safety of 4%. Of the two, BAC has the wider margin of safety.

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$57.70
VS
CCI
Crown Castle Inc.
$72.95

Rewards

BAC
  • ★Bank of America Corporation scores 100/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with revenue predictability as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.90 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
CCI
  • ★Gross margin of 73.7% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 22.4% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★FCF yield of 9.0% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.

Risks

BAC
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
CCI
  • ⚠Despite buyback spending, shares outstanding increased in 3 out of 4 years — stock-based compensation is offsetting repurchases.
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 8.3x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.03 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
BAC
CCI
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$2.88B
N/A
FCF Yield
9.02%
13.32
Trailing P/E
29.78
10.90
Forward P/E
25.27
Quality & Moat
4.37%
ROIC
6.58%
11.20%
ROE
N/A
0.00%
Gross Margin
73.73%
0.90
PEG Ratio
0.58
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Net Debt / Equity
N/A
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
8.31
2.21%
Dividend Yield
5.80%
BAC: 2Ties: 1CCI: 4
BACCCI

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
BAC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

CCI

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
BAC
$2.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$55.63B
Δ Market Cap
+$131.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
CCI
N/A
Net losses over 3 years — test not applicable
Company had negative cumulative retained earnings
Σ Retained
$-9.49B
Δ Market Cap
$-20.03B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

Learn more →
BAC
59.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 59.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $57.70
Fair Value: $142.10
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
CCI
4.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 4.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $72.95
Fair Value: $76.33
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

CCI

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $73?

+22.0%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +6.9%

The market implies +22.0% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +6.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
BAC
100/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by revenue predictability. Reinvestment Efficiency is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
CCI
44/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
BAC
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
CCI
-2.67
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone
Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

Learn more →
BAC
Insiders 7.0%Institutions 71.3%Retail & Other 21.7%
No. of Institutional Holders4,542
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
CCI
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 101.8%
No. of Institutional Holders1,367
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

Learn more →
BAC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
CCI
0
Buys (3M)
1
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $73,997
STEPHENS KEVIN A
Director
$73,997
@ $90.24 · 2026-05-05
STEPHENS KEVIN A
Director
$39,243
@ $103.27 · 2025-05-09
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
BAC
0
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 2026-03-05
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
ATHANASIA DEAN C
President
$6.86M
@ $50.21 · 2026-03-03
BORTHWICK ALASTAIR M.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.42M
@ $50.24 · 2026-02-27
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
CCI
1
Sells (3M)
6
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $3.97M
COLLINS ROBERT SEAN
Officer
$113,835
@ $75.89 · 2026-08-07
COLLINS ROBERT SEAN
Officer
$262,470
@ $87.49 · 2026-02-27
ADAMS EDWARD B JR
General Counsel
$401,481
@ $86.34 · 2026-02-25
LEVENDOS CHRISTOPHER DAVID
Officer
$150,094
@ $79.71 · 2026-02-06
LEVENDOS CHRISTOPHER DAVID
Officer
$100,094
@ $93.98 · 2025-10-28
SCHLANGER DANIEL K
Officer
$2.94M
@ $98.08 · 2025-10-24
SCHLANGER DANIEL K
Chief Executive Officer
$1.59M
@ $105.80 · 2025-08-08
LEVENDOS CHRISTOPHER DAVID
Officer
$149,961
@ $105.83 · 2025-08-06
COLLINS ROBERT SEAN
Officer
$384,192
@ $106.72 · 2025-05-02
LEVENDOS CHRISTOPHER DAVID
Officer
$300,389
@ $106.90 · 2025-05-02
ADAMS EDWARD B JR
General Counsel
$850,960
@ $106.37 · 2025-05-02
SCHLANGER DANIEL K
Chief Executive Officer
$2.13M
@ $106.38 · 2025-05-02
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

Learn more →
BAC
FearGreed
😐Neutral(53/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
CCI
FearGreed
😨Fear(39/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

Learn more →
BAC
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (53)
CCI
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (39)
View BAC Full AnalysisView CCI Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: BAC vs CCI

Is Bank of America Corporation or Crown Castle Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, BAC trades at a 59.4% margin of safety (intrinsic value $142 vs. price $58), compared to CCI's 4.4% margin of safety (intrinsic $76 vs. $73).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, Bank of America Corporation or Crown Castle Inc.?▼

BAC scores 100/100 (Wide moat), while CCI scores 44/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is Crown Castle Inc. in financial distress?▼

CCI's Altman Z-Score of 0.0 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. BAC scores 0.2 (Distress zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Bank of America Corporation or Crown Castle Inc.?▼

CCI earns 6.6% ROIC versus BAC's 4.4%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, Bank of America Corporation's or Crown Castle Inc.'s?▼

BAC's dividend earns a safety score of 79/100 (Safe), compared to CCI's 30/100 (Unsafe). BAC has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.