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

Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) vs Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

CCI
Crown Castle Inc.
$85.07
VS
GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
$307.13

Rewards

CCI
  • ★Gross margin of 74.1% 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.
  • ★Trailing P/E of 33.8x is 35% below the historical average of 51.8x — potentially undervalued relative to its own history.
GOOGL
  • ★Alphabet Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★Alphabet Inc. scores 89/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.

Risks

CCI
  • ⚠Despite buyback spending, shares outstanding increased in 3 out of 4 years — stock-based compensation is offsetting repurchases.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 7.8% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • ⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 10.6x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.
GOOGL
  • ⚠FCF yield of 2.0% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
CCI
GOOGL
Valuation
$2.88B
Free Cash Flow
$73.27B
7.75%
FCF Yield
1.97%
33.76
Trailing P/E
28.41
28.80
Forward P/E
22.88
Quality & Moat
5.61%
ROIC
20.83%
N/A
ROE
31.83%
74.09%
Gross Margin
59.65%
N/A
PEG Ratio
0.91
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Debt / Equity
0.16
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
10.61
Net Debt / EBITDA
-0.40
5.00%
Dividend Yield
0.27%
CCI: 3Ties: 1GOOGL: 5
CCIGOOGL

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
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.

GOOGL

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
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
GOOGL
$9.18
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$288.67B
Δ Market Cap
+$2.65T
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 →
CCI
Insufficient Data
Enter initial FCF to calculate intrinsic value
Current Price: $85.07
Fair Value: $0.00
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
GOOGL
20.0% Margin of Safety
Price is 20.0% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $307.13
Fair Value: $384.04
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
CCI

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $85?

+35.8%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.7%

The market implies +35.8% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.7%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

GOOGL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $307?

+12.1%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +20.2%

The market implies +12.1% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +20.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
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.
GOOGL
89/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. 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.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
CCI
-2.70
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.
GOOGL
-2.92
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.

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 →
CCI
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 99.4%Retail & Other 0.4%
No. of Institutional Holders1,465
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.
GOOGL
Insiders 0.6%Institutions 80.8%Retail & Other 18.6%
No. of Institutional Holders7,206
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 →
CCI
0
Buys (3M)
1
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $39,243
STEPHENS KEVIN A
Director
$39,243
@ $103.27 · 2025-05-09
GENRICH JASON
Director
$12,680
@ $108.38 · 2024-04-02
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
GOOGL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
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 →
CCI
3
Sells (3M)
11
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $9.26M
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
SCHLANGER DANIEL K
Chief Executive Officer
$2.13M
@ $106.38 · 2025-05-02
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
KAVANAGH MICHAEL JOSEPH
Officer
$1.13M
@ $103.72 · 2024-07-23
PATEL SUNIT S
Director
$4,150
@ $98.81 · 2024-05-09
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
GOOGL
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
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 →
CCI
FearGreed
😨Fear(37/100)

"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.
GOOGL
FearGreed
😐Neutral(60/100)

"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.

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 →
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 (37)
GOOGL
⚪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 (60)
View CCI Full AnalysisView GOOGL Full Analysis