Not all infrastructure plays are created equal. And that might not be such a good thing for DycomIndustries (NYSE:DY).

A specialist in telecom infrastructure construction, the company is seeing good demand for new fiber. But the opportunities in telecom would seem to pale in comparison to the work that will eventually need to be done by electrical utilities. So while Dycom may not be so bad on its own merits, there might be better opportunities with ideas such as Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR), General Cable (NYSE:BGC), and ABB (NYSE:ABB).

Revenue actually dipped a bit (about 1%) in the company's fiscal first quarter. With lower revenue came lower margins, and the company saw net income drop about 31% from the year-ago level.

Major customers such as Verizon (NYSE:VZ), BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), and Sprint (NYSE:S) are still putting dollars to work in capital improvements, but timing can be lumpy. What's more, these are multiyear projects in many cases, subject to revision and alteration as companies' plans change.

It's not that I doubt that ventures like voice over Internet protocol or digital TV services from phone companies will come to be. It's just that I don't see it all necessarily making Dycom an interesting stock. From where I sit, it takes pretty aggressive cash flow growth assumptions to make the stock fairly valued, let alone a bargain.

Now, it's certainly possible that the company could exceed my somewhat modest expectations. But given that the company just talked down guidance for the second quarter, I'm not too worried about that coming to pass just yet.

For more constructive Takes:

Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).