Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.34 EPS

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The technology company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.34), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Lumen Technologies’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Lumen Technologies’ conference call:

• Alkira acquisition announced ($475M, expected close Q3) — will extend Lumen Connect into east‑west cloud interconnect (cloud‑to‑cloud & data‑center) and is expected to be financed with cash, neutral to margins near‑term but accretive as the platform scales.
• Balance sheet materially strengthened after the fiber‑to‑the‑home sale to AT&T (leverage below 4x, ~ $300M annual interest savings), and management raised 2026 free cash flow guidance to $1.9B–$2.1B after reclassifying transaction proceeds to operating cash flow.
• Strong NaaS adoption and meaningful customer wins — Q1 quarter‑over‑quarter: customer adoption +25%, active ports +35%, active services +32%, nearly 2,500 NaaS customers (30%+ repeat purchasers) and large enterprise deals (600‑site bank; 300‑site logistics) that validate demand for programmable networking.
• Quarterly financials were mixed: total revenue and results were in line with expectations but adjusted EBITDA fell to $849M (YoY decline) and digital revenue remains small at $37M, with special items (net -$430M) and a one‑time $596M gain from the divestiture affecting comparability.

Lumen Technologies Stock Performance

Lumen Technologies stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.38. 17,253,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,318,090. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 1.65. Lumen Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $3.37 and a fifty-two week high of $11.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diankha Linear sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.89, for a total transaction of $355,050.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 198,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,564,026.81. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathleen E. Johnson bought 78,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.35 per share, for a total transaction of $499,649.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 8,562,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,372,395.70. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lumen Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lumen Technologies by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 41,301 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 15,539 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Lumen Technologies by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 60,918 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,234 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lumen Technologies by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 71,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 16,736 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Lumen Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,143,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Lumen Technologies by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 62,928 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 7,177 shares during the period. 66.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LUMN. UBS Group increased their price target on Lumen Technologies from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lumen Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lumen Technologies from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lumen Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lumen Technologies from $5.50 to $7.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.25.

Trending Headlines about Lumen Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Lumen Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lumen announced it will acquire Alkira for $475 million in cash, adding a cloud-native control plane that expands its addressable market to roughly $70B and accelerates cloud‑to‑cloud and data‑center connectivity positioning for AI workloads. Lumen to acquire Alkira for $475 million
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue beat expectations ($2.90B vs. $2.83B est.) and management highlighted that strategic (digital/cloud) revenue now exceeds legacy for the first time — supporting the narrative of a transition to higher‑growth, higher‑value services. Lumen beats quarterly revenue estimates, to acquire Alkira
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a $1.9B–$2.1B 2026 free‑cash‑flow outlook and said leverage is coming down (below ~4x reported by some analysts), which supports balance‑sheet repair and future investment in the digital platform. Lumen outlines 2026 FCF outlook amid Alkira plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Lumen and partners filed to offer $1B of Senior Notes due 2037 and launch concurrent tender offers — this is capital‑markets activity to refinance and extend maturities; impact depends on pricing and use of proceeds. Senior notes offering and tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Lumen extended early participation/withdrawal deadlines on exchange offers for certain longer‑dated notes — procedural but worth watching for bondholder acceptance and refinancing outcomes. Extension of exchange offer deadlines
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing/measurement partnership: Teads expanded its integration with Lumen Research into CTV attention measurement — positive for product depth but likely modest near‑term revenue impact. Teads and Lumen Research CTV attention measurement
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed materially: Lumen reported a loss of ($0.47) vs. consensus around ($0.13)/($0.06), and sales were down ~8.9% YoY — the wider-than-expected loss prompted near‑term selling pressure in some coverage. Lumen stock slides on wider-than-expected Q1 loss
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain conflicted on valuation and the pace of the transformation; the profit miss increases near‑term execution risk until Alkira integration and margin benefits are realized. Analysts conflicted on Lumen

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

Lumen Technologies is a multinational technology company specializing in integrated network, edge cloud, security and collaboration services for enterprise and public sector clients. The company’s core offerings include high-capacity fiber and IP-based connectivity, managed edge computing solutions designed to accelerate applications and data processing closer to end users, and cybersecurity services ranging from DDoS protection to unified threat management. Through its unified portfolio, Lumen enables organizations to support digital transformation initiatives, modernize infrastructure and enhance operational resilience.

Leveraging one of the largest fiber footprints in North America, as well as infrastructure in Latin America and parts of Europe, Lumen connects customers across more than 60 countries.