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Lumen Technologies

LUMN
16
Telecommunications Services · Communication Services
Price
$5.94
-0.07 (-1.16%)
Market Cap
$6.12B
Winston Score
16
Winston is worried
Weak fundamentals across most pillars.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Weak
Valuation
Data not available

Share count falling — buybacks

6.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 1.07B (2021) → 994.5M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Lumen Technologies is a large American telecommunications company that sells internet, networking, and phone services. Its main customers are other businesses and government agencies, not everyday consumers. Lumen owns a massive network of fiber-optic cables that runs across the United States and connects to other countries.

Lumen makes money by charging businesses monthly fees to use its network for things like moving large amounts of data, connecting office locations, and hosting cloud services. The company operates primarily in the U.S. but has some international reach. Lumen carries a very heavy debt load from past acquisitions, which is its biggest challenge — the negative operating margin and negative return on invested capital reflect that the business is currently spending more than it earns. The key question going forward is whether growing demand for high-speed network capacity, especially from AI-driven data traffic, can help Lumen reverse its revenue decline and manage its debt obligations.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-9.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+78.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (12%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

7.9%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$1.9B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Lumen Technologies's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
0.0%
Thin — 0.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-3.1%
Losing money on operations — -3.1%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
-1.6%
Weak — -1.6% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
-7.7%
Shrinking sales (-7.7% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
7.1%
Modest free cash flow (7.1%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.17
Elevated debt (1.17)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
N/A
Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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