Lumen Meets Q3 Revenue at $2.72B as AI Demand Boosts Strategic Sales 10%

Adjusted EBITDA was $715 million, beating analyst estimates of $688.3 million. The adjusted loss per share was $0.14, compared to the expected loss of $0.24. Operating margin stood at -6.2%, compared to -3.8% a year earlier.

Lumen expects full-year EBITDA of around $3.2 billion, in line with market expectations. CFO Chris Stansbury said the company still aims to return to overall revenue growth by 2028.

Lumen shares fell to $3.98 from $4.47 before the results, giving the company a market capitalisation of $4.10 billion.

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Lumen met Wall Street's revenue expectations in the third quarter of 2026. CEO Kate Johnson said demand for flexible networks that support AI workloads and faster data movement is growing among businesses.

She added that sales of strategic services, including AI-related network services and digital platforms, helped increase strategic revenue by 10% year over year. These services now make up most of Lumen's business.

Lumen reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.72 billion, down 12.1% year over year and slightly below analyst expectations of $2.73 billion. Its adjusted loss per share was $0.14, better than the expected loss of $0.24. Adjusted EBITDA reached $715 million beating analyst estimates of $688.3 million.

The company expects full-year EBITDA of around $3.2 billion, in line with market expectations. Its operating margin was -6.2%, compared to -3.8% in the same quarter last year. Lumen's market capitalisation stood at $4.10 billion.

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