Lumen Technologies reports solid second quarter 2026 results; digital transformation accelerates

Company advances its enterprise disruption strategy and growth conviction; closes Alkira acquisition to unlock digital revenue opportunity

DENVER -- Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN) today reported second quarter 2026 results demonstrating continued execution against its transformation strategy and progress toward the financial and operational goals outlined at Investor Day. During the quarter, Lumen delivered financial results in line with expectations, continued improving its business revenue mix, advanced simplification initiatives, and strengthened its digital platform strategy for enterprise customers operating in an AI-driven, multi-cloud world.

Among the company’s highlights from the quarter:

• Financial Performance: Delivered solid second quarter results with Strategic revenue increasing to approximately 53% of total business revenue, up from 51% in the first quarter.
• Operational Execution: Redeployed resources towards higher-growth, higher margin digital opportunities by rationalizing the product portfolio. Continue to deliver on Modernization and Simplification; further reducing internal systems complexity.
• Growth Pivot: On track towards full year guidance and long-term framework from Investor Day. Adoption of digital networking services is high, with more than 3,000 NaaS customers today and quarter-over-quarter growth across key usage metrics: new customer adoption up 22%, active ports up 34%, and active services up 29%.
• Alkira Acquisition: Closed the acquisition of Alkira, extending Lumen’s digital capabilities and helping enterprises connect clouds, sites, partners, and AI workloads more quickly and easily.

“Lumen is putting innovation back where it belongs - inside the network itself," said Lumen CEO Kate Johnson. "By embedding digital intelligence directly into the physical network layer, we’re delivering higher-impact business outcomes instead of competing on price alone. That’s a fundamentally different value proposition in enterprise networking, and a new chapter for Lumen customers and investors."

“Our second quarter results reflect continued execution against our financial objectives and ongoing momentum in the business. Strategic revenue increased to 53% of total business revenue, up from 51% in the first quarter, as customers increasingly adopt our digital networking solutions,” said Lumen President and CFO Chris Stansbury.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Reported revenues of $2.805 billion for the second quarter 2026
• Reported Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $971 million for the second quarter 2026 compared to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $570 million for the second quarter 2025
• Generated Free Cash Flow ¹ of $327 million for the second quarter 2026, excluding cash paid for Special Items ¹ of $258 million, compared to Free Cash Flow ¹ of $(209) million for the second quarter 2025, excluding cash paid for Special Items ¹ of $112 million
• Reported Net Loss of $(201) million for the second quarter 2026, compared to Net Loss of $(915) million for the second quarter 2025
• Reported diluted loss per share of $(0.20) for the second quarter 2026, compared to diluted loss per share of $(0.92) for the second quarter 2025. Excluding Special Items ¹, diluted loss per share was $(0.07) for the second quarter 2026, compared to $(0.03) diluted loss per share for the second quarter 2025
• Generated Adjusted EBITDA ¹ of $802 million for the second quarter 2026, compared to $877 million for the second quarter 2025, excluding the effects of Special Items ¹ of $204 million and $152 million, respectively