Lumen Technologies (LUMN) Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference summary

Strategic transformation and industry innovation

• Pivoted to create a platform for enterprise networking tailored for AI, enabling real-time, anywhere-to-anywhere data movement to support AI ambitions.

• Developed a programmable, orchestration-driven network that is agnostic to underlying fiber and integrates with multiple clouds and technology partners.

• Shifted from selling physical circuits to delivering business outcomes, engaging directly with CIOs and CTOs to address real-time needs in sectors like healthcare, banking, and retail.

• Centralized security and policy management through cloud-based orchestration, reducing hardware costs and enabling instant deployment.

• Acquired Alkira to enhance orchestration capabilities, expanding TAM by $47 billion and enabling global, carrier-agnostic data movement.

Business model evolution and financial outlook

• Transitioned to on-demand, consumption-based services, disrupting traditional telco models and enabling flexible, scalable connectivity.

• Expanded global reach by making the platform agnostic to fiber ownership, allowing services to run on any network and supporting multinational enterprises.

• Fiber network expected to grow from 12 million to 58 million miles by 2031, with significant capacity reserved for enterprise customers.

• On track to stabilize free cash flow, achieve EBITDA growth in 2026, and return to positive revenue growth in the business segment by 2028.

• Strategic revenue, now 53% of total, grew 14% year-over-year, with a focus on harvesting legacy cost structures to fund digital growth.

Customer engagement and ecosystem development

• Majority of enterprises still view networking as a procurement function, but large enterprises are shifting to outcome-based engagements for AI use cases.

• Partnerships with technology firms like Commvault highlight the value of rapid, secure data movement and centralized management.

• Digital discoverability of DIA ports enables remote management, upselling of orchestration services, and high-margin growth from existing infrastructure.

• Popular upsells include on-demand connectivity, security services, multi-cloud gateways, and centralized orchestration, driving over 200% growth in digitized connectivity.

• Positioned to become the provider of choice for large multinational enterprises, supporting global AI ambitions.