Lumen Q4 2025 Lumen Technologies Inc Earnings Call | AllMind AI Earnings | AllMind AI
Q4 2025 Lumen Technologies Inc Earnings Call
Operator: Welcome to Lumen Technologies' Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. At that time, if you have a question, please press the star followed by 1 on your telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star 0. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Tuesday, 3 February 2026. Your speakers for today are Kate Johnson, CEO, and Chris Stansbury, CFO. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jim Breen, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Operator: Welcome to Lumen Technologies' Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. At that time, if you have a question, please press the star followed by 1 on your telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star 0.
Speaker #1: Welcome to Lumen Technologies’ fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question-and-answer session.
Speaker #1: At that time, if you have a question, please press the telephone. If at any time during the star followed by one on your conference you need to reach an operator, please press star zero.
Speaker #1: As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Your speakers for today are Kate Johnson, CEO, and Chris Stansbury, CFO. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jim Breen, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations.
Operator: As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Tuesday, 3 February 2026. Your speakers for today are Kate Johnson, CEO, and Chris Stansbury, CFO. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jim Breen, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Speaker #1: Please go ahead.
Speaker #2: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Lumen Technologies on today's call. On the call today are Kate Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Stansbury, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Jim Breen: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Lumen Technologies on today's call. On the call today are Kate Johnson, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Stansbury, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, this conference may include forward-looking statements subject to certain risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements and the risk factors in our SEC filings. We will be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures, reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures, which can be found in our earnings press release. In addition, certain metrics discussed today exclude costs for special items as detailed in our earnings materials, which can be found on our Investor Relations section of the Lumen website. With that, I'll turn it over to Kate.
Jim Breen: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Lumen Technologies on today's call. On the call today are Kate Johnson, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Stansbury, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, this conference may include forward-looking statements subject to certain risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements and the risk factors in our SEC filings.
Speaker #2: Before we begin this conference, may I include uncertainties? All forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements and the risk factors in our SEC filings.
Jim Breen: We will be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures, reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures, which can be found in our earnings press release. In addition, certain metrics discussed today exclude costs for special items as detailed in our earnings materials, which can be found on our Investor Relations section of the Lumen website. With that, I'll turn it over to Kate.
Speaker #2: We will be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures, which can be found in our earnings press release.
Speaker #2: In addition, certain metrics discussed today exclude costs for special items as detailed in our earnings materials, which can be found on our investor relations section of the Lumen website.
Speaker #2: With that, I'll turn it over to
Speaker #3: Thanks, Jim. And thanks, everybody, for joining the call. We had a
Kate Johnson: Thanks, Jim, and thanks everybody for joining the call. We had a great 2025, laying a solid foundation to execute our strategy to become the trusted network for AI. And of course, the big news is that yesterday we closed a transaction with AT&T. This marks a defining moment for Lumen, completing our pivot to become a simpler, stronger, enterprise-focused technology infrastructure company. The impact of the deal on our capital structure and financials is very significant. With the $4.8 billion in net proceeds and cash on hand, we've paid off all our super-priority bonds in the last 24 hours. Recall that in the last month, we also paid off our second lien debt. Our total debt now stands at less than $13 billion, and our net leverage has been reduced by a full turn, now below four times.
Kate Johnson: Thanks, Jim, and thanks everybody for joining the call. We had a great 2025, laying a solid foundation to execute our strategy to become the trusted network for AI. And of course, the big news is that yesterday we closed a transaction with AT&T. This marks a defining moment for Lumen, completing our pivot to become a simpler, stronger, enterprise-focused technology infrastructure company.
Speaker #3: great 2025, laying a Kate. to become the trusted network for AI. And of course, the big news is that yesterday we closed the transaction with AT&T.
Speaker #3: This marks a defining moment for Lumen. Completing our pivot to become a simpler, stronger, enterprise-focused technology infrastructure company. The impact of the deal on our capital structure and financials is very significant.
Kate Johnson: The impact of the deal on our capital structure and financials is very significant. With the $4.8 billion in net proceeds and cash on hand, we've paid off all our super-priority bonds in the last 24 hours. Recall that in the last month, we also paid off our second lien debt. Our total debt now stands at less than $13 billion, and our net leverage has been reduced by a full turn, now below four times.
Speaker #3: With the $4.8 billion in net proceeds and cash on hand, we've paid off all our super priority bonds in the last 24 hours, recall that in the last month we also paid off our second lien debt.
Speaker #3: Our total debt now stands at less than $13 billion, and our net leverage has been reduced by a full turn now below four activity has reduced our interest expense by roughly $500 million, or nearly times.
Kate Johnson: All of this capital markets activity has reduced our interest expense by roughly $500 million, or nearly 45% down from 2025 levels. Lastly, this divestiture reduces our annual CapEx by over $1 billion, driving a significant reduction in capital intensity as we stop fiber-to-the-home builds and focus our capital on building a digital network services company. Closing this transaction marks a new day for Lumen. We're focused on serving public and private enterprises as the trusted network for AI. Our 2025 results clearly demonstrate the power of this focus. We reported strong 2025 financial results for revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow. Our business revenue mix continues to improve with fourth-quarter North American enterprise revenue growth revenue totaling 52%, eclipsing nurture and harvest revenues. We continue to expect this trend to inflect our business revenue back to growth in 2028.
Kate Johnson: All of this capital markets activity has reduced our interest expense by roughly $500 million, or nearly 45% down from 2025 levels. Lastly, this divestiture reduces our annual CapEx by over $1 billion, driving a significant reduction in capital intensity as we stop fiber-to-the-home builds and focus our capital on building a digital network services company.
Speaker #3: 45% down from 2025 levels. And All of this capital markets lastly, this divestiture reduces our annual CapEx by over a billion dollars, driving a significant reduction in capital intensity as we stop fiber to the home builds and focus our capital on building a digital network services company.
Kate Johnson: Closing this transaction marks a new day for Lumen. We're focused on serving public and private enterprises as the trusted network for AI. Our 2025 results clearly demonstrate the power of this focus. We reported strong 2025 financial results for revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow. Our business revenue mix continues to improve with fourth-quarter North American enterprise revenue growth revenue totaling 52%, eclipsing nurture and harvest revenues. We continue to expect this trend to inflect our business revenue back to growth in 2028.
Speaker #3: Closing this transaction marks a new day for Lumen. We're focused on serving public and private enterprises as the trusted network for AI. In our 2025 results, we clearly demonstrate the power of this focus.
Speaker #3: We reported strong 2025 financial results for revenue EBITDA and free cash flow. Our business revenue mix continues to improve with fourth quarter North American enterprise revenue a grow revenue totaling $52%, eclipsing nurture and harvest revenues.
Speaker #3: We continue to expect this trend to inflect our business revenue back to growth in 2028. EBITDA was at the high end of our guidance range, which included the RDOF giveback in Q2, and free cash flow was solid even without the $400 million tax refund that is now expected to come in the first half of 2026.
Kate Johnson: EBITDA was at the high end of our guidance range, which included the RDOF give-back in Q2, and free cash flow was solid even without the $400 million tax refund that is now expected to come in the first half of 2026. We exceeded our increased target for cost reduction, ending the year at over $400 million in run-rate savings. Exiting 2026, we're targeting another $300 million of cost out, totaling $700 million run-rate savings, which positions us to hit our three-year $1 billion cost out target, as well as our expected EBITDA growth this year as previously guided. Also noteworthy, we had a banner performance in PCF sales in the fourth quarter. You may recall that just over 18 months ago, we announced our first $5.5 billion in PCF deals with a goal of reaching $12 billion over time.
Kate Johnson: EBITDA was at the high end of our guidance range, which included the RDOF give-back in Q2, and free cash flow was solid even without the $400 million tax refund that is now expected to come in the first half of 2026. We exceeded our increased target for cost reduction, ending the year at over $400 million in run-rate savings.
Speaker #3: We exceeded our increased target for cost reduction ending the year at over $400 million in run rate savings. Exiting 2026, we're targeting another $300 million of cost out, totaling $700 million run rate savings, which positions us to hit our three-year $1 billion cost out target as well as our expected EBITDA growth this year, as previously guided.
Kate Johnson: Exiting 2026, we're targeting another $300 million of cost out, totaling $700 million run-rate savings, which positions us to hit our three-year $1 billion cost out target, as well as our expected EBITDA growth this year as previously guided. Also noteworthy, we had a banner performance in PCF sales in the fourth quarter. You may recall that just over 18 months ago, we announced our first $5.5 billion in PCF deals with a goal of reaching $12 billion over time.
Speaker #3: Also noteworthy, we had a banner performance in PCF sales in the fourth quarter. You may recall that just over 18 months ago, we announced our first $5.5 billion in PCF deals with a goal of reaching of today, we are now at $12 billion over time.
Kate Johnson: As of today, we are now at nearly $13 billion with more deals in the pipeline. We had another strong quarter of growth in our NAS business. Rising ports per customer show that enterprises are starting to standardize on Lumen Fabric as their programmable network control plane for Cloud 2.0. Each additional port expands our platform economics by unlocking higher margin digital services revenue, accelerating cloud and AI on-ramp adoption, and deepening ecosystem network effects for Lumen and partner-delivered services. Lastly, we added two amazing new executives to our team: Jim Fowler, our new Chief Technology and Product Officer, who is uniquely suited to help us execute our vision, and Jeff Sherritz, our new Chief Revenue Officer, who is uniquely suited to help us drive commercial scale.
Kate Johnson: As of today, we are now at nearly $13 billion with more deals in the pipeline. We had another strong quarter of growth in our NAS business. Rising ports per customer show that enterprises are starting to standardize on Lumen Fabric as their programmable network control plane for Cloud 2.0. Each additional port expands our platform economics by unlocking higher margin digital services revenue, accelerating cloud and AI on-ramp adoption, and deepening ecosystem network effects for Lumen and partner-delivered services.
Speaker #3: nearly $13 billion, with more deals in the pipeline. And as And we had another strong quarter of growth in our NAS business, rising ports per customer show that enterprises are starting to standardize on the Lumen fabric as their programmable network control plane for Cloud 2.0.
Speaker #3: Platform economics by unlocking higher-margin digital services revenue, accelerating cloud and AI ecosystem network effects for on-ramp adoption, and deepening Lumen and partner-delivered—we added two amazing new services.
Kate Johnson: Lastly, we added two amazing new executives to our team: Jim Fowler, our new Chief Technology and Product Officer, who is uniquely suited to help us execute our vision, and Jeff Sherritz, our new Chief Revenue Officer, who is uniquely suited to help us drive commercial scale.
Speaker #3: executives to our team, Jim Fowler, our new Chief Technology and Product Lastly, us execute our vision, and Officer, who is uniquely suited to help Jeff Sharris, our new Chief Revenue Officer, who is uniquely suited to help us drive commercial scale.
Speaker #3: We're proud of the team we've built and all of their accomplishments throughout 2025. And we're pleased to see both the credit and equity markets rewarding the Lumen team for all of that work.
Kate Johnson: We're proud of the team we've built and all of their accomplishments throughout 2025, and we're pleased to see both the credit and equity markets rewarding the Lumen team for all of that work. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, I'd like to reiterate our belief that there's an urgent need for structural change in network architectures and business models to more closely align with customer needs in a multi-cloud, AI-first world. This is the investment thesis behind our three-pillar strategy as we build the backbone for AI, cloudify and agentify telecom, and expand our connected ecosystem. I'll briefly touch on each strategic imperative, starting with the backbone work. We successfully reached our 2025 goal of implementing 17 million intercity fiber miles.
Kate Johnson: We're proud of the team we've built and all of their accomplishments throughout 2025, and we're pleased to see both the credit and equity markets rewarding the Lumen team for all of that work. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, I'd like to reiterate our belief that there's an urgent need for structural change in network architectures and business models to more closely align with customer needs in a multi-cloud, AI-first world.
Speaker #3: Looking ahead to 26 and beyond, I'd like to reiterate our belief that there's an urgent need for structural change in network architectures and business models to more closely align with customer needs in a multi-cloud AI-first world.
Kate Johnson: This is the investment thesis behind our three-pillar strategy as we build the backbone for AI, cloudify and agentify telecom, and expand our connected ecosystem. I'll briefly touch on each strategic imperative, starting with the backbone work. We successfully reached our 2025 goal of implementing 17 million intercity fiber miles.
Speaker #3: This is the investment thesis behind our three-pillar strategy, as we build the backbone for AI, cloudify and agentify telecom, and expand our connected ecosystem.
Speaker #3: I'll briefly touch on each strategic imperative starting with the backbone work. We successfully reached our 2025 goal of implementing 17 million intercity fiber miles.
Speaker #3: The roughly $2.5 billion of new PCF deals that we inked in Q4 will raise our total network expansion to a whopping 58 million fiber miles in 2031, while simultaneously expanding our capacity for enterprise customers.
Kate Johnson: The roughly $2.5 billion of new PCF deals that we inked in Q4 will raise our total network expansion to a whopping 58 million fiber miles in 2031, while simultaneously expanding our capacity for enterprise customers. But as we've shared, our physical expansion is about more than just the number of fiber miles. It's also about giving customers bandwidth expansion, lightning-fast implementation timelines, rich data center interconnect, and investment in geographies where they need it most. And as we all know, every fiber mile isn't created equal. That's why we're investing significantly in three major network upgrades: building 400-Gig Rapid Route Waves across 36 routes with more on the way, enabling 400-Gig services for data centers across key markets, and focusing on metro expansion so that we connect the most needed routes, data centers, and cities across America.
Kate Johnson: The roughly $2.5 billion of new PCF deals that we inked in Q4 will raise our total network expansion to a whopping 58 million fiber miles in 2031, while simultaneously expanding our capacity for enterprise customers. But as we've shared, our physical expansion is about more than just the number of fiber miles. It's also about giving customers bandwidth expansion, lightning-fast implementation timelines, rich data center interconnect, and investment in geographies where they need it most.
Speaker #3: But as we've shared, our physical expansion is about more than just the number of fiber miles. It's also about giving customers bandwidth expansion, lightning-fast implementation timelines, rich data center interconnect, and investment in geographies where they need it most.
Kate Johnson: And as we all know, every fiber mile isn't created equal. That's why we're investing significantly in three major network upgrades: building 400-Gig Rapid Route Waves across 36 routes with more on the way, enabling 400-Gig services for data centers across key markets, and focusing on metro expansion so that we connect the most needed routes, data centers, and cities across America.
Speaker #3: And as we all know, every fiber mile isn't created equal. That's why we're investing significantly in three major network upgrades: building 400-gig rapid route waves across 36 routes, with more on the way; enabling 400-gig services for data centers across key markets; and focusing on metro expansion so that we connect the most needed routes, data centers, and cities across America.
Speaker #3: To support this work, we've expanded our partnership with Corning ensuring we have priority access to the newest state-of-the-art fiber technology delivering the AI backbone for today's and tomorrow's most important customers.
Kate Johnson: To support this work, we've expanded our partnership with Corning, ensuring we have priority access to the newest state-of-the-art fiber technology, delivering the AI backbone for today's and tomorrow's most important customers. In a world of Cloud 2.0, the largest tech companies are choosing Lumen to help construct the supply side of the AI economy. And that's because of our physical network prowess. Our network size, scale, and quality position us to provide superior performance on three key metrics emerging in the AI race: fastest time to first token, GPU idle time, and interconnect latency. What's more, as data centers begin to decentralize to accommodate energy supply constraints, our vast network provides valuable proximity. Together, our capital investments and PCF deals create a strategic competitive advantage, and we're expanding and upgrading our network alongside the most influential companies in the AI race, making it easier for enterprises to consume AI.
Kate Johnson: To support this work, we've expanded our partnership with Corning, ensuring we have priority access to the newest state-of-the-art fiber technology, delivering the AI backbone for today's and tomorrow's most important customers. In a world of Cloud 2.0, the largest tech companies are choosing Lumen to help construct the supply side of the AI economy. And that's because of our physical network prowess. Our network size, scale, and quality position us to provide superior performance on three key metrics emerging in the AI race: fastest time to first token, GPU idle time, and interconnect latency.
Speaker #3: In a world of Cloud 2.0, the largest tech companies are choosing Lumen to help construct the supply side of the AI economy, and that's because of our physical network prowess.
Speaker #3: Our network size, scale, and quality position us to provide superior performance on three key metrics emerging in the AI race: fastest time to first token, GPU idle time, and interconnect latency.
Speaker #3: What's more, as data centers begin to decentralize to accommodate energy supply constraints, our vast network provides valuable proximity. Together, our capital investments in PCF deals create a strategic competitive advantage, and we're expanding and upgrading our network alongside the most influential companies in the AI race.
Kate Johnson: What's more, as data centers begin to decentralize to accommodate energy supply constraints, our vast network provides valuable proximity. Together, our capital investments and PCF deals create a strategic competitive advantage, and we're expanding and upgrading our network alongside the most influential companies in the AI race, making it easier for enterprises to consume AI.
Speaker #3: Making it easier for enterprises to consume AI. And speaking of the consumption side of the economy, this is where businesses are recognizing that yesterday's network doesn't support AI and Cloud 2.0.
Kate Johnson: Speaking of the consumption side of the economy, this is where businesses are recognizing that yesterday's network doesn't support AI and Cloud 2.0. They need quick, secure, effortless, on-demand services to move their data from anywhere to anywhere in real time. That's why Lumen is cloudifying and agentifying the network. Think of it as building a programmable network platform that finally puts networking on par with compute and storage in the world of cloud. And our customers love it, as shown by another great quarter of adoption metrics. The number of active customers grew by 29% quarter-over-quarter. The number of NAS fiber ports deployed grew 31%, and the number of services sold grew 26% in that same period. Recall that in October, we announced NAS Internet on Demand, Offnet, and while it's still early, we believe Offnet growth significantly expands our addressable market for NAS services.
Kate Johnson: Speaking of the consumption side of the economy, this is where businesses are recognizing that yesterday's network doesn't support AI and Cloud 2.0. They need quick, secure, effortless, on-demand services to move their data from anywhere to anywhere in real time. That's why Lumen is cloudifying and agentifying the network. Think of it as building a programmable network platform that finally puts networking on par with compute and storage in the world of cloud.
Speaker #3: Quick, secure, effortless. They need on-demand services to move their data from anywhere to anywhere in real time. That's why Lumen is cloudifying and agentifying the network.
Speaker #3: Think of it as building a programmable network platform that finally puts networking on par with compute and storage in the world of cloud. And our customers love it.
Kate Johnson: And our customers love it, as shown by another great quarter of adoption metrics. The number of active customers grew by 29% quarter-over-quarter. The number of NAS fiber ports deployed grew 31%, and the number of services sold grew 26% in that same period. Recall that in October, we announced NAS Internet on Demand, Offnet, and while it's still early, we believe Offnet growth significantly expands our addressable market for NAS services.
Speaker #3: As shown by another great quarter of adoption metrics, the number of active customers grew by 29% quarter over quarter, the number of NAS fiber ports deployed grew 31%, and the number of services sold grew 26% in that same period.
Speaker #3: In October, we recall announcing NAS Internet on Demand and OFFnet. While it's still early, we believe OFFnet growth significantly expands our addressable market for NAS services.
Speaker #3: Great brands across industries are adopting this new capability with more than 900 OFFnet ports sold so far. The investments we're making in building a programmable network are driving significant growth in high-value digital revenues, which we believe will ultimately drive higher return for Lumen investors.
Kate Johnson: Great brands across industries are adopting this new capability with more than 900 Offnet ports sold so far. The investments we're making in building a programmable network are driving significant growth in high-value digital revenues, which we believe will ultimately drive higher return for Lumen investors. And we'll share more on this and Project Berkeley at Investor Day. Finally, let's talk about the progress we're making since launching the Lumen Connected Ecosystem six months ago. The team is fully staffed and building a commercial flywheel to marry AI-ready, Lumen-validated designs with partner cloud solutions, enhancing joint value props and accelerating our collective time to value for customers. Not only do these partnerships give us greater commercial reach, they give us a seat at the table where business decisions are being made.
Kate Johnson: Great brands across industries are adopting this new capability with more than 900 Offnet ports sold so far. The investments we're making in building a programmable network are driving significant growth in high-value digital revenues, which we believe will ultimately drive higher return for Lumen investors. And we'll share more on this and Project Berkeley at Investor Day.
Speaker #3: And we'll share more on this and Project Berkeley at Investor Day. Finally, let's talk about the progress we're making since launching the Lumen Connected Ecosystem six months ago.
Kate Johnson: Finally, let's talk about the progress we're making since launching the Lumen Connected Ecosystem six months ago. The team is fully staffed and building a commercial flywheel to marry AI-ready, Lumen-validated designs with partner cloud solutions, enhancing joint value props and accelerating our collective time to value for customers. Not only do these partnerships give us greater commercial reach, they give us a seat at the table where business decisions are being made.
Speaker #3: The team is fully staffed and building a commercial flywheel to marry AI-ready Lumen-validated designs with partner cloud solutions enhancing joint value props and accelerating our collective time-to-value for customers.
Speaker #3: Not only do these partnerships give us greater commercial reach, they give us a seat at the table where business decisions are being made. Instead of networking being purchased by infrastructure procurement teams as an afterthought, our Lumen team is included in the entire lifecycle of the sale, elevating awareness of the critical importance of network and differentiating our company in the marketplace.
Kate Johnson: Instead of networking being purchased by infrastructure procurement teams as an afterthought, our Lumen team is included in the entire lifecycle of the sale, elevating awareness of the critical importance of network and differentiating our company in the marketplace. We've signed 16 connected ecosystem partnerships to date, yielding more than 180 potential sales opportunities so far. Recently, we've made a slew of announcements, including, at AWS re:Invent, we shared a gated preview for AWS Interconnect to help AI workloads dynamically scale bandwidth while providing high availability and security. At Microsoft Inspire, we announced Lumen Defender with Microsoft Sentinel. And at MeterUp, we launch our joint network management offering to give customers preferred connectivity solutions and faster time to value. With every connected ecosystem partner, we're working to deliver scenarios and outcomes that transcend legacy telco capabilities.
Kate Johnson: Instead of networking being purchased by infrastructure procurement teams as an afterthought, our Lumen team is included in the entire lifecycle of the sale, elevating awareness of the critical importance of network and differentiating our company in the marketplace. We've signed 16 connected ecosystem partnerships to date, yielding more than 180 potential sales opportunities so far.
Speaker #3: We've signed 16 connected ecosystem partnerships to date, yielding more than 180 potential sales opportunities so far. Recently, we've made a slew of announcements, including at AWS re:Invent, where we shared a gated preview for AWS Interconnect to help AI workloads dynamically scale bandwidth while providing high availability and security.
Kate Johnson: Recently, we've made a slew of announcements, including, at AWS re:Invent, we shared a gated preview for AWS Interconnect to help AI workloads dynamically scale bandwidth while providing high availability and security. At Microsoft Inspire, we announced Lumen Defender with Microsoft Sentinel. And at MeterUp, we launch our joint network management offering to give customers preferred connectivity solutions and faster time to value. With every connected ecosystem partner, we're working to deliver scenarios and outcomes that transcend legacy telco capabilities.
Speaker #3: At Microsoft Inspire, we announced Lumen Defender with Microsoft Sentinel. And at Meter Up, we launched our joint network management offering to give customers preferred connectivity solutions and faster time-to-value.
Speaker #3: With every connected ecosystem partner, we're working to deliver scenarios and outcomes that transcend legacy telco capabilities. We're uniquely positioned to do this because of our API-driven programmable network and digital services portfolio.
Kate Johnson: We're uniquely positioned to do this because of our API-driven, programmable network, and digital services portfolio, all of which enable a new world of customer-obsessed, partner-delivered technology solutions. All right, to wrap it up, it's a new day for this company. Lumen is separating itself from the traditional telecom pack. It's not a story about share take or price protection in a declining legacy market. This is about taking a once-commoditized asset, innovating new architectures and capabilities, and commercializing it through a modern business model so that enterprises can focus on using AI to reimagine their workflows and business models during the biggest technology shift in history. It's a strategy that for several quarters has helped us slow overall revenue decline more effectively than our peers.
Kate Johnson: We're uniquely positioned to do this because of our API-driven, programmable network, and digital services portfolio, all of which enable a new world of customer-obsessed, partner-delivered technology solutions. All right, to wrap it up, it's a new day for this company. Lumen is separating itself from the traditional telecom pack. It's not a story about share take or price protection in a declining legacy market.
Speaker #3: All of which enable a new world of customer-obsessed partner-delivered technology solutions. All right, to wrap it up, it's a new day for this company.
Speaker #3: Itself from the traditional telecom, Lumen is separating pack. It's not a story about share take or price protection in a declining legacy market. This is about taking a once-commoditized asset, innovating new architectures and capabilities, and commercializing it through a modern business model so that enterprises can focus on using AI to reimagine their workflows and business models during the biggest technology shift in history.
Kate Johnson: This is about taking a once-commoditized asset, innovating new architectures and capabilities, and commercializing it through a modern business model so that enterprises can focus on using AI to reimagine their workflows and business models during the biggest technology shift in history. It's a strategy that for several quarters has helped us slow overall revenue decline more effectively than our peers.
Speaker #3: It's a strategy that for several quarters has helped us slow overall revenue decline more effectively than our peers. And as our strategic revenues eclipse the size of our declining legacy revenue, it's a strategy that we expect will ultimately both margin accretive and require less capital investment, ultimately improving overall margins and free cash flow even further.
Kate Johnson: And as our strategic revenues eclipse the size of our declining legacy revenue, it's a strategy that we expect will ultimately deliver new revenue streams that are both margin accretive and require less capital investment, ultimately improving overall margins and free cash flow even further. I'll hand it over to Chris to talk more about our financial performance and guidance. Thanks, Kate. As Kate said, since the debt restructuring in the spring of 2024, we set out to achieve four major financial goals: return free cash flow to growth, fix our capital structure, inflect adjusted EBITDA to growth in 2026, and return to business revenue growth in 2028 and total revenue growth in 2029. In 2025, our team executed numerous transactions and reached key milestones along our path to achieving these goals and Lumen's overall financial transformation.
Kate Johnson: And as our strategic revenues eclipse the size of our declining legacy revenue, it's a strategy that we expect will ultimately deliver new revenue streams that are both margin accretive and require less capital investment, ultimately improving overall margins and free cash flow even further. I'll hand it over to Chris to talk more about our financial performance and guidance.
Speaker #3: I'll hand it over to Chris to talk more about our financial performance and guidance.
Kate Johnson: Thanks, Kate. As Kate said, since the debt restructuring in the spring of 2024, we set out to achieve four major financial goals: return free cash flow to growth, fix our capital structure, inflect adjusted EBITDA to growth in 2026, and return to business revenue growth in 2028 and total revenue growth in 2029. In 2025, our team executed numerous transactions and reached key milestones along our path to achieving these goals and Lumen's overall financial transformation.
Speaker #2: Thanks, Kate. As Kate said, since the debt restructuring in the spring of 2024, we set out to achieve four major financial goals: return free cash flow to growth, fix our capital structure, inflect adjusted EBITDA to growth in 2026, and return to business revenue growth in 2028 and total revenue growth in 2029.
Speaker #2: In 2025, our team executed numerous transactions and reached key milestones along our path to achieving these goals in Lumen's overall financial transformation. Over the past 12 months, we signed almost $4.5 billion in new PCF deals, taking the total to nearly $13 billion.
Kate Johnson: Over the past 12 months, we signed almost $4.5 billion in new PCF deals, taking the total amount of signed deals to nearly $13 billion. These deals provide us with cash to strengthen the balance sheet and invest in growth, cementing our place as the trusted network for AI and highlighting the value of our assets to customers in a multi-cloud AI world. We reached over $400 million in run-rate cost reductions, on track for $1 billion exiting 2027. We launched phase one of our new ERP system, streamlining our accounting processes and reducing longstanding systems complexity. We continue to improve our revenue mix with 52% of North American enterprise revenue now coming from growth products, up from the mid-40% range in 2024, which supports our confidence in a return to business revenue growth in 2028.
Kate Johnson: Over the past 12 months, we signed almost $4.5 billion in new PCF deals, taking the total amount of signed deals to nearly $13 billion. These deals provide us with cash to strengthen the balance sheet and invest in growth, cementing our place as the trusted network for AI and highlighting the value of our assets to customers in a multi-cloud AI world.
Speaker #2: These deals provide us with cash to strengthen the balance sheet and invest in growth, AI and highlighting the value of our cementing our place as the trusted network for assets to customers in a multi-cloud AI world.
Kate Johnson: We reached over $400 million in run-rate cost reductions, on track for $1 billion exiting 2027. We launched phase one of our new ERP system, streamlining our accounting processes and reducing longstanding systems complexity. We continue to improve our revenue mix with 52% of North American enterprise revenue now coming from growth products, up from the mid-40% range in 2024, which supports our confidence in a return to business revenue growth in 2028.
Speaker #2: We reached over $400 million in run rate cost reductions on track for $1 billion exiting 2027. We launched phase one of our new ERP system, streamlining our accounting processes and reducing long-standing systems complexity.
Speaker #2: And we continue to improve our revenue mix with 52% of North American enterprise revenue now coming from growth products. Up from the mid-40% range in 2024, which supports our confidence in a return to business revenue growth in 2028.
Speaker #2: We successfully executed seven debt refinancing transactions with a total value of over $11 billion. Extending and smoothing our maturity profile will materially reduce our annual interest expense by more than $180 million.
Kate Johnson: We successfully executed 7 debt refinancing transactions with a total value of over $11 billion. Extending and smoothing our maturity profile will materially reduce our annual interest expense by more than $180 million. Through these transactions, we also simplified our capital structure. We eliminated the second lien layer at level three and reduced the number of debt tranches outstanding by 10. And it's 16 when you include the recent super priority paydown, almost a 40% reduction. These disciplined actions helped to materially improve our financial flexibility. And today, our capital structure is no longer a headwind. It's a position of strength. And finally, yesterday, we announced the close of our fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T for $5.75 billion. The net proceeds and cash on hand were used to pay down the full $4.8 billion of super priority bonds, which reduces annual cash interest expense by an additional $300 million.
Kate Johnson: We successfully executed 7 debt refinancing transactions with a total value of over $11 billion. Extending and smoothing our maturity profile will materially reduce our annual interest expense by more than $180 million. Through these transactions, we also simplified our capital structure. We eliminated the second lien layer at level three and reduced the number of debt tranches outstanding by 10. And it's 16 when you include the recent super priority paydown, almost a 40% re
Speaker #2: Through these transactions, we also simplified our capital structure. We eliminated a second lean layer at level three and reduced the number of debt tranches outstanding by 10.
Speaker #2: And at 16, when you include the recent super priority paydown, almost a 40% reduction. These disciplined actions help to materially improve our financial flexibility and today our capital structure is no longer a headwind.
Kate Johnson: duction. These disciplined actions helped to materially improve our financial flexibility. And today, our capital structure is no longer a headwind. It's a position of strength. And finally, yesterday, we announced the close of our fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T for $5.75 billion. The net proceeds and cash on hand were used to pay down the full $4.8 billion of super priority bonds, which reduces annual cash interest expense by an additional $300 million.
Speaker #2: It's a position of strength. And finally, yesterday we announced the close of our fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T for $5.75 billion. The net proceeds in cash on hand were used to pay down the full $4.8 billion of super priority bonds which reduces annual cash interest expense by an additional $300 million.
Kate Johnson: In total, annual interest expense has been reduced by nearly half a billion dollars in the last 12 months. I want to give a little more detail on the debt transactions because we're particularly proud of what we've accomplished. At levels no one outside of Lumen, investors, analysts, advisors, and the broader media thought was possible over such a short period of time. We had that confidence in ourselves, and we have delivered. After the AT&T close, we now have under $13 billion in debt, more than $5 billion retired since 1 January 2025. These actions have reduced our overall leverage to 3.8x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA. We're not done. There are just additional steps that we can and will take to improve and simplify our balance sheet and overall capital structure. We'll share more details at our Investor Day on 25 February.
Kate Johnson: In total, annual interest expense has been reduced by nearly half a billion dollars in the last 12 months. I want to give a little more detail on the debt transactions because we're particularly proud of what we've accomplished. At levels no one outside of Lumen, investors, analysts, advisors, and the broader media thought was possible over such a short period of time. We had that confidence in ourselves, and we have delivered.
Speaker #2: annual interest expense has been reduced by In total, nearly half a billion dollars in the last 12 months. I want to give a little more detail on the debt transactions, because we're particularly proud of what we've accomplished.
Speaker #2: of Lumen. Investors, And it levels no one outside analysts, advisors, and the broader media thought was possible over such a short period of time.
Speaker #2: We had that confidence in ourselves and we have delivered. After the AT&T close, we now have under $13 billion in debt. More than $5 billion retired since January 1st of '25.
Kate Johnson: After the AT&T close, we now have under $13 billion in debt, more than $5 billion retired since 1 January 2025. These actions have reduced our overall leverage to 3.8x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA. We're not done. There are just additional steps that we can and will take to improve and simplify our balance sheet and overall capital structure. We'll share more details at our Investor Day on 25 February.
Speaker #2: Trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA, and we're not done. There are just additional steps that we can and will take to improve and simplify our balance sheet and overall capital structure.
Speaker #2: Trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA, and we're not done. There are just additional steps that we can and will take to improve and simplify our balance sheet and overall capital. These actions have reduced our— We'll share more details at our investor day on February 25th.
Speaker #2: Our team's hard work has delivered impressive results and created opportunities for Lumen's future through a transformed financial profile. This is what playing to win looks like.
Kate Johnson: Our team's hard work has delivered impressive results and created opportunities for Lumen's future through a transformed financial profile. This is what playing the win looks like. Now, turning to results, Q4 revenue and adjusted EBITDA were in line with our expectations and updated 2025 guidance. As we've mentioned at recent investor conferences, this quarter we also introduced a new reporting view, strategic and legacy, to better reflect how we run the business. It increases transparency by separating the growth engines we're investing in from the legacy revenues we're actively managing for cash and simplification. Lumen's transition from grow, nurture, and harvest to strategic and legacy revenue segmentation reflects our commitment to driving sustainable growth by focusing investment and innovation on our most scalable future-oriented businesses. By simplifying our financial reporting and aligning with our enterprise-first strategy, we're better positioned to accelerate margin expansion and deliver long-term value.
Kate Johnson: Our team's hard work has delivered impressive results and created opportunities for Lumen's future through a transformed financial profile. This is what playing the win looks like. Now, turning to results, Q4 revenue and adjusted EBITDA were in line with our expectations and updated 2025 guidance. As we've mentioned at recent investor conferences, this quarter we also introduced a new reporting view, strategic and legacy, to better reflect how we run the business.
Speaker #2: Now, turning to results, fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA were in line with our expectations and updated 2025 guidance. As we've mentioned at recent investor conferences, this quarter we also introduced a new reporting view—strategic and legacy—to better reflect how we run the business.
Speaker #2: It increases transparency by separating the growth engines we're investing managing for cash and simplification. Lumen's transition from grow, nurture, and harvest to strategic and revenue revenue segmentation reflects our commitment to driving sustainable growth by focusing investment and innovation on our most scalable future-oriented businesses.
Kate Johnson: It increases transparency by separating the growth engines we're investing in from the legacy revenues we're actively managing for cash and simplification. Lumen's transition from grow, nurture, and harvest to strategic and legacy revenue segmentation reflects our commitment to driving sustainable growth by focusing investment and innovation on our most scalable future-oriented businesses. By simplifying our financial reporting and aligning with our enterprise-first strategy, we're better positioned to accelerate margin expansion and deliver long-term value.
Speaker #2: By simplifying our financial reporting and aligning with our enterprise-first strategy, we're better positioned to accelerate margin expansion and deliver long-term value. Now let's move to the discussion of financial results for the fourth quarter and full year.
Kate Johnson: Now, let's move to the discussion of financial results for the Q4 and full year. Total reported revenue declined 8.7% to $3.041 billion. Business segment revenue declined 8.8% to $2.425 billion, which includes over 350 basis points of anticipated downward impact from one-time dark fiber and elevated public sector harvest revenue growth in the Q4 of 2024. Mass market segment revenue declined 7.9% to $616 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $767 million with a 25.2% margin, and free cash flow was -$765 million. Total business growth revenue was roughly flat year-over-year in the quarter, as expected and previously communicated, impacted by those one-time revenue items in the Q4 of 2024. For the Q4 and full year 2025, we recognized revenue of roughly $41 million and $116 million, respectively, associated with the nearly $13 billion in PCF deals we've announced today.
Kate Johnson: Now, let's move to the discussion of financial results for the Q4 and full year. Total reported revenue declined 8.7% to $3.041 billion. Business segment revenue declined 8.8% to $2.425 billion, which includes over 350 basis points of anticipated downward impact from one-time dark fiber and elevated public sector harvest revenue growth in the Q4 of 2024.
Speaker #2: Total reported revenue declined 8.7% to $3.041 billion. Business segment revenue declined 8.8% to $2.425 billion which includes over $350 basis points of anticipated downward impact from one-time dark fiber and elevated public sector harvest revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Kate Johnson: Mass market segment revenue declined 7.9% to $616 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $767 million with a 25.2% margin, and free cash flow was -$765 million. Total business growth revenue was roughly flat year-over-year in the quarter, as expected and previously communicated, impacted by those one-time revenue items in the Q4 of 2024. For the Q4 and full year 2025, we recognized revenue of roughly $41 million and $116 million, respectively, associated with the nearly $13 billion in PCF deals we've announced today.
Speaker #2: Mass market segment revenue declined 7.9% to $616 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $767 million, with a 25.2% margin, and free cash flow was negative $765 million.
Speaker #2: Total business growth revenue was roughly flat year over year in the quarter, as expected and previously communicated, impacted by those one-time revenue items in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Speaker #2: For the fourth quarter and full year 2025, we recognized revenue of roughly $41 million and $116 million respectively associated with the nearly $13 billion in PCF deals we've announced to date.
Speaker #2: These pre-funded deals have both strategic and financial impacts for Lumen, allowing us to expand our capacity and build alongside the largest tech technology companies while also providing capital to fully fund our business plan.
Kate Johnson: These pre-funded deals have both strategic and financial impacts for Lumen, allowing us to expand our capacity and build alongside the largest technology companies while also providing capital to fully fund our business plan. We will provide a longer view of the PCF business at our Investor Day. Within North American enterprise channels, excluding wholesale, international, and other, revenue declined approximately 8.9%. North American enterprise revenue increased slightly, driven by continued strength in IP. We saw expected and typical declines in nurture and harvest. Overall, including wholesale, the North American business revenue declined 8.6%. Wholesale revenue declined approximately 7.8% year-over-year, in line with our expectations. International and other revenue declined 16.3% or $15 million, driven primarily by managed services, VPN, and voice declines. Now, turning to adjusted EBITDA.
Kate Johnson: These pre-funded deals have both strategic and financial impacts for Lumen, allowing us to expand our capacity and build alongside the largest technology companies while also providing capital to fully fund our business plan. We will provide a longer view of the PCF business at our Investor Day. Within North American enterprise channels, excluding wholesale, international, and other, revenue declined approximately 8.9%.
Speaker #2: We will provide a longer view of the PCF business that our investor day. Within North American enterprise channels, excluding wholesale, international, and other, revenue declined approximately 8.9%.
Kate Johnson: North American enterprise revenue increased slightly, driven by continued strength in IP. We saw expected and typical declines in nurture and harvest. Overall, including wholesale, the North American business revenue declined 8.6%. Wholesale revenue declined approximately 7.8% year-over-year, in line with our expectations. International and other revenue declined 16.3% or $15 million, driven primarily by managed services, VPN, and voice declines.
Speaker #2: Enterprise revenue increased slightly, driven by continued strength in IP. In North America, we saw expected and typical declines, including wholesale. The North American business revenue declined 8.6%.
Speaker #2: Wholesale revenue declined approximately 7.8% year over year, in line with our Nurture and Harvest and overall.
Speaker #1: Expectations in international and other revenue declined 16.3% , or $15 million , driven primarily by managed services , VPN and voice declines to Now , turning for the EBITDA .
Kate Johnson: Now, turning to adjusted EBITDA. For Q4 2025, adjusted EBITDA excluding special items was $767 million, compared to approximately $1.052 billion in the year-ago quarter. Year-over-year declines were largely impacted by expected revenue trends, including those one-time revenue items in Q4 2024, increased healthcare costs, as well as increasing cloud migration costs that we've talked about in previous quarters. Special items impacting adjusted EBITDA totaled $280 million.
Kate Johnson: For Q4 2025, adjusted EBITDA excluding special items was $767 million, compared to approximately $1.052 billion in the year-ago quarter. Year-over-year declines were largely impacted by expected revenue trends, including those one-time revenue items in Q4 2024, increased healthcare costs, as well as increasing cloud migration costs that we've talked about in previous quarters. Special items impacting adjusted EBITDA totaled $280 million. This includes severance, transaction separation costs, and our modernization and simplification initiatives. Lastly, capital expenditures were approximately $1.6 billion in the quarter, as we expected and in line with our full-year guidance. Free cash flow, excluding special items, was negative $765 million. As we discussed previously, Q4 free cash flow was negatively impacted by a delay in a $400 million tax refund, which we now expect to receive in the first half of 2026.
Speaker #1: 2025 . Adjusted EBITDA for fourth quarter of adjusted 2025 , EBITDA excluding special items was $767 million , compared to approximately $1.52 billion in the year ago quarter .
Speaker #1: Declines over the year were largely impacted by year-expected trends, including those one-time revenue items in the fourth quarter of '24.
Speaker #1: Increased health care, as well as increasing cloud costs, as migration talked costs that we've previously talked about in quarters. Special items impacting adjusted EBITDA totaled $280 million.
Kate Johnson: This includes severance, transaction separation costs, and our modernization and simplification initiatives. Lastly, capital expenditures were approximately $1.6 billion in the quarter, as we expected and in line with our full-year guidance. Free cash flow, excluding special items, was negative $765 million. As we discussed previously, Q4 free cash flow was negatively impacted by a delay in a $400 million tax refund, which we now expect to receive in the first half of 2026.
Speaker #1: This includes severance, transaction separation costs, and our modernization and simplification initiatives. Lastly, capital expenditures were approximately $1.6 billion in the quarter.
Speaker #1: As we expected and in line with our full year guidance . Free cash flow , excluding special items , was -$765 million . As we discussed previously , fourth quarter free cash flow was negatively impacted by a delay in a $400 million tax refund , which we now expect to receive in the first half 2026 .
Speaker #1: of Now , moving on to our financial outlook for the full year includes the impact 2026 , which of yesterday's February 2nd close of the AT&T transaction .
Kate Johnson: Now, moving on to our financial outlook for the full year 2026, which includes the impact of yesterday's 2 February close of the AT&T transaction. We estimate adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $3.1 to $3.3 billion. We expect adjusted EBITDA to inflect to growth in 2026. Our adjusted EBITDA guidance includes organic business revenue declines roughly 75 basis points better than 2025, as we continue to focus investment on our growth products and manage our legacy portfolio for cash. Excluded from the guidance above is roughly $400 million in transformation costs associated with the multi-year goal of reducing expenses by a billion dollars by year-end 2027. As Kate mentioned, for year-end 2026, we now target a $700 million run rate associated with our modernization and simplification program. Now, moving to capital spending and our other outlook metrics.
Kate Johnson: Now, moving on to our financial outlook for the full year 2026, which includes the impact of yesterday's 2 February close of the AT&T transaction. We estimate adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $3.1 to $3.3 billion. We expect adjusted EBITDA to inflect to growth in 2026. Our adjusted EBITDA guidance includes organic business revenue declines roughly 75 basis points better than 2025, as we continue to focus investment on our growth products and manage our legacy portfolio for cash.
Speaker #1: estimate adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of 3.1 to $3.3 billion . We expect adjusted EBITDA to inflect to growth in 2026 .
Speaker #1: Adjusted, our EBITDA guidance includes organic business revenue declines, better by 75 basis points than 2025. As we continue to focus investment on our growth products and manage our portfolio for legacy cash.
Speaker #1: adjusted Our EBITDA guidance includes organic business revenue declines , better points 75 basis than 2025 . As continue to focus we investment on our growth products and manage our portfolio for legacy cash the guidance Excluding from excluded from the guidance above is roughly $400 million in transformation costs associated with the multiyear goal of reducing expenses by $1 billion by year end 2027 .
Kate Johnson: Excluded from the guidance above is roughly $400 million in transformation costs associated with the multi-year goal of reducing expenses by a billion dollars by year-end 2027. As Kate mentioned, for year-end 2026, we now target a $700 million run rate associated with our modernization and simplification program. Now, moving to capital spending and our other outlook metrics. For the full year 2026, we expect total capital expenditures in the range of $3.2 to 3.4 billion.
Speaker #1: As Kate mentioned , for year end 2026 , we now target a $700 million run rate associated with our modernization and simplification program and moving to capital and spending other our outlook metrics full for the We expect total year 2026 .
Kate Johnson: For the full year 2026, we expect total capital expenditures in the range of $3.2 to 3.4 billion. The majority of the reduction in CapEx from 2025 to 2026 is associated with the sale of our fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T. As a reminder, CapEx spent on the assets held for sale from 1 January until close was reimbursed at close. We estimate the CapEx associated with the nearly $13 billion in PCF deals to be approximately $1 billion. The majority of the remaining CapEx is associated with our core enterprise business. We expect to generate free cash flow in the range of $1.2 to 1.4 billion for the full year 2026. Additionally, we estimate net cash interest expense to be $650 to 750 million, a reduction of over $550 million at the midpoint versus 2025.
Speaker #1: capital expenditures in the range of 3.2 billion to $3.4 billion . The majority of the reduction in CapEx from 2025 to 2026 is associated with the sale of our fibre to the home AT&T business , to .
Kate Johnson: The majority of the reduction in CapEx from 2025 to 2026 is associated with the sale of our fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T. As a reminder, CapEx spent on the assets held for sale from 1 January until close was reimbursed at close. We estimate the CapEx associated with the nearly $13 billion in PCF deals to be approximately $1 billion.
Speaker #1: a As reminder , CapEx spent on the assets held for sale from January 1st until close was reimbursed at close . We associated with CapEx estimate the the nearly deals 13 billion in PCF to be approximately $1 billion .
Kate Johnson: The majority of the remaining CapEx is associated with our core enterprise business. We expect to generate free cash flow in the range of $1.2 to 1.4 billion for the full year 2026. Additionally, we estimate net cash interest expense to be $650 to 750 million, a reduction of over $550 million at the midpoint versus 2025.
Speaker #1: The majority of the remaining is associated with our enterprise core business. We expect to generate free cash flow in the range of $1.2 to $1.4 billion for the full year 2026.
Speaker #1: Additionally, we estimate net interest cash expense to be $650 million to $750 million, a reduction of over $550 million at the midpoint for 2025.
Kate Johnson: Taxes are expected to be a cash inflow of $350 to $450 million in 2026, inclusive of the aforementioned tax refund, but exclusive of divestiture taxes. In terms of other special items for 2026, we continue to expect dedicated costs to support transaction services for the divestitures. The reimbursement for these services will be another income with no material net impact to our cash flows. Additionally, special items include costs associated with Lumen's $1 billion in project takeout by the year-end of 2027. As we continue our journey in disrupting enterprise networking, we'll also evolve how we guide, measure, and report our performance, especially around PCF impacts to our financials because it's a meaningful contributor, but not the whole story. While the growth in PCF revenue certainly helps, it does not fully reflect the improvements you'll see in our core enterprise business over the next several quarters.
Kate Johnson: Taxes are expected to be a cash inflow of $350 to $450 million in 2026, inclusive of the aforementioned tax refund, but exclusive of divestiture taxes. In terms of other special items for 2026, we continue to expect dedicated costs to support transaction services for the divestitures. The reimbursement for these services will be another income with no material net impact to our cash flows.
Speaker #1: Taxes are expected to be a cash inflow of $350 to $450 million in 2026, inclusive of the aforementioned tax refund, but exclusive of divestiture taxes.
Speaker #1: In other terms of special items for 2026 , we continue to expect costs to dedicated support transaction services for the divestitures . The these reimbursement for services will be another income with no material net to our cash impact Additionally flows .
Kate Johnson: Additionally, special items include costs associated with Lumen's $1 billion in project takeout by the year-end of 2027. As we continue our journey in disrupting enterprise networking, we'll also evolve how we guide, measure, and report our performance, especially around PCF impacts to our financials because it's a meaningful contributor, but not the whole story. While the growth in PCF revenue certainly helps, it does not fully reflect the improvements you'll see in our core enterprise business over the next several quarters.
Speaker #1: Special items costs include those associated with Lumen's $1 billion in Project Takeout by the year end of 2027. As we continue our journey in disrupting enterprise networking.
Speaker #1: We'll also evolve how we guide , measure , and report our performance , especially around PCF impacts to our financials . Because it's a meaningful contributor , but not the whole .
Speaker #1: While the growth in PCF revenue certainly helps , it does fully not improvements you'll see in our core enterprise business over the next several quarters .
Kate Johnson: We'll share more specific details at our upcoming Investor Day. Now, at the beginning of my remarks, I laid out four goals we set for ourselves 24 months ago. We've already successfully achieved the first two, free cash flow growth and fixing the capital structure, and expect to deliver the third, adjusted EBITDA inflection in 2026, and remain on track to the fourth, returning business revenue to growth in 2028. We've achieved the goals we've communicated to investors over the past year, and we continue to see multiple paths to reaching business revenue growth inflection in 2028. We will continue to provide investors with adoption metrics and other proof points along the way to increase confidence in our ability to reach that goal. We're pleased with our performance in 2025 as we made great strides across all three layers of the business, physical, digital, and ecosystem.
Kate Johnson: We'll share more specific details at our upcoming Investor Day. Now, at the beginning of my remarks, I laid out four goals we set for ourselves 24 months ago. We've already successfully achieved the first two, free cash flow growth and fixing the capital structure, and expect to deliver the third, adjusted EBITDA inflection in 2026, and remain on track to the fourth, returning business revenue to growth in 2028.
Speaker #1: We'll specific details at our upcoming Investor Day share more . Now , at the beginning of my remarks , I laid out four goals we set for ourselves 24 months ago .
Speaker #1: We've already successfully achieved the first two free cash flow growth and fixing the capital structure , and expect to deliver the third adjusted EBITDA inflection in 2026 and remain on track to the fourth .
Speaker #1: Business returning revenue to growth in 2028. We've achieved the goals we've communicated to investors over the past year, and we continue to see paths to multiple reaching business revenue growth in 2028.
Kate Johnson: We've achieved the goals we've communicated to investors over the past year, and we continue to see multiple paths to reaching business revenue growth inflection in 2028. We will continue to provide investors with adoption metrics and other proof points along the way to increase confidence in our ability to reach that goal. We're pleased with our performance in 2025 as we made great strides across all three layers of the business, physical, digital, and ecosystem. And the early results for our digital growth engine are encouraging.
Speaker #1: will continue to provide inflection We with proof metrics and other adoption way to the increase confidence in our ability to reach that . We're pleased with our performance in 2025 , as we made great strides across all three layers of the business physical , digital and ecosystem .
Kate Johnson: And the early results for our digital growth engine are encouraging. Over the next few years, our cost structure optimization and increasing digital revenue are expected to help improve margins and free cash flow, reduce our capital intensity, further lower our leverage and borrowing costs, and continue to increase our financial flexibility to invest in Lumen's growth. The future is bright. We look forward to providing you with more details on our long-range plan in a few weeks. And with that, I'll hand it back to Kate before we move to Q&A. Thanks, Chris. Before we open it up for questions, I just want to say how proud we are of all the luminaries who continue to execute our strategy to build the world's trusted network for AI.
Speaker #1: And the early results for our digital growth engine are encouraging . Over the next few years , our cost structure optimization and increasing digital revenue are expected to help improve margins and free cash flow , reduce our capital intensity further , lower our leverage and borrowing costs , and continue to increase our financial flexibility to invest in Lumen's growth .
Kate Johnson: Over the next few years, our cost structure optimization and increasing digital revenue are expected to help improve margins and free cash flow, reduce our capital intensity, further lower our leverage and borrowing costs, and continue to increase our financial flexibility to invest in Lumen's growth. The future is bright. We look forward to providing you with more details on our long-range plan in a few weeks. And with that, I'll hand it back to Kate before we move to Q&A.
Speaker #1: The future is bright . We look forward to providing you with more details on our long range plan in a few weeks . And with that , I'll hand it back to Kate before we move to Q&A .
Kate Johnson: Thanks, Chris. Before we open it up for questions, I just want to say how proud we are of all the luminaries who continue to execute our strategy to build the world's trusted network for AI. Whether you're doing a PCF deal, driving NAS adoption, helping us do a major strategic divestiture, it takes every single function operating as one team, from HR to operations to product, IT, and engineering to marketing and sales, and to finance and legal. All of you matter deeply. It's because of your work that Lumen's future is so very bright. Moderator, we'll open it up for questions now.
Speaker #2: Thanks , Chris . Before we open it questions , I just want to say how proud we of all the are luminaries who continue to execute our strategy world's trusted the network AI for doing a PCF .
Kate Johnson: Whether you're doing a PCF deal, driving NAS adoption, helping us do a major strategic divestiture, it takes every single function operating as one team, from HR to operations to product, IT, and engineering to marketing and sales, and to finance and legal. All of you matter deeply. It's because of your work that Lumen's future is so very bright. Moderator, we'll open it up for questions now. Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press star one again. Please pick up your handset when asking a question. If you're muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster.
Speaker #2: deal , adoption , helping us do a major Whether you're strategic divestiture , it takes single every function operating one team as from HR to operations to IT and engineering to product marketing and sales , and to finance and .
Speaker #2: Legal, you matter deeply. And it's because of your work that Lumen's future is so bright. Moderator, we'll open it up for questions now.
Kate Johnson: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press star one again. Please pick up your handset when asking a question. If you're muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Michael Rollins with Citi. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #3: Thank you . We will now begin the question and answer session . Please limit yourself to one question and one follow up . If you would like to ask a question , please press star one on your telephone keypad .
Speaker #3: To withdraw your question , Again , please press star one . your pick up handset when asking a question . If you're muted locally , please remember to unmute your device .
Speaker #3: Stand by, please, while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Michael Rollins with Citi. Your line is open.
Kate Johnson: Your first question comes from the line of Michael Rollins with Citi. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Thanks and good afternoon. I wanted to focus on the PCF deals announced today. So with the $2.5 billion in this tranche, can you share with us how that business may be similar or different to the first $10 billion that you announced, especially with respect to margins and returns? And then secondly, can you just help frame the timing of CapEx investments and cash receipts, just given now the quantum of these deals, maybe relative to the CapEx that you've spent over the last couple of years; it would seem like there's more to go. So just curious if you could frame how that's going to pace out over the next few years. Thanks. Yeah, thanks, Mike.
Kate Johnson: Thanks and good afternoon. I wanted to focus on the PCF deals announced today. So with the $2.5 billion in this tranche, can you share with us how that business may be similar or different to the first $10 billion that you announced, especially with respect to margins and returns?
Speaker #3: Please proceed with your question
Speaker #3: . Thanks , and
Speaker #4: good afternoon . to I wanted focus on the PCF deals announced So with the two today . and a half in this front , can you share with us how that business may be similar or different to billion the first billion that you announced , especially with respect to margins and returns ?
Kate Johnson: And then secondly, can you just help frame the timing of CapEx investments and cash receipts, just given now the quantum of these deals, maybe relative to the CapEx that you've spent over the last couple of years; it would seem like there's more to go. So just curious if you could frame how that's going to pace out over the next few years. Thanks.
Speaker #4: And then secondly , can you help frame the timing of investments and cash CapEx receipts just just given now the quantum of these deals , maybe relative to the CapEx , you know , that you spent over the last couple of would seem like years , it there's more to go .
Speaker #4: So, just curious if you could frame how that's going to pace out over the next few years. Thanks.
Kate Johnson: Yeah, thanks, Mike. So the recent deals, the $2.5 billion or so, the structure is really the same as what we've experienced to date because we're doing these deals on existing network conduit. They don't have new routes. So the economic profile is very similar. On your follow-up question, we will get into that detail at Investor Day. We're going to give you visibility into the PCF versus non-PCF impact on cash flows.
Kate Johnson: So the recent deals, the $2.5 billion or so, the structure is really the same as what we've experienced to date because we're doing these deals on existing network conduit. They don't have new routes. So the economic profile is very similar. On your follow-up question, we will get into that detail at Investor Day. We're going to give you visibility into the PCF versus non-PCF impact on cash flows. I think the thing that I would definitely share with everyone today, though, is if you think about our capital intensity, I'm going to speak in rough numbers because it's easier. $4 billion in CapEx last year, $1 billion of that went away with a sale of the consumer business without much of a loss in EBITDA. So in effect, we've reduced our capital intensity by almost 25% right there.
Speaker #1: Yeah . Thanks , Mike . So the the recent deals , the 2.5 billion or so , the structure is really the same we've as as what experienced to date because we're doing we're these deals on existing network conduit .
Speaker #1: They don't have new routes . So the the economic profile is very similar . You know , on the on your follow up question , we will into that detail at get Investor Day .
Speaker #1: We're going to give you visibility PCF into the versus non PCF impact on cash flows . I think the the thing that I would share with everyone today definitely if you is about our think capital intensity , I'm going to speak rough in numbers because it's easier , you know , $4 billion in CapEx last year , a billion of that went away with a sale of a consumer business without much of a loss in EBITDA .
Kate Johnson: I think the thing that I would definitely share with everyone today, though, is if you think about our capital intensity, I'm going to speak in rough numbers because it's easier. $4 billion in CapEx last year, $1 billion of that went away with a sale of the consumer business without much of a loss in EBITDA. So in effect, we've reduced our capital intensity by almost 25% right there.
Speaker #1: So in effect , we've reduced our capital intensity by almost 25% . Right there . As I mentioned in my prepared remarks , a billion of the three or so that we're guiding for this year relates to .
Kate Johnson: As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, $1 billion of the 3 or so that we're guiding for this year relates to PCF. And remember, those deals are pre-funded because of the quantum of those dollars. So when you get to the underlying capital intensity outside of PCF, we're at about a $2 billion business. And so as PCF bills will eventually go away, again, we're pre-funding all of those. We're really looking at a CapEx intensity profile that's roughly half of where we were last year. So that combined with the margin improvements really do drive an ROIC improvement for investors. Next question, please. Thank you. Your next question comes from Sebastiano Petti for J.P. Morgan. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Good evening and thanks for the question.
Kate Johnson: As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, $1 billion of the 3 or so that we're guiding for this year relates to PCF. And remember, those deals are pre-funded because of the quantum of those dollars. So when you get to the underlying capital intensity outside of PCF, we're at about a $2 billion business. And so as PCF bills will eventually go away, again, we're pre-funding all of those. We're really looking at a CapEx intensity profile that's roughly half of where we were last year. So that combined with the margin improvements really do drive an ROIC improvement for investors. Next question, please. Thank you.
Speaker #1: And remember , those pre-funded are because the of the of those dollars . quantum of So you when get to the underlying capital intensity outside of PCF , we're at about a $2 billion business .
Speaker #1: And so PCF as builds , we'll eventually go away again . We're we're pre-funding all of those . We're really looking at a at a CapEx intensity profile is roughly half of where we were last year .
Speaker #1: So, you know, that combined with the margin improvements really does drive ROIC and improvement for investors.
Speaker #2: Next question .
Speaker #5: Please .
Kate Johnson: Your next question comes from Sebastiano Petti for J.P. Morgan. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from Sebastiano Petti with J.P. Morgan . Your line is open . proceed Please with your question .
Kate Johnson: Good evening and thanks for the question. Just wanted to quickly, I mean, follow up on the, I guess, guidance for 2028 business revenue growth. I mean, with, and I think last quarter you kind of talked about, I think NAS was supposed to contribute $400 to $500 million in 2028 and then PCF about $300 to $400. Correct me if I'm wrong, but more or less in that quantum.
Speaker #6: Hi . Good evening and thank you for the question . Just wanted to quickly follow up on , I guess , the guidance for 2028 business revenue growth .
Kate Johnson: Just wanted to quickly, I mean, follow up on the, I guess, guidance for 2028 business revenue growth. I mean, with, and I think last quarter you kind of talked about, I think NAS was supposed to contribute $400 to $500 million in 2028 and then PCF about $300 to $400. Correct me if I'm wrong, but more or less in that quantum. Or $400 to $500, rather, on the PCF, $300 to $400 on the digital, so $500 to $600 on the digital. I mean, why is there not upside to that numbers given what you guys have talked about today, right? PCF, I guess, CAM now is, what, 25 to 35 percent larger than what we talked about connecting the third quarter call. And the NAS digital adoption seems to be accelerating.
Speaker #6: I mean , with I think last quarter , you talked kind of about I think Nnas was supposed to contribute 4 to $500 million in 2028 , and PCF 3 to 400 .
Speaker #6: Correct me if I'm wrong , but more or about less in that quantum or 4 to 500 rather on the PCF , 3 to 400 on the digital side , 5 to 600 on digital .
Kate Johnson: Or $400 to $500, rather, on the PCF, $300 to $400 on the digital, so $500 to $600 on the digital. I mean, why is there not upside to that numbers given what you guys have talked about today, right? PCF, I guess, CAM now is, what, 25 to 35 percent larger than what we talked about connecting the third quarter call. And the NAS digital adoption seems to be accelerating. And so any kind of color, Chris or Kate, you could provide on maybe the shaping of revenue and maybe there's upside relative to last quarter's expectations? Yeah, sure. Thank you.
Speaker #6: Why is there not upside to that numbers , given what you guys have talked about today ? Right . PCF I guess Tam now is what , 25 , 35% larger than what we talked about exiting the third quarter call and the digital adoption seems to be And so accelerating .
Kate Johnson: And so any kind of color, Chris or Kate, you could provide on maybe the shaping of revenue and maybe there's upside relative to last quarter's expectations? Yeah, sure. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks, Josh. John, I'll let Chris handle the financial side of it. Let me talk about the structural side of change in the industry. So any sort of change to critical infrastructure takes a long time. And what we're doing, just like the world of technology did in the transformation in the cloud era a decade or two ago, it's the same kind of thing. Everything changes. The product changes. The way you deploy it changes. The way you buy it changes. The way you service it is going to change.
Speaker #6: any kind of color , you know , Christy , or you could provide on maybe the shaping of revenue and maybe there's upside relative to last quarter's expectations .
Kate Johnson: Yeah. Thanks, Josh. John, I'll let Chris handle the financial side of it. Let me talk about the structural side of change in the industry. So any sort of change to critical infrastructure takes a long time. And what we're doing, just like the world of technology did in the transformation in the cloud era a decade or two ago, it's the same kind of thing. Everything changes. The product changes. The way you deploy it changes. The way you buy it changes. The way you service it is going to change.
Speaker #6: Thank you .
Speaker #2: Yeah . Thanks . So , John . I'll I'll let Chris handle the financial side of it . I just let me talk about the structural side of change in the industry .
Speaker #2: So any any change sort of infrastructure to takes a long time . And what we're just doing , like the world technology , of did in , in the , you know , transformation in the cloud era , a decade or two ago .
Speaker #2: It's the same kind of thing. Everything changes. The product changes, the way you deploy it changes, the way you buy.
Speaker #2: It changes the way you service . It is going to change . And we're being , I think , pretty conservative in the way that we think about just our deliver ability to everything , but the market's ability to that absorb .
Kate Johnson: And we're being, I think, pretty conservative in the way that we think about not just our ability to deliver everything, but the market's ability to absorb that change. We see the catalyst of AI and Cloud 2.0 driving a clear and pressing need for that change. But we're being cautiously optimistic and making sure that we're doing everything we need to do to prepare and provide change management for our customers as well. Now, Chris, I don't know if you want to give any financial guidance on top of that. Yeah. So Sebastiano, you're certainly right that the additional $2.5 billion of deals does help. But keep in mind, we're in 2026. It's going to take three years for those routes to get built at scale. So will there be some revenue impacts in 2028? Yeah, I would expect it.
Kate Johnson: And we're being, I think, pretty conservative in the way that we think about not just our ability to deliver everything, but the market's ability to absorb that change. We see the catalyst of AI and Cloud 2.0 driving a clear and pressing need for that change. But we're being cautiously optimistic and making sure that we're doing everything we need to do to prepare and provide change management for our customers as well. Now, Chris, I don't know if you want to give any financial guidance on top of that.
Speaker #2: change the catalyst of We see AI and cloud 2.0 . driving a clear You know , and pressing need for that change . But , you know , we're we're being cautiously optimistic .
Speaker #2: You and making know , that sure that we're doing to do everything we need to and provide change management for prepare our customers as well .
Speaker #2: Chris, I don't know if you want to give any financial guidance on now, top of
Kate Johnson: Yeah. So Sebastiano, you're certainly right that the additional $2.5 billion of deals does help. But keep in mind, we're in 2026. It's going to take three years for those routes to get built at scale. So will there be some revenue impacts in 2028? Yeah, I would expect it. Does that impact maybe pull and pull forward in the year when we inflect the growth? Yeah, that's possible. I think the more important thing, as we move to Investor Day, we will, again, give you the PCF map there.
Speaker #2: that . Sebastian , you're
Speaker #1: know , , you So Yeah . right the additional 2.5 billion of deals does help . But keep in that mind we're in 2026 .
Speaker #1: It's going to three years for those for those routes to scale . built at we're will there So be some revenue impacts . You know , Yeah , I expect it .
Kate Johnson: Does that impact maybe pull and pull forward in the year when we inflect the growth? Yeah, that's possible. I think the more important thing, as we move to Investor Day, we will, again, give you the PCF map there. But it's really on the digital side, to your point, and NAS is obviously a big piece of that. But the other leading metrics that Kate talked about, right? Not just the number of circuits, the number of ports, and the number of customers, but the number of services. And the fact that we now have the ability to have a significant off-net presence is really the opportunity we have to drive that digital adoption. And I will be very candid with you and give you a spoiler alert for Investor Day. We're humans. We are projecting kind of linear growth in digital.
Speaker #1: Does that in 2028 ? pull and pull forward in the year when we maybe Yeah . That's the growth ? I think important thing the as we as Investor Day , we will again give you those the PCF map there .
Kate Johnson: But it's really on the digital side, to your point, and NAS is obviously a big piece of that. But the other leading metrics that Kate talked about, right? Not just the number of circuits, the number of ports, and the number of customers, but the number of services. And the fact that we now have the ability to have a significant off-net presence is really the opportunity we have to drive that digital adoption. And I will be very candid with you and give you a spoiler alert for Investor Day. We're humans. We are projecting kind of linear growth in digital.
Speaker #1: But it's really on the digital side, to your MAS is, and obviously, that's a big piece. But the leading other metrics that Kate talked about, right.
Speaker #1: Not just the number of circuits and the the number of ports , the number customers , but the number of of services and that we the fact now have the a ability to have significant off net presence is really opportunity the to drive we have digital that .
Speaker #1: And on adoption, I will be very candid with you. And give you an alert for spoilers, humans—Investor Day. We're, uh—We are kind of projecting growth in digital.
Kate Johnson: The reality is we all know that at some point that's a J curve adoption, but we're not going to try to predict where that J curve comes into play. So I think what we're showing is a middle of the fairway estimate with the possibility for us to overachieve. But time will tell. Great. Thank you. Next question, please. Your next question comes from the line of Batya Levi with UBS. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Great. Thank you. Can you provide a little bit more color on bridging to 2026 EBITDA? I think you mentioned fiber sold was contributing about $300 million of EBITDA. You exited the year with higher cost savings than planned, but it also looks like SG&A ramped up higher as you exited the year. So how should we think about these cost items in totality as we go through 2026?
Kate Johnson: The reality is we all know that at some point that's a J curve adoption, but we're not going to try to predict where that J curve comes into play. So I think what we're showing is a middle of the fairway estimate with the possibility for us to overachieve. But time will tell.
Speaker #1: reality The is , we that at all know some a J point that's adoption . But we're not going to try to predict where that j-curve comes into play .
Speaker #1: know , I you think what we're what we're is a the middle of fairway estimate with the possibility for to to us overachieve .
Kate Johnson: Great. Thank you.
Speaker #1: time will But .
Speaker #1: time will But . tell
Kate Johnson: Next question, please.
Kate Johnson: Your next question comes from the line of Batya Levi with UBS. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #5: Next question please .
Speaker #3: Your question comes from the line of Batya Levy with UBS. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Kate Johnson: Great. Thank you. Can you provide a little bit more color on bridging to 2026 EBITDA? I think you mentioned fiber sold was contributing about $300 million of EBITDA. You exited the year with higher cost savings than planned, but it also looks like SG&A ramped up higher as you exited the year. So how should we think about these cost items in totality as we go through 2026? Maybe pacing of the EBITDA could be helpful as well. I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but did you quantify the PCF sale contribution for 2026? Thank you.
Speaker #7: Great . Thank you . Can you little bit more provide a on color bridging to 26 EBITDA ? I think you mentioned fiber sold was about 300 million of EBITDA contributing .
Speaker #7: Exited the year with higher cost savings than planned, but looks like also ramped it higher as year. So how should we think about these cost items in totality as we go through 2026, and maybe pacing of the EBITDA could be helpful as well.
Kate Johnson: Maybe pacing of the EBITDA could be helpful as well. I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but did you quantify the PCF sale contribution for 2026? Thank you. Not yet, no. We'll give you some more visibility to that at Investor Day because we'll talk about how PCF is impacting revenue by year and free cash flow. To your question, we are going to be releasing an 8K tomorrow with the pro forma economics that'll get specifically to your question, Batya. So I don't want to get into the details, but when you take out the EBITDA from the 2025 base year, you take out the little bit of EBITDA that we would have generated in the first month of this year, and then you compare what's left, that's where you see the growth. Okay.
Speaker #7: And I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but I did. You quantify the sale PCF contribution for '26? Thank you.
Kate Johnson: Not yet, no. We'll give you some more visibility to that at Investor Day because we'll talk about how PCF is impacting revenue by year and free cash flow. To your question, we are going to be releasing an 8K tomorrow with the pro forma economics that'll get specifically to your question, Batya. So I don't want to get into the details, but when you take out the EBITDA from the 2025 base year, you take out the little bit of EBITDA that we would have generated in the first month of this year, and then you compare what's left, that's where you see the growth.
Speaker #1: Not yet . No . We'll give you some more visibility to that . Investor Day At we'll talk about how PCF is impacting revenue by year and free flow cash question , to your are we be to going releasing an tomorrow with the pro forma economics that'll that'll get specifically to your question , so I don't want to get into the but details , when you take out the the EBITDA from the 25 base out the take you little bit of EBITDA that we would have generated in the first month this of year .
Speaker #1: And then compare you what's That's left . that's where you see the growth .
Kate Johnson: Okay. And the other cost items, how much should we think in terms of what's embedded in there for maybe higher SG&A as you exited the year? And then maybe the modernization spend that you've been incurring, is that all done or do you anticipate more?
Kate Johnson: And the other cost items, how much should we think in terms of what's embedded in there for maybe higher SG&A as you exited the year? And then maybe the modernization spend that you've been incurring, is that all done or do you anticipate more? Yeah. So the modernization is largely in special items. So we've tried to separate that out in terms of its impact. We have projected in kind of the run rate that we're seeing on things like medical costs into the year. But the reality is, as Kate mentioned, we exited with our M&S savings at $400 million in 2025. We're projecting $700 million in 2026. So that's going to mute a lot of that. And again, we'll share 5 years of financials at Investor Day.
Speaker #7: And Okay . the other cost much should we items , how in think terms of what's embedded in there for maybe higher SG&A as you exit the as you exited the year and then maybe the modernization spend been incurring , is that you've that all done ?
Kate Johnson: Yeah. So the modernization is largely in special items. So we've tried to separate that out in terms of its impact. We have projected in kind of the run rate that we're seeing on things like medical costs into the year. But the reality is, as Kate mentioned, we exited with our M&S savings at $400 million in 2025. We're projecting $700 million in 2026. So that's going to mute a lot of that.
Speaker #7: Or do you anticipate more?
Speaker #1: Yeah . so So is the largely in special items . tried to separate that out in terms of its impact . We modernization have , you know , projected in kind of the run rate that we're seeing on things like medical the year .
Speaker #1: But the reality is , you know , as costs into we mentioned , you know , exited with with our Kate savings at 400,000,000 in 25 .
Speaker #1: We're projecting $700 million in '26. So that's going to mute a lot of that. And again, we'll share five years of that financials Day.
Kate Johnson: And again, we'll share 5 years of financials at Investor Day. I do want to, again, I want to share one other thing that we've shared with investors that I think is really important. What that five-year model is going to show is that we are fully funded. We are not required to borrow money to fund our future anymore. We have excess cash over the five years, and we'll get into specifics on that.
Kate Johnson: I do want to, again, I want to share one other thing that we've shared with investors that I think is really important. What that five-year model is going to show is that we are fully funded. We are not required to borrow money to fund our future anymore. We have excess cash over the five years, and we'll get into specifics on that. Our objective is to, one, fully fund our growth initiative and the transition of the company. That is fully funded in that model. The second thing would be to continue to reduce leverage a little bit. After that, if there's nothing that achieves those first two objectives, then we'll look to start buying back stock. Okay. Thank you. Next question. Your next question comes from the line of Frank Louthan with Raymond James & Associates. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #1: Do investors want to—I, again, I want to share one other thing that we've shared with investors that I think is really important.
Speaker #1: What that five year model is going to show is that we are fully funded . We are not required to borrow money to fund our future anymore .
Speaker #1: We have excess cash get into over the five years and we'll specifics on that . And our objective is to one fully fund our our growth initiative and our and our the transition of the company .
Kate Johnson: Our objective is to, one, fully fund our growth initiative and the transition of the company. That is fully funded in that model. The second thing would be to continue to reduce leverage a little bit. After that, if there's nothing that achieves those first two objectives, then we'll look to start buying back stock.
Speaker #1: And that is fully funded in that model now. The second thing would be to—you continue to reduce leverage a little bit.
Speaker #1: And after that, if there's nothing that achieves those first two objectives, then we'll look to start buying back stock.
Kate Johnson: Okay. Thank you.
Kate Johnson: Next question.
Speaker #7: Thank you Okay . .
Speaker #5: Next question .
Kate Johnson: Your next question comes from the line of Frank Louthan with Raymond James & Associates. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #3: Your the line comes from next question of Frank Luton with James . And Raymond Associates . Please proceed with your question .
Kate Johnson: Hey, so thank you. So on the slide where you list about a fiber that you have that you're building out, how much of that fiber are you retaining for your own purposes versus what you're building for the customers? Thanks. Yeah. I mean, I'm not exactly sure the question. So we break it down into all the various consumers of it. We've got the hyperscalers connecting their data centers. That's the supply side. We've got enterprise utilization. That's the demand side of our role in the AI economy. And then we have available capacity for growth on the bottom line. And I think what's really interesting is in 2031, when we'll have 58 million miles of fiber installed in the ground, we will have more available for growth than when we started this journey in 2022. Okay. Thank you. Next question.
Kate Johnson: Hey, so thank you. So on the slide where you list about a fiber that you have that you're building out, how much of that fiber are you retaining for your own purposes versus what you're building for the customers? Thanks.
Speaker #8: So .
Speaker #9: Thank you . So on the where you slide list the amount of fiber that you that you have that you're building out , how much of that fiber are you retaining for your own purposes you're versus what building for the customers ?
Kate Johnson: Yeah. I mean, I'm not exactly sure the question. So we break it down into all the various consumers of it. We've got the hyperscalers connecting their data centers. That's the supply side. We've got enterprise utilization. That's the demand side of our role in the AI economy. And then we have available capacity for growth on the bottom line. And I think what's really interesting is in 2031, when we'll have 58 million miles of fiber installed in the ground, we will have more available for growth than when we started this journey in 2022.
Speaker #9: Thanks .
Speaker #2: Yeah . I mean . I'm not I'm not exactly sure the question . So we break it down all the various into consumers of it .
Speaker #2: We've got the hyperscalers connecting their data centers . That's the supply side . We've got enterprise utilization . That's demand of of , side our our role in you know , the AI economy .
Speaker #2: Then we have available capacity and growth on the line. And I think what's interesting is in 2031, when we'll really have 58 million miles of fiber installed on the ground, we will have more available for growth than when we started this journey in 2022.
Kate Johnson: Okay. Thank you.
Kate Johnson: Next question.
Speaker #9: Okay . Thank you .
Kate Johnson: Our next question comes from the line of Greg Williams with TD Cowen. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Great. Thanks for taking my questions. Just on PCF, since you announced all those deals back in August 2024, have you completed any of those projects? I know you said it takes up to three years on these things. What I'm getting at is, is there any more or is there any amortized PCF revenue running through the business at this point and how much, or is it still too early in seeing that revenue? Second question is just on the NAS metrics on slide nine and alluding to the earlier network as a service or digital revenue question.
Kate Johnson: Our next question comes from the line of Greg Williams with TD Cowen. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #5: Next question .
Speaker #3: next Our question comes from the line of Gregory with TD Cohen . Your line is open . Please proceed with your question .
Kate Johnson: Great. Thanks for taking my questions. Just on PCF, since you announced all those deals back in August 2024, have you completed any of those projects? I know you said it takes up to three years on these things. What I'm getting at is, is there any more or is there any amortized PCF revenue running through the business at this point and how much, or is it still too early in seeing that revenue?
Speaker #10: taking my Great . Thanks for questions . Just on PCF , since you announced all those deals back in August of 2024 , have you completed any of those projects ?
Speaker #10: you said it I know takes up to three years on these things . What at is , is there any more ? Is there any I'm getting amortized PCF revenue running through the business at this point ?
Speaker #10: And how much ? Or is it still too early in seeing that revenue ? Second question is just on the Mas metrics . On slide nine and alluding to the earlier network as a service for digital revenue , question .
Kate Johnson: Second question is just on the NAS metrics on slide nine and alluding to the earlier network as a service or digital revenue question. So are you basically trying to say that you're conservative on your estimates for 2028 inflection and that the metrics I see on slide 9, the new customers, new ports, you're pacing ahead of that or you're pacing in line with the sort of $500 to 600 million in digital revenue? Thanks.
Kate Johnson: So are you basically trying to say that you're conservative on your estimates for 2028 inflection and that the metrics I see on slide 9, the new customers, new ports, you're pacing ahead of that or you're pacing in line with the sort of $500 to 600 million in digital revenue? Thanks. Okay. So I'll take the first piece. So when I was talking about conservatism and structural change, I just want to be super clear. The pipes that are in the ground today that are running mission-critical applications for businesses, businesses are going to be very cautious in how they approach changing that infrastructure. And we think the buying patterns in NAS represent exactly what this looks like. They buy a port, they test it. They buy a second port, and they run an application against it.
Speaker #10: So are you basically trying to say that your conservative on your estimates for 2028 inflection and that the the metrics I slide nine , the new see on customers , new ports , you're you're pacing ahead of that or you're pacing , you know , in line the sort with of 5 to 600 million in digital revenue .
Speaker #10: Thanks .
Kate Johnson: Okay. So I'll take the first piece. So when I was talking about conservatism and structural change, I just want to be super clear. The pipes that are in the ground today that are running mission-critical applications for businesses, businesses are going to be very cautious in how they approach changing that infrastructure. And we think the buying patterns in NAS represent exactly what this looks like. They buy a port, they test it. They buy a second port, and they run an application against it. When they have success, they start to buy 3, 4, and 5 ports to run more of their locations.
Speaker #2: So Okay . I'll take the first piece . So when I was talking about conservatism and structural change , I just want to be super clear .
Speaker #2: The pipes that are in the ground today that are running mission-critical applications for businesses—businesses are going to be very cautious in how they approach changing that infrastructure.
Speaker #2: And when we they buying patterns and Nazareth represent exactly what this looks like. They buy a port, then they buy a second port and they test it, application against it.
Kate Johnson: When they have success, they start to buy 3, 4, and 5 ports to run more of their locations. It's a standard land and expand model, and it's still pretty early to draw the curves to figure out exactly what's going to happen. But we're confident in the numbers we've given to the street with an over and an under on that. And we've given you a range because it's very hard to predict the exact revenue outcomes for a massive change in industry. And that's what we are basically presenting. Regarding the PCF infrastructure sales, the ranges we've given you there are tied to whenever we finish construction, we light it up, and we start to recognize the revenue. And the $13 billion, the builds go all the way out through 2031.
Speaker #2: run an When they have success , they start to buy three , four and five ports to run their locations . It's a land standard and expand model , and it's still pretty early to draw the curves to figure out exactly what's going to happen .
Kate Johnson: It's a standard land and expand model, and it's still pretty early to draw the curves to figure out exactly what's going to happen. But we're confident in the numbers we've given to the street with an over and an under on that. And we've given you a range because it's very hard to predict the exact revenue outcomes for a massive change in industry. And that's what we are basically presenting.
Speaker #2: But we're confident in the numbers we've given to the street with an over and under on that , and we've given you a range because it's very hard to predict the exact revenue outcomes for a massive change in industry .
Speaker #2: that's what we've , you know , our And basically presenting regarding the , the PCF infrastructure sales , the ranges we've given you , there are tied to whenever we finish construction , we light it up and we start to recognize the revenue and the 13 billion , the builds go all the way out through 2031 .
Kate Johnson: Regarding the PCF infrastructure sales, the ranges we've given you there are tied to whenever we finish construction, we light it up, and we start to recognize the revenue. And the $13 billion, the builds go all the way out through 2031. The ranges that we gave you for exiting 2028 are not inclusive of what we just sold in Q4 because those builds won't be completed until after 2028. Chris?
Kate Johnson: The ranges that we gave you for exiting 2028 are not inclusive of what we just sold in Q4 because those builds won't be completed until after 2028. Chris? Yeah. Just a few more details. In my prepared remarks, I said that in all of last year, we had $161 million of revenue recognized. Sorry, $116 million. Thank you. $41 million of that was delivered in the fourth quarter. You can see it's starting to scale and ramp now. We are either on or ahead of delivery schedule at this point with all of our customers. Super helpful. Thank you. Next question. Your next question comes from the line of Michael Ng with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Hey, good afternoon. I wanted to ask about the new segment reporting between strategic and legacy.
Speaker #2: And the ranges that we gave you for exiting '28 are inclusive of what sold in Q4, just because those builds won't be completed until after 2028.
Kate Johnson: Yeah. Just a few more details. In my prepared remarks, I said that in all of last year, we had $161 million of revenue recognized. Sorry, $116 million. Thank you. $41 million of that was delivered in the fourth quarter. You can see it's starting to scale and ramp now. We are either on or ahead of delivery schedule at this point with all of our customers.
Speaker #2: Chris
Speaker #1: and
Speaker #1: just a few more details . So in my . prepared Yeah , remarks , I said that in in all of last year , we had $161 million of revenue Sorry , recognized .
Speaker #1: 116 . Thank you . And 41 of that was delivered in the fourth quarter . So you can see it's it's starting to scale and now .
Speaker #1: But ramp we are either or ahead of delivery schedule with all of our at this point customers .
Kate Johnson: Super helpful. Thank you.
Kate Johnson: Next question.
Kate Johnson: Your next question comes from the line of Michael Ng with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #10: helpful .
Speaker #5: Thank you. Super. Next question.
Speaker #3: Your next question comes from the line of Michael Ng with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Kate Johnson: Hey, good afternoon. I wanted to ask about the new segment reporting between strategic and legacy. I think strategic is made up of a portion of grow and nurture. Could you just talk a little bit about what's in strategic? What part of grow didn't make it in? I would assume it's like VOIP, but would love to hear a little bit more about that. And then what are your assumptions in terms of the strategic revenue growth and the legacy revenue declines as we inflect to business revenue growth in 2028? Thank you, Chris.
Speaker #11: good Hey , afternoon . I wanted to ask about the new segment reporting between Strategic and legacy . You know , I think strategic is made up of a portion of grow and nurture .
Kate Johnson: I think strategic is made up of a portion of grow and nurture. Could you just talk a little bit about what's in strategic? What part of grow didn't make it in? I would assume it's like VOIP, but would love to hear a little bit more about that. And then what are your assumptions in terms of the strategic revenue growth and the legacy revenue declines as we inflect to business revenue growth in 2028? Thank you, Chris. Yeah. Yeah, no problem. So the shift, what we did is the grow items that didn't make the cut. And again, grow really relates to the most modern forms of connectivity, everything from delivered in a traditional manner to deliver digitally. But what we took out were specific product lines that are in decline.
Speaker #11: Could you just bit talk a little about what's in strategic of ? What part grow didn't make it in ? I would assume it's like VoIP , but would love to to hear a little bit more about that .
Speaker #11: then And what are your assumptions in terms of like the strategic revenue growth and the legacy revenue declines as we business to to inflect revenue growth in 2028 ?
Kate Johnson: Yeah. Yeah, no problem. So the shift, what we did is the grow items that didn't make the cut. And again, grow really relates to the most modern forms of connectivity, everything from delivered in a traditional manner to deliver digitally. But what we took out were specific product lines that are in decline. So when you think about lower capacity connectivity versus higher capacity connectivity, there are parts of those businesses that are in decline. And in effect, those are legacy businesses now.
Speaker #11: Thank you . Chris .
Speaker #1: yeah . Yeah , No problem . So the the shift what we did is the grow items that didn't make the cut . And again grow really relates to the most modern forms of connectivity .
Speaker #1: Everything from traditional , you know delivered in a traditional manner to . Deliver digitally . But what we took out were specific product lines that are in decline .
Kate Johnson: So when you think about lower capacity connectivity versus higher capacity connectivity, there are parts of those businesses that are in decline. And in effect, those are legacy businesses now. And by the way, this is something that is very rules-based internally. And as we go forward because of product lifecycle, you'll continue to see us move products through that lifecycle so that we're giving you a very clear view. The items that moved out of nurture and into strategic were really things like Ethernet on demand, right? VPN on demand. Those are digitally delivered products that are in demand and grow products, products that our sales team should be selling. Now, to the second part of your question, we will continue to see the mix shift in our favor and that strategic bucket grow from the 52% from here forward.
Speaker #1: So when you think about lower capacity connectivity versus higher capacity connectivity , there are parts of those businesses that are in decline and in effect , those are legacy businesses .
Kate Johnson: And by the way, this is something that is very rules-based internally. And as we go forward because of product lifecycle, you'll continue to see us move products through that lifecycle so that we're giving you a very clear view. The items that moved out of nurture and into strategic were really things like Ethernet on demand, right? VPN on demand. Those are digitally delivered products that are in demand and grow products, products that our sales team should be selling.
Speaker #1: Now . And and by the way , is something that is this rules very based internally . And as we go forward , product because of life cycle , you'll continue to see us move products through that life cycle .
Speaker #1: So that you have a very, we're giving a clear view that the items that moved out of Nurture and into Strategic were really things like Ethernet On Demand, right?
Speaker #1: VPN on demand are digitally delivered products that are in and grow products, demand products that our sales teams should be selling.
Kate Johnson: Now, to the second part of your question, we will continue to see the mix shift in our favor and that strategic bucket grow from the 52% from here forward. And we'll give you a better view of that in a few weeks at Investor Day.
Speaker #1: Now, to the question—second part of your question. We will continue to see the mix shift in our favor and that strategic bucket grow from the 52% from here forward.
Kate Johnson: And we'll give you a better view of that in a few weeks at Investor Day. Great. Thanks for the thoughts, Chris. Okay. Your next question comes from the line of Nick Deldeo with MoffettNathanson. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Hey, thanks for taking my questions. So you talked about NAS sales being strong. Interest in PCF seems pretty strong. Can you talk more broadly about what you're seeing with respect to growth sales for the remainder of the business, and maybe share some insights into churn trends? And then second, just to follow up on Greg's question earlier, thinking about the PCF revenue that you disclosed this year, should we think of that as sort of a 90/10 non-cash versus cash split akin to the overall mix that you originally described, or was there a different non-cash versus cash mix? Thanks.
Speaker #1: And we'll give you a better view of that in a few weeks—at Investor Day.
Kate Johnson: Great. Thanks for the thoughts, Chris.
Speaker #11: Okay, great. Thanks for the thoughts, Chris.
Kate Johnson: Okay. Your next question comes from the line of Nick Deldeo with MoffettNathanson. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #3: Okay. Your next question comes from the line of Nick Dalio with Moffett. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Kate Johnson: Hey, thanks for taking my questions. So you talked about NAS sales being strong. Interest in PCF seems pretty strong. Can you talk more broadly about what you're seeing with respect to growth sales for the remainder of the business, and maybe share some insights into churn trends? And then second, just to follow up on Greg's question earlier, thinking about the PCF revenue that you disclosed this year, should we think of that as sort of a 90/10 non-cash versus cash split akin to the overall mix that you originally described, or was there a different non-cash versus cash mix? Thanks.
Speaker #12: Hey , thanks for taking my questions . So you've talked about sales being strong interest in Pcrf seems pretty strong . Can you talk more broadly about what you're seeing with respect to gross sales for the remainder of the business ?
Speaker #12: share some And maybe into insights churn trends ? And then second , just to question Greg's on follow up earlier , know , thinking PCF the about revenue that you disclosed this year , should we think of that as sort of a versus 9010 non-cash cash split ?
Speaker #12: You know, akin to the overall mix that you originally described? Or was there a different non-cash versus cash mix? Thanks.
Kate Johnson: So in terms of the first part, Nick, we saw particular strength in IP this quarter. But again, really across all connectivity solutions, there's demand right now. So no surprises there. Churn trends in total have remained fairly consistent with where they have been, which obviously was an improvement in 2025 versus 2024. But one thing we are seeing, and we don't have numbers to disclose, but on our NAS offerings, the churn rates are dramatically less than what we see on traditional sales. It's a much stickier sale. And Nick, what was the second part of your question? Oh, so the PCF revenue that you disclosed, the $41 million in the quarter and the $116 million for the year, should we think of that as being like 90% non-cash, 10% cash, or is there a different mix because you're kind of early in the process?
Kate Johnson: So in terms of the first part, Nick, we saw particular strength in IP this quarter. But again, really across all connectivity solutions, there's demand right now. So no surprises there. Churn trends in total have remained fairly consistent with where they have been, which obviously was an improvement in 2025 versus 2024. But one thing we are seeing, and we don't have numbers to disclose, but on our NAS offerings, the churn rates are dramatically less than what we see on traditional sales. It's a much stickier sale. And Nick, what was the second part of your question?
Speaker #1: So in terms of the first part , Nick , we saw particular strength in IP this quarter . But again , there's really across all connectivity solutions , there's demand right now .
Speaker #1: So, no surprises there. Churn trends in total have remained fairly consistent with where they have been, which obviously was an improvement.
Speaker #1: You in 25 versus 24 . But one thing we seeing are and we don't have numbers to disclose , but on our nnas offering , the churn rates are dramatically less than what we see on on traditional sales .
Speaker #1: It's a much stickier sale.
Speaker #5: And Nick, what was the second part of your question?
Kate Johnson: Oh, so the PCF revenue that you disclosed, the $41 million in the quarter and the $116 million for the year, should we think of that as being like 90% non-cash, 10% cash, or is there a different mix because you're kind of early in the process?
Speaker #12: so
Speaker #12: the PCF revenue that you disclosed , the 41 , ? Oh , million in the quarter 116 for the and the year , should we think of that as being like 90% non-cash ?
Speaker #12: 10% cash, or is there a different mix because you're kind of early in the process?
Kate Johnson: I think that's reasonable just to assume as we go forward because again, to your point, our guidance has been that 90% of the cash is received upfront for the builds and then 10% as we light that fiber. And we don't recognize the revenue until we light the fiber. So I think it's a good assumption. And again, we will give you the five-year outlook for the impact to revenue from those deals in a few weeks. Okay. Great. Thanks, Chris. Next question. Your next question comes from the line of Michael Funk with Bank of America. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question. Great. Yeah. Thank you for taking the questions. So first one, a lot of reports of construction delays recently, specifically data center builds. So what are you doing specifically to avoid construction delays?
Kate Johnson: I think that's reasonable just to assume as we go forward because again, to your point, our guidance has been that 90% of the cash is received upfront for the builds and then 10% as we light that fiber. And we don't recognize the revenue until we light the fiber. So I think it's a good assumption. And again, we will give you the five-year outlook for the impact to revenue from those deals in a few weeks.
Speaker #1: I think that's that's reasonable . Just to assume as we go forward , because , again , to your point , you guidance has been that 90% of the cash is received upfront for the builds .
Speaker #1: And and then then 10% as we as we light that fiber and we don't recognize the the revenue until we until we light the fiber .
Speaker #1: So I think that's a good assumption. And again, we will give you the five-year outlook for the impact to revenue from those deals in a few weeks.
Kate Johnson: Okay. Great. Thanks, Chris.
Kate Johnson: Next question.
Speaker #12: Okay. Great. Thanks, Chris.
Kate Johnson: Your next question comes from the line of Michael Funk with Bank of America. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #5: Next question .
Speaker #3: Comes next question. Your, Michael, from the line, your line is open. Please proceed with your Bank of question.
Kate Johnson: Great. Yeah. Thank you for taking the questions. So first one, a lot of reports of construction delays recently, specifically data center builds. So what are you doing specifically to avoid construction delays? And I just want to understand better, in the contracts that you have with customers and revenue recognition for the PCF, are they able to delay acceptance of delivery, or once it's finished, do you light it up as to recognizing revenue at that point?
Speaker #13: Great . Yeah . Thank you for taking the questions . So first one , a lot of reports that construction delays recently , specifically data center builds .
Speaker #13: So you know, what are you doing specifically to avoid delays in construction? I just don't understand better, in the contracts that you have with customers and revenue recognition for the PCF, are they able to delay acceptance of delivery, or once it's finished, do you light it up and start recognizing revenue at that point?
Kate Johnson: And I just want to understand better, in the contracts that you have with customers and revenue recognition for the PCF, are they able to delay acceptance of delivery, or once it's finished, do you light it up as to recognizing revenue at that point? A couple of things. First, what are we doing to deliver on time? We have scale and scale across many different elements that really matter. So scale across the supply chain. So our contracts are very favorable in terms of first off the line, priority status. We have scale in terms of workforce. So if you want to join a construction team that's going to be at this for several years, you want to join one of our partners because they're building the largest expansion of the internet at large for Lumen.
Kate Johnson: A couple of things. First, what are we doing to deliver on time? We have scale and scale across many different elements that really matter. So scale across the supply chain. So our contracts are very favorable in terms of first off the line, priority status. We have scale in terms of workforce. So if you want to join a construction team that's going to be at this for several years, you want to join one of our partners because they're building the largest expansion of the internet at large for Lumen.
Speaker #2: A couple things. First, what are we doing to deliver on time? We have scale and across many different elements that really matter.
Speaker #2: So, scale across the supply chain. So our contracts are very favorable in off the – priority terms of first line. We have scale in terms of workforce.
Speaker #2: So now, if you want to join a construction that's going to be at this for several years, you want to join one of our partners, because they're building the largest expansion of the internet at large for Lumen.
Kate Johnson: So our scale really, really matters here and gives us the accessibility to all the things that we need to ensure that there are no constraints put on our ability to execute on time. Regarding demand and pressing pause, the general feeling in the market is how fast can you go? And it's widely recognized that we can go fast because we're oftentimes already there. And the amount of work that we have to do is about overbuilding and not building for the first time. I will tell you, I can't reveal any names here, but we did a large deal with a company, a cloud company. And it was the first time that we'd done work with this company and went so fast that we got a call from the head of operations that said, "We've never experienced this kind of speed before with a telco.
Kate Johnson: So our scale really, really matters here and gives us the accessibility to all the things that we need to ensure that there are no constraints put on our ability to execute on time. Regarding demand and pressing pause, the general feeling in the market is how fast can you go? And it's widely recognized that we can go fast because we're oftentimes already there. And the amount of work that we have to do is about overbuilding and not building for the first time.
Speaker #2: And so our scale really, really matters here and gives us the accessibility to all the things that we need to ensure that there are no put-on constraints.
Speaker #2: , you know , on our our ability to on execute time . Regarding demand . And , you know , pause pressing the general feeling in the market how is fast can you go ?
Speaker #2: And it's widely recognized that we can go fast because we're oftentimes already there. And the, you know, amount of work that we have to do is about over and not building for the first time.
Kate Johnson: I will tell you, I can't reveal any names here, but we did a large deal with a company, a cloud company. And it was the first time that we'd done work with this company and went so fast that we got a call from the head of operations that said, "We've never experienced this kind of speed before with a telco. Can we meet more regularly so that we can understand your true capacity and ability to go at this pace?" Because we weren't quite ready for it. So that was one of the more fun phone calls I've ever gotten. I'm going to be very honest with you. And then, Chris, did you want to add something?
Speaker #2: will I tell you can't I can't reveal here , any , I but we did a large deal with with a a company , cloud company , it was and the first time that we'd done work with this company .
Speaker #2: And it went so fast that we got a call from the head of operations that said, 'I've never experienced this kind of speed before with the telco.'
Kate Johnson: Can we meet more regularly so that we can understand your true capacity and ability to go at this pace?" Because we weren't quite ready for it. So that was one of the more fun phone calls I've ever gotten. I'm going to be very honest with you. And then, Chris, did you want to add something? Yeah. I'd say a couple of other things. On the first part, on the construction, again, we've got a very special relationship with Corning. And we are doing very well in terms of access to fiber. I think the other point, though, and I'm going to kind of go with the nuance of your question, which is, can they hit pause because of concerns over a bubble?
Speaker #2: You know, can we meet more regularly so we understand your true capacity and ability to go at this pace? Because we weren’t quite ready for it.
Speaker #2: ready So that was one of the more fun phone calls I've ever gotten . I'm going to be very honest with you . And then , Christy , do you want to add something ?
Kate Johnson: Yeah. I'd say a couple of other things. On the first part, on the construction, again, we've got a very special relationship with Corning. And we are doing very well in terms of access to fiber. I think the other point, though, and I'm going to kind of go with the nuance of your question, which is, can they hit pause because of concerns over a bubble?
Speaker #1: Yeah , I'd say a couple of things on the on the first part of the construction . we've got a very special relationship with Corning and , and we we are doing very well in terms of access to fiber .
Speaker #1: I think the other the other I'm going point , though , and to kind of go with the nuance of question , can they your hit is because of a concerns over bubble can say ?
Kate Johnson: I can say consistently, and in terms of our engagements with those customers, and you can hear it in the market, hyperscalers are not talking about a bubble. They are talking about they don't have enough, fast enough. And I would also tell you that many of our contracts have performance bonuses in them for us to go faster. So that's the reality that we live with every day, and we're delivering against it. Yeah. And I think one of the final things I'll mention is that the reason why we're able to execute as swiftly as we are is the same reason why we get chosen. And that's because a lot of the deals that we're doing are to existing data center areas where our network has proximity. Great. Question? Thank you all. Your last question comes from the line of Sam McHugh with BNP. Your line is open.
Kate Johnson: I can say consistently, and in terms of our engagements with those customers, and you can hear it in the market, hyperscalers are not talking about a bubble. They are talking about they don't have enough, fast enough. And I would also tell you that many of our contracts have performance bonuses in them for us to go faster. So that's the reality that we live with every day, and we're delivering against it. Yeah.
Speaker #1: Consistently, and in terms of our engagements with customers, you can hear it in the market—hyperscalers are not talking about a [pause]. They are talking about how they don't have fast enough [pause].
Speaker #1: I would also tell you that many of our contracts have performance bonuses in them for us to go faster. So the reality is that's what we live with every day.
Kate Johnson: And I think one of the final things I'll mention is that the reason why we're able to execute as swiftly as we are is the same reason why we get chosen. And that's because a lot of the deals that we're doing are to existing data center areas where our network has proximity.
Speaker #1: And we're delivering against it.
Speaker #2: Yeah. And I think one of the final things I'll say is that the reason why we're able to execute as swiftly as we are is the same reason why we get chosen.
Speaker #2: And that's because a lot of the deals that we're doing are to existing data center areas where our network has proximity.
Kate Johnson: Great.
Kate Johnson: Question? Thank you all.
Speaker #5: Right .
Kate Johnson: Your last question comes from the line of Sam McHugh with BNP. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Speaker #3: Your last question comes from the line of Sam McHugh with BNP. Your line is open. Please proceed with your question.
Kate Johnson: Please proceed with your question. Yeah. Thanks, guys. I have a couple of follow-ups for you, Chris, if you don't mind. The first one was on the EBITDA guide. I think you mentioned about the growth in 2026 at the $3.5 billion prior guide. I just wanted to clarify the range of $3.1 to 3.3 billion. Are we saying it's still growth versus 2025 throughout the whole range or at the midpoint of the range? And then the second was, and I'll try, but go on. You go first. Yeah. Yeah. So just to answer that. So the $3.5 billion was when we still had the consumer business in there. And I think the estimate for 2026 at that time was about $300 million in adjusted EBITDA. So that's broad numbers. That's really what's driving us there. As it relates to inflection, we're saying inflection on the year.
Kate Johnson: Yeah. Thanks, guys. I have a couple of follow-ups for you, Chris, if you don't mind. The first one was on the EBITDA guide. I think you mentioned about the growth in 2026 at the $3.5 billion prior guide. I just wanted to clarify the range of $3.1 to 3.3 billion. Are we saying it's still growth versus 2025 throughout the whole range or at the midpoint of the range? And then the second was, and I'll try, but go on. You go first.
Speaker #5: Yeah .
Speaker #14: Thanks , guys . I had a couple ups for you . of follow If you don't mind . The first one was on the EBITDA guide .
Speaker #14: I think you mentioned about the growth in '26 at the $3.5 billion prior, I just want to clarify the range. Are we at $3.1 to $3.3 billion?
Speaker #14: still growth versus 25 throughout the whole range or at the midpoint of the ? range And then the second was and I'll try , but go you go first .
Kate Johnson: Yeah. Yeah. So just to answer that. So the $3.5 billion was when we still had the consumer business in there. And I think the estimate for 2026 at that time was about $300 million in adjusted EBITDA. So that's broad numbers. That's really what's driving us there. As it relates to inflection, we're saying inflection on the year. It's not going to be in every quarter.
Speaker #5: Yeah , yeah .
Speaker #1: So just to to answer that . So the three and a half was when we still had the consumer business in there . the estimate And I think for , for 2026 at that time was about 300 million in EBITDA , adjusted EBITDA .
Speaker #1: So that's , you know , broad numbers , that's that's really what's driving us there as it relates to inflection . We're saying inflection on the year .
Kate Johnson: It's not going to be in every quarter. And again, when you see the pro forma math in the 10-K tomorrow, that will help with that. But sorry, you had a follow-up. No, no. Yeah. And the follow-up was one on PCF. And I guess maybe we won't get an answer until the CMD, but rough math would suggest working capital and PCF cash inflows are around $1.7 billion or something based on the guide. Am I miles off with that? And is there any reason why working capital could be massively positive or negative? Yeah. I mean, working capital will definitely be positive. And that's obviously where those PCF inflows and outflows or inflows show on the balance sheet, and then the outflows obviously show up in CapEx.
Kate Johnson: And again, when you see the pro forma math in the 10-K tomorrow, that will help with that. But sorry, you had a follow-up. No, no. Yeah. And the follow-up was one on PCF. And I guess maybe we won't get an answer until the CMD, but rough math would suggest working capital and PCF cash inflows are around $1.7 billion or something based on the guide. Am I miles off with that? And is there any reason why working capital could be massively positive or negative?
Speaker #1: It's not going to be in every quarter . And again , when you see proforma the mass in the AK tomorrow , that that will help with that .
Speaker #1: sorry , you had a follow But up . .
Speaker #14: And the follow up on was one on PCF . And I guess maybe I won't get an answer , but until the CMD .
Speaker #14: But rough suggestion, like working capital and cash PCF inflows are around $1.7 billion or something based on the guide—like, am I miles off with that?
Speaker #14: And is there any reason why working capital could be massively positive or negative?
Kate Johnson: Yeah. I mean, working capital will definitely be positive. And that's obviously where those PCF inflows and outflows or inflows show on the balance sheet, and then the outflows obviously show up in CapEx. So again, as we've said to the market, at some point, when PCF stops, we'll have trailing CapEx that we've already received the cash for. But with $2.5 billion coming in and more demand in the pipeline, that's just not something that we're encountering right now. And that obviously increased our guide for next year. And I think that's why people are seeing that we're higher than consensus on that estimate.
Speaker #1: Yeah , I mean , working capital will definitely be positive . And that's that's obviously the where those PCF inflows and or outflows inflows show on the on the balance sheet .
Speaker #1: And then the outflows obviously show up in CapEx . So , you know , again , we've as said market to the at some point when PCF stops , we'll have trailing CapEx we've that already received the cash for .
Kate Johnson: So again, as we've said to the market, at some point, when PCF stops, we'll have trailing CapEx that we've already received the cash for. But with $2.5 billion coming in and more demand in the pipeline, that's just not something that we're encountering right now. And that obviously increased our guide for next year. And I think that's why people are seeing that we're higher than consensus on that estimate. Well, thank you very much. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now pass it back to Kate Johnson, CEO, for closing remarks. Thanks, moderator. And thanks, everybody, for engaging in today's call. We look forward to speaking with you more about the future of Lumen at our Investor Day in just a few weeks. Have a great night. That does conclude the conference call for today.
Speaker #1: But with $2.5 billion coming in and, you know, more demand in the pipeline, that's just not something that we're encountering right now.
Speaker #1: And that obviously increased our guide for next year. And I think that's—people are seeing that we're consensus higher than on that Y estimate.
Kate Johnson: Well, thank you very much.
Speaker #14: Well, thank you very much.
Kate Johnson: There are no further questions at this time. I'll now pass it back to Kate Johnson, CEO, for closing remarks.
Speaker #3: There are no further questions at this time. I'll now pass it back to Kate Johnson for CEO closing remarks.
Kate Johnson: Thanks, moderator. And thanks, everybody, for engaging in today's call. We look forward to speaking with you more about the future of Lumen at our Investor Day in just a few weeks. Have a great night. That does conclude the conference call for today.
Speaker #2: Thanks . Moderator . And thanks , everybody , for engaging in today's call . We look forward to speaking with you more about the future of Lumina at our Investor Day in just a few weeks .
Speaker #2: Have a great night .
Speaker #3: That does conclude the call for conference today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please line. Have a great day everyone. Disconnect your.
Kate Johnson: We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your line. Have a great day, everyone.
Kate Johnson: We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your line. Have a great day, everyone.
