Lumen Projects $1B Cost Savings, $13.2B Debt Reduction And 47M Fiber Miles By 2028 Following AT&T Deal; Accelerates Multi-Billion-Dollar Fiber Expansion To 47M Miles By 2028

In its ongoing mission to unleash the world's digital potential, Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) today shared highlights from its 2025 Industry Analyst Forum, where analysts engaged with the company's leadership team around the Forum's theme – The Trusted Network for AI. Key moments spotlighted the company's comprehensive blueprint for transformation, financial progress, and a preview of new innovations and programs designed to strengthen Lumen's position as a digital networking services company for the AI era.

The company also outlined continued progress to reset its financial foundation and create significant capacity for growth. Following the anticipated 1H 2026 close of Lumen's mass-market fiber sale to AT&T, in just over 2 years the company is projected to have:

Fully funded its future strategic plans, reduced gross debt by over 35% to $13.2 billion, reduced gross leverage to below 4x, and reduced annual interest expense by nearly 50% to approximately $700 million.
Reduced approximately $1 billion in capex associated with the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout of divested consumer assets.
Delivered $350 million in annualized cost savings by the end of 2025 and $1 billion by year end 2027 through the company's modernization program. This, in conjunction with improving product mix, should lead to continued margin and FCF improvement.

Building the Backbone for the AI Economy

Lumen's strategy begins with the physical network, which carries a significant portion of the world's internet traffic. With construction underway coast-to-coast, the company is executing a multi-billion-dollar program to expand its intercity and metro fiber backbone:

Adding 34 million new fiber miles by the end of 2028 for a total of 47 million intercity and metro miles.
Connecting data centers, clouds, edge, and enterprise locations in any combination.
Delivering 400G today and plans to scale to 1.6 terabits in the future.
Lumen's substantial investments to expand high-speed connectivity ensures customers have the network scale, speed, and reliability to confidently innovate and grow without constraints.