Lumen Technologies (LUMN) experienced a turbulent trading session on February 5, 2025, closing at $4.97, down 1.39% from the previous day's close of $5.04. The stock opened at $5.49, reaching a high of $5.51 before plummeting to a low of $4.75, with an unusually high trading volume of 32,987,396 shares, more than double its average. Despite reporting a positive turnaround in its Q4 earnings, with a net income of $85 million and earnings of $0.09 per share, Lumen's guidance for a steep drop in EBITDA disappointed investors, overshadowing the earnings beat.
The mixed response to Lumen's earnings report was further complicated by the company's ongoing challenges with declining revenues in its legacy segments and a negative free cash flow of $174 million. While the company showed growth in its public sector business and strategic initiatives in AI and cloud services, the overall revenue decline and the complexity of its business segment results raised concerns. Additionally, the announcement of "proactive disconnects" in legacy products added to investor apprehension.