Lumen Ratings Upgraded by Top 3 Global Ratings Agencies

Key Terms

ebitda financial

EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It measures a company's profitability by focusing on the money it makes from its core operations, ignoring expenses like taxes and accounting adjustments. Investors use EBITDA to compare how well different companies are performing financially, as it provides a clearer picture of operational success without the influence of financial structure or accounting choices.

issuer default rating financial

An issuer default rating is a credit score assigned by a rating agency that expresses how likely a company or government is to miss interest or principal payments on its debt. Investors use it like a reliability grade or weather forecast for credit risk: a higher rating signals lower chance of loss, can make borrowing cheaper, and helps decide whether bonds or debt-linked investments are worth the risk.

senior unsecured debt financial

A senior unsecured debt is a loan or bond that a company must repay before other unsecured obligations but is not backed by specific assets as collateral. Think of it as being earlier in line for repayment, like a preferred ticket in a queue, but without a guarantee you’ll get property if the company fails; that priority reduces risk compared with junior debt and affects expected interest rates and recovery prospects for investors.

recovery rating financial

A recovery rating is an estimate of how much money creditors or investors are likely to get back if a company defaults or enters bankruptcy, usually shown as a percentage or a simple grade. It matters because it helps investors gauge downside risk and potential losses—like knowing how much value you could salvage from a broken appliance—so higher recovery ratings generally mean less expected loss and influence bond prices and lending decisions.

liquidity financial

Liquidity is how easily and quickly an asset or investment can be converted into cash without losing value. It matters to investors because higher liquidity means they can access their money quickly if needed, while lower liquidity can make it harder to sell assets promptly or at a fair price, potentially creating financial challenges. Think of it like trying to sell a common item versus a rare collectible—it's much easier to sell the common item fast.

hyperscaler technical

A hyperscaler is a very large provider of cloud computing and data-center services that owns and operates vast amounts of servers, storage and network capacity to host other companies’ applications and data. Think of them as the electric utility for digital services: their scale cuts unit costs, enables rapid growth for customers, and creates high barriers to entry, so investors watch their market share, margins and capital spending closely.

Upgrades reflect strengthened balance sheet, improved liquidity profile, and disciplined execution against its financial and strategic priorities

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) today announced that it has received upgraded ratings from all three major global ratings agencies – Fitch Ratings (Fitch), Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s), and S&P Global (S&P) – marking a significant milestone in the company’s multi-year financial and operational transformation.

“These upgrades validate the hard work of our teams and the structural progress we’ve made to strengthen our balance sheet and reposition Lumen for sustainable growth,” said Kate Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Lumen. “We have reduced debt, lowered our cost of capital, and enhanced financial flexibility, while investing in the next generation of digital network infrastructure to support enterprise customers in the AI-driven economy.”

All three agencies cited significant debt reduction and lower leverage, extended maturity runway with no major maturities near term, strengthened liquidity and financial flexibility, and improved stability following strategic portfolio simplification:

• Moody’s upgraded Lumen’s Corporate Family Rating to B2 from B3 with a stable outlook, citing the company’s materially improved credit profile following the $4.8 billion debt reduction tied to the Mass Markets sale to AT&T. Moody’s highlighted lower leverage, projected total debt-to-EBITDA near 4.0x by year-end 2026, and strong liquidity. The agency also noted solid demand for Lumen’s fiber capacity from large enterprise customers and improved financial flexibility.
• Fitch upgraded Lumen’s long-term issuer default rating to ‘B’ from ‘CCC+’, citing meaningful deleveraging, strengthened liquidity, and extended debt maturities following the sale of the company’s Mass Markets fiber business to AT&T and associated debt reduction. Recent private connectivity fabric (PCF) contract wins, totaling nearly $13 billion, were also among the contributing factors cited by Fitch.
• S&P raised Lumen’s senior unsecured debt rating to ‘B’ from ‘CCC’ and improved its recovery rating, reflecting enhanced recovery prospects for noteholders and improved leverage metrics. The agency also cited proceeds from the completed AT&T transaction which retired all $4.8 billion in super-priority debt, reducing the company’s interest expense by $300 million annually. S&P affirmed Lumen’s issuer credit rating at ‘B-’, given its large amount of cash on hand to fund its hyperscaler projects.

The latest rating upgrades come ahead of Lumen’s Investor Day on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when senior management will outline the company’s multi-year growth strategy and financial framework.

The event webcast and post-event replay will be accessible on Lumen’s Investor Relations website under Investor Day. The replay and summary materials from the presentations will be available on the website approximately 24 hours following the completion of the event.

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen is unleashing the world's digital potential. We ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. As the trusted network for AI, Lumen uses the scale of our network to help companies realize AI’s full potential. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to our edge cloud, security, managed service, and digital platform capabilities, we meet our customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow.

For news and insights visit news.lumen.com, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, X: lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding management’s expectations with respect to our business, strategy and operations as well as statements identified by words such as “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not promises nor guarantees of future results, are based on our current expectations only and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as updated in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated by us in these statements due to several factors, including those referenced in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260223472150/en/

Media Contacts:

Joe Goode

Joseph.Goode@lumen.com

+1 781-799-6048

Investor Relations:

Jim Breen, CFA

Investor.Relations@lumen.com

+1 617-892-5965

Source: Lumen Technologies