LUMN
Lumen Technologies, Inc.
LUMN trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META has the edge over LUMN overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
LUMN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Weak |
LUMN's profitability is currently stable, but its revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
LUMN PE Valuation
LUMN has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
META PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $624 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $613 | -1.7% |
| Current | 21x | $624 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $803 | +29% |
| Expensive | 32x | $934 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
META's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
LUMN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Decline | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect LUMN's losses to shrink, with revenue declining.
META Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for META, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
LUMN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.67 | +$0.99 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.03 | +$0.16 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.75 | -$1.43 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.75 | -$1.69 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.66 | +$0.52 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.19 | +$0.92 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.32 | +$10.62 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.06 | +$10.42 |
LUMN is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.67 per share over the past year, against $11.48 at its worst in late 2023.
META Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $32.16 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $29.32 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.54 | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.50 | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.49 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.58 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.56 | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.58 | +47% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.86 | +60% |
META has the edge over LUMN on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LUMN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.7B | -12% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.8B | -9.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.9B | -8.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | -8.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.1B | -4.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.1B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.2B | -3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.3B | -5.3% |
LUMN's revenue has slid since its 2019 peak: $2.7B last quarter, down 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -6.2% | -2.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | -3.1% | +16 points |
| Q1 2026 | 21% | +17 points |
| Q4 2025 | -6.6% | -11 points |
| Q3 2025 | -3.8% | -7.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | -20% | -24 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.4% | +2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6% | +55 points |
LUMN's operating margin was −6.2% last quarter, down 2.4 points from the same quarter a year ago.
META Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6B | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.8B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.9B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $51.2B | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.5B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.3B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.4B | +21% |
META has the edge over LUMN on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 31% | -12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 40% | -2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 48% | +7.4 points |
META has the edge over LUMN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LUMN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$354M | -124% |
| Q2 2026 | $69M | +$390M |
| Q1 2026 | $380M | +25% |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.1B | -$855M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +24% |
| Q2 2025 | -$321M | -$79M |
| Q1 2025 | $304M | -22% |
| Q4 2024 | -$227M | -$190M |
LUMN's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$987M over the past year.
META Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.2B | -110% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.2B | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1B | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.6B | +16% |
META has the edge over LUMN on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
LUMN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +669K shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +8.8M shares |
| 3 years | +2.2% | +21.2M shares |
| 5 years | -6% | -64.4M shares |
| Available history | -6.2% | -66.7M shares |
LUMN has 1B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | $200M |
| Q4 2021 | $91M |
META Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -286M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -303M shares |
META has the edge over LUMN on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B |
| Q1 2025 | $12.8B |
| Q4 2024 | — |
META hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
LUMN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.3x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.8x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.5x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 6.2x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.7x | High |
LUMN's net debt is about 4.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 6.4 years a year ago.
META Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
META has the edge over LUMN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LUMN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.7 | Oversold |
LUMN's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
META Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
META's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
LUMN PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | LUMN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
LUMN has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META is trading at 21x earnings, a 29% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
LUMN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $4.88 | 15% below |
| 20 week MA | $5.81 | 28% below |
| 50 week MA | $7.24 | 42% below |
| 100 week MA | $6.23 | 33% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.53 | 7.9% below |
LUMN is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 7.9% below its 200-week average.
META Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $674.9 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $634.5 | 1.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.8 | 1.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $647.8 | 3.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $517.5 | 21% above |
META has the edge over LUMN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LUMN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $13.4 | $9.86 | -27% |
| 2021 | $9.86 | $12.8 | +30% |
| 2022 | $12.8 | $5.24 | -59% |
| 2023 | $5.24 | $1.83 | -65% |
| 2024 | $1.83 | $5.49 | +200% |
| 2025 | $5.49 | $7.69 | +40% |
| 2026 YTD | $7.69 | $4.17 | -46% |
LUMN's yearly returns have swung widely, from +200% in 2024 to −65% in 2023. It's down 46% so far in 2026.
META Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $208.1 | $267.4 | +28% |
| 2021 | $267.4 | $335.2 | +25% |
| 2022 | $335.2 | $118.0 | -65% |
| 2023 | $118.0 | $354.0 | +200% |
| 2024 | $354.0 | $599.8 | +69% |
| 2025 | $599.8 | $663.3 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $663.3 | $623.6 | -6% |
META has the edge over LUMN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.