Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) shares climbed about 9% on Wednesday morning after the company declared its turnaround phase finished and presented a multi-year expansion strategy during its 2026 Investor Day.
The telecom group revealed plans to significantly scale its fiber footprint, targeting roughly 58 million fiber miles by 2031 compared with 17 million intercity fiber miles at the end of 2025. Lumen also announced it had been chosen to expand Anthropic’s North American fiber infrastructure, contributing to nearly $13 billion in total Private Connectivity Fabric agreements.
Management outlined financial goals focused on improving margins, increasing free cash flow and driving enterprise revenue growth through 2028. Adjusted EBITDA margins are expected to rise from 27.1% in 2025 to around the mid-30% range by 2030.
The company said its Network-as-a-Service platform now serves more than 2,000 customers, while deployment of its Multi-Cloud Gateway is aimed at speeding data transfers across distributed AI ecosystems. Lumen is also deepening partnerships with technology companies including Palantir, Meter, Commvault, QTS and Digital Realty.
Over the past three years, the company has strengthened its balance sheet by reducing debt and improving liquidity, achieving roughly $500 million in annual interest savings and about $1 billion in lower capital expenditures. Lumen also completed the $5.75 billion sale of its Mass Markets fiber-to-the-home business to AT&T, bringing total debt below $13 billion.
All three major global credit rating agencies have since upgraded Lumen’s debt ratings. The stock, which traded near $1.00 per share in July 2024, has since recovered to the high single-digit range.
Starting in the first quarter of 2026, Lumen plans to report revenue by products and services categories to better reflect its shift toward an enterprise-focused operating model.