Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) After Its Third-Quarter Results

Shareholders will be ecstatic, with their stake up 35% over the past week following Lumen Technologies, Inc.'s (NYSE:LUMN) latest quarterly results. It was a pretty bad result overall; while revenues were in line with expectations at US$3.2b, statutory losses exploded to US$0.15 per share. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Lumen Technologies

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the twelve analysts covering Lumen Technologies, is for revenues of US$12.3b in 2025. This implies a perceptible 7.3% reduction in Lumen Technologies' revenue over the past 12 months. The loss per share is expected to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 66% to US$0.71. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$12.4b and US$0.53 per share in losses. So it's pretty clear the analysts have mixed opinions on Lumen Technologies even after this update; although they reconfirmed their revenue numbers, it came at the cost of a massive increase in per-share losses.

As a result, there was no major change to the consensus price target of US$4.99, with the analysts implicitly confirming that the business looks to be performing in line with expectations, despite higher forecast losses. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Lumen Technologies at US$6.83 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$2.00. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. One thing that stands out from these estimates is that shrinking revenues are expected to moderate over the period ending 2025 compared to the historical decline of 9.9% per annum over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the broader industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 3.3% annually. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Lumen Technologies is expected to see its revenue affected worse than other companies in the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Lumen Technologies going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Lumen Technologies (at least 1 which is a bit concerning) , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.