Lumen beats quarterly revenue estimates on AI driven demand for connectivity
By Harshita Mary Varghese
Lumen Technologies
topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue on Thursday, driven by strong demand for its connectivity solutions from
enterprise customers
amid a rapid growth in AI-intensive workloads.
The expansion of AI applications is driving enterprises to increasingly seek network infrastructure to manage the massive data flows and computational demands.
Last month, the company said it was partnering with Google to provide direct fiber access to Google cloud through Lumen's metro-fiber.
"What we're doing that is so fundamentally different is we're cleaning up our network, and we're moving to a place where that infrastructure will be very modern," Chief Financial Officer Chris Stansbury told Reuters in an interview.
Last year, Lumen signed new contracts worth billions of dollars to provide networking and cybersecurity services to Big Tech companies.
The company has been working towards growing its
digital fiber connectivity
solutions while managing the challenges associated with its legacy business, which includes traditional telecom services such as voice, broadband and ethernet services.
Lumen said late last year that its consumer fiber business was a "great asset", but "better suited in somebody's hands that has a wireless offering."
The fibre-optic cable provider reported revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter ended March 31, above analysts' estimate of $3.12 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It posted an adjusted loss of 13 cents per share in the first quarter, compared with an expected loss of 27 cents.
Lumen reaffirmed its free cash flow and adjusted core profit estimates for the year.
"Things like tariffs at this point are not a huge impact to us this year and in terms of the broader economy, the reality is, most of what would impact us is actually in our control," Stansbury said.
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First Post
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Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism. The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user. The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in US cyberdefences. 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He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the US of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. The US has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets, Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. US intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to US economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The US and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the US a growing concern to lawmakers. The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure, US Rep John Moolenaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices have become an intel treasure trove Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a cyber trust mark for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls, said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. Risks emerge when smartphone users don't take precautions It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms, Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly.
