Lumen Technologies President and CFO Chris Stansbury announced a strategic pivot on September 18, 2026. The company will leverage its fiber network to address what it identifies as the primary bottleneck in AI deployment.
This shift follows Lumen reaching its leverage target after completing several major transactions. The company is now pursuing a long-term goal of achieving an investment-grade credit rating.
Earlier in 2026, Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch all upgraded Lumen’s credit ratings. These upgrades resulted from debt reduction following the sale of the company's Mass Markets business to AT&T.
While current ratings remain in the speculative-grade category, the company is targeting significant growth in digital revenue. Lumen aims for its Multi-Cloud Gateway to cover 90% of AI on-ramps by the end of 2026.