Centene Corp vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? Centene Corp trades at $66.8 (market cap $33.93B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.38 (market cap $6.56B). The key difference: Centene Corp is far larger — about 5.2× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and Centene Corp is trading nearer its 52-week high, Lumen Technologies Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CNC | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $33.93B | $6.56B |
Sector | Health | Media |
52-Week High | $68.72 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $25.21 | $3.70 |
Enterprise Value | $26.56B | $18.19B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Centene Corporation (CNC) trades at $68.29, up 1.4% with strong technical momentum and bullish moving average signals. The stock shows impressive 66% YTD gains, supported by recent contract renewals and margin recovery initiatives. Despite negative 2025 net income of -$6.67B, valuation metrics remain attractive with P/E of 8.06 and P/S of 0.17. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 61% buy ratings and $66.07 price target.
Centene presents a compelling value opportunity with low valuation multiples and strong operational cash flow of $5.09B. Key risks include ongoing margin pressure and Medicaid contract dependency. The company's AI-driven cost controls and recent Illinois Medicaid renewal provide catalysts for earnings recovery, though healthcare regulatory changes remain a concern for long-term stability.
LUMN trades at $6.45, down 4.16% today, reflecting ongoing investor caution amid a bearish technical signal. The company reported a net loss of $1.74 billion in 2025 despite beating earnings expectations in two of the last three quarters. Recent news highlights strategic moves like the Alkira acquisition to bolster its AI networking platform. Cash flow from operations remains strong at $4.74 billion, but high debt levels and negative profitability metrics pose challenges.
The outlook is mixed; cost-cutting and a $13 billion contract backlog offer potential upside, but persistent losses and a heavy debt load of $17.49 billion limit near-term growth. Analyst consensus is cautious with a hold-heavy rating, though the $8.25 price target implies modest upside from current levels if execution improves.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Centene is a managed-care organization focused on government-sponsored healthcare plans, including Medicaid, Medicare, and the individual exchanges. Centene served 22 million medical members as of September 2021, mostly in Medicaid (68% of membership), the individual exchanges (10%), Medicare Advantage (6%), and the balance in Tricare (West region), correctional facility, and international plans. The company also serves 4 million users through the Medicare Part D pharmaceutical program.
Read more on CNC →With 450,000 route miles of fiber, including over 35,000 route miles of subsea fiber connecting Europe, Asia, and Latin America, Lumen Technologies is one of the United States' largest telecommunications carriers serving global enterprises. Its merger with Level 3 further shifted the company's operations toward businesses (over 70% of revenue) and away from its legacy consumer business. Lumen offers businesses a full menu of communications services, providing colocation and data center services, data transportation, and end-user phone and internet service. On the consumer side, Lumen provides broadband and phone service across 37 states, where it has 4.5 million broadband customers.
Read more on LUMN →