CSX Corporation vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? CSX Corporation trades at $49.14 (market cap $92.24B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.45 (market cap $6.56B). The key difference: CSX Corporation is far larger — about 14.1× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and CSX Corporation pays a 1.13% dividend while Lumen Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CSX | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $92.24B | $6.56B |
Sector | Industrials | Media |
52-Week High | $49.92 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $32.05 | $3.70 |
Enterprise Value | $110.47B | $18.19B |
Dividend Yield | 1.13% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
CSX trades at $49.64, up 0.47% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages but overbought RSI readings. The company reported mixed recent earnings, beating in Q1 2026 but missing in Q4 2025, with Q2 2026 results expected soon. Revenue has trended down from $14.9B in 2022 to $14.1B in 2025, though net margins remain above 20%. Strong cash flow from operations supports dividends, including a recent $0.14 payout.
Outlook is cautiously optimistic given analyst consensus favoring Buy ratings (56.52%) and a price target near $48.87. Risks include declining revenue, high debt levels, and valuation multiples above industry norms. Earnings growth and operational efficiency gains are key catalysts for upside, but macroeconomic pressures on freight demand pose headwinds.
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
Operating in the Eastern United States, Class I railroad CSX generated revenue near $12.5 billion in 2021. On its more than 21,000 miles of track, CSX hauls shipments of coal (13% of consolidated revenue), chemicals (22%), intermodal containers (16%), automotive cargo (9%), and a diverse mix of other bulk and industrial merchandise.
Read more on CSX →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 →