Estee Lauder Companies Inc vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? Estee Lauder Companies Inc trades at $82.5 (market cap $29.78B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.39 (market cap $6.56B). The key difference: Estee Lauder Companies Inc is far larger — about 4.5× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and Estee Lauder Companies Inc pays a 1.7% dividend while Lumen Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| EL | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $29.78B | $6.56B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Media |
52-Week High | $119.61 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $67.23 | $3.70 |
Enterprise Value | $35.95B | $18.19B |
Dividend Yield | 1.7% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Estée Lauder (EL) trades at $80.86, down 0.36% on the day, with a bearish technical signal and recent earnings beats. The stock shows a high P/E of 147.8 and negative net income margin of -1.67%, though revenue remains substantial at $14.33 billion for 2025. Recent news highlights innovation in beauty trends, but cash flow trends show net outflows over recent years.
Outlook is mixed: analyst consensus targets $90.60 with 44% buy ratings, but high valuation and profitability challenges pose risks. Recovery depends on margin improvement and sustained revenue growth amid competitive pressures.
LUMN trades at $6.37, down 1.24% for the day, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported a net loss of $1.74 billion in 2025 despite beating EPS expectations in two of the last three quarters. Recent news highlights strategic acquisitions like Alkira to bolster its AI networking platform, while cash flow trends show operational strength but negative net cash flow due to heavy investing activities.
The outlook remains challenging with high debt and consistent losses, but cost-cutting initiatives and a $13 billion backlog offer potential upside. Risks include sustained negative profitability and competitive pressures in telecom. Analyst consensus is cautious with a hold-heavy rating and $8.25 price target, suggesting limited near-term optimism amid restructuring efforts.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Estee Lauder is the world leader in the global prestige beauty market, participating across skincare (56% of fiscal 2022 sales), makeup (26%), fragrance (14%), and haircare (4%) categories, with popular brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer, Jo Malone, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Too Faced, Origins, Dr. Jart+, and The Ordinary. The firm operates in 150 countries, with 26% of fiscal 2022 revenue stemming from the Americas, 43% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 31% from Asia-Pacific. The company sells its products through department stores, travel retail, multi-brand specialty beauty stores, brand-dedicated freestanding stores, e-commerce, salons/spas, and perfumeries.
Read more on EL →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 →