F5 Inc vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? F5 Inc trades at $419.2 (market cap $23.44B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.31 (market cap $6.58B). The key difference: F5 Inc is far larger — about 3.6× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and F5 Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Lumen Technologies Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| FFIV | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $23.44B | $6.58B |
Sector | Technology | Media |
52-Week High | $431.26 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $223.99 | $3.95 |
Enterprise Value | $22.08B | $18.20B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
F5 (FFIV) stock trades at $417.70, up 1.88% with bullish technical signals and strong earnings beats. Recent Q3 2026 results showed EPS of $4.73 versus $4.00 expected, driven by 19% product revenue growth. The company raised its fiscal outlook, reflecting robust demand for application security and AI infrastructure. Key support lies at $411, with resistance at $422.
Outlook remains positive due to consistent earnings outperformance and raised guidance, though valuation multiples like P/E of 32.98 suggest premium pricing. Risks include competitive pressures and reliance on enterprise spending cycles. Analyst consensus price target of $430.43 implies moderate upside potential from current levels.
LUMN trades at $6.33, down 4.67% today, with a bearish technical signal and neutral oscillators. Revenue declined to $12.40B in 2025, with a net loss of $1.74B, though Q2 2026 earnings beat estimates. The company is shifting to digital services, with strategic revenues growing 14.1% in Q2 2026. High debt of $17.49B remains a concern, but positive cash flow from operations of $4.74B in 2025 supports liquidity.
Outlook is mixed: analyst consensus price target is $7.67 with a hold-heavy rating, indicating cautious optimism. Risks include persistent revenue declines and heavy debt load, but opportunities lie in digital transformation and AI-driven growth. CEO share purchases and institutional holdings suggest insider confidence amid challenges.
Trailing returns across standard periods
F5 is a market leader in the application delivery controller market. The company sells products for networking traffic, security, and policy management. Its products ensure applications are safely routed in efficient manners within on-premises data centers and across cloud environments. More than half of its revenue is based on providing services, and its three customer verticals are enterprises, service providers, and government entities. The Seattle-based firm was incorporated in 1996 and generates sales globally.
Read more on FFIV →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 →