F5 Inc vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? F5 Inc trades at $425.05 (market cap $23.44B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.37 (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 stock trades at $6.375, down 3.99% today, amid a bearish technical signal and mixed earnings. The company reported a Q2 2026 loss of $0.07 per share, beating estimates, but revenue declined 9.3% year-over-year. Strategic revenues grew 14.1%, highlighting its digital transformation. CEO Kathleen Johnson purchased 100,000 shares on August 6, 2026, signaling insider confidence. Net cash flow was negative $886 million in 2025, though 2026 projections show improvement. The stock faces headwinds from high debt and legacy revenue declines.
LUMN offers a high-risk opportunity with a low P/S ratio of 0.54 and analyst consensus price target of $7.67, implying potential upside. However, persistent net losses, negative ROE of -78.94%, and $17.49 billion in long-term debt pose significant risks. Investors should weigh the digital growth potential against financial instability and cautious analyst sentiment, with 60.71% holding ratings.
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 →