Lumen Technologies Inc vs NetApp Inc. — how do they compare? Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.31 (market cap $6.58B), while NetApp Inc. trades at $202.1 (market cap $38.95B). The key difference: NetApp Inc. is far larger — about 5.9× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and NetApp Inc. pays a 1.05% dividend while Lumen Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LUMN | NTAP | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $6.58B | $38.95B |
Sector | Media | Technology |
52-Week High | $11.83 | $198.72 |
52-Week Low | $3.95 | $94.11 |
Enterprise Value | $18.20B | $38.10B |
Dividend Yield | — | 1.05% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
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.
NetApp (NTAP) trades at $202.00, up 1.65% today, near its 52-week high. The stock shows strong technical momentum with bullish moving averages and recent acquisitions like JetStream Software and DataPelago enhancing its AI infrastructure. Earnings have consistently beaten estimates, with Q1 2026 EPS of $2.43 surpassing the $2.27 forecast. Revenue grew to $6.57B in 2025, and profitability remains robust with an 18.43% net income margin.
Outlook is positive due to strategic AI investments and earnings momentum, but risks include high valuation multiples (P/E of 31.26) and competitive pressures. Analyst consensus is mixed, with 36.62% buy ratings, though the $170.73 price target suggests caution. Investors should weigh growth prospects against valuation concerns.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →NetApp is a leading provider of enterprise data management and storage solutions. The company's three operating business units are products, software maintenance, and hardware maintenance. NetApp transitioned from a data center storage firm to a company with software data management solutions for multicloud environments. The California-headquartered company sells globally and has approximately 10,000 employees.
Read more on NTAP →