Shares of Lumen Technologies Inc. tumbled to levels not seen since 1988 on Wednesday as the telecommunications company, which provides voice, broadband and other services, pressed the reset button and disappointed Wall Street with its outlook. While Lumen’s
LUMN,
-20.84%
earnings and revenue for the latest quarter exceeded the consensus view, Lumen came up far short in its 2023 projections for free-cash flow and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda).
“We need to do a lot of things, some basic and some quite complex, to position ourselves to take advantage of the opportunity that lies before us,” Chief Executive Kathleen Johnson said on the earnings call. She also noted that “2023 will be a year of rapid change for Lumen.” The stock fell 20.8% Wednesday, for its worst single-day percentage decline since Jan. 28, 2021, when it fell 22.5%. This marks the second consecutive sharp post-earnings stock plunge for Lumen, as shares tumbled 17.7% after the company delivered results and eliminated its dividend in November. With shares of the company formerly known as CenturyLink ending the day at $3.95, they posted their lowest close since Aug. 23, 1988, when they finished at $3.90, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Analysts were fairly blunt with their assessments following the report, with SVB MoffettNathanson’s Nick Del Deo writing that he’s “hard-pressed to remember the lats time [he] spoke with a client with a pos …