Lumen Technologies, Inc.

This report and other documents filed by us under the federal securities laws include, and future oral or written statements by us and our management may include, "forward-looking" statements about our business, financial condition, operating results, or prospects within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements include, among others:

•forecasts of our anticipated future results of operations, cash flows, or financial position;

•statements concerning our completed transactions, including with respect to the completed sale of our Mass Markets Fiber-to-the-Home business in 11 states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) (the "Territory") to a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. ("AT&T") (the "Mass Markets Fiber-to-the-Home divestiture"), the acquisition of Alkira, Inc. ("Alkira"), including the integration and anticipated benefits and risks thereof, investments, product development, statements regarding federal and state broadband support programs, including their expected impact on competition in our markets, implementation of the new enterprise resource planning system, Private Connectivity Fabric SM("PCF"), initiatives related to artificial intelligence, other network capacity buildouts, transformation plans, deleveraging plans, modernization and simplification initiatives, participation in government programs, and other initiatives, including benefits or costs associated therewith;

•statements about our liquidity, profitability, profit margins, tax positions, tax assets, tax rates, asset values, contingent liabilities, growth opportunities, growth rates, acquisition and divestiture opportunities, business prospects, regulatory and competitive outlook, product capabilities, impacts from regulatory and legislative developments, investment and expenditure plans, business strategies, leverage, capital allocation plans, financing or refinancing alternatives and sources, consent solicitations, debt issuances, debt guarantees, listings of debt securities, and our ability to manage the effects of ongoing geopolitical instability, including armed conflicts, tariffs, inflation, sanctions, supply constraints on our costs, revenues, network expansion plans, and service delivery, and the benefits of acquisitions; and

•other similar statements of our expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated developments and other matters that are not historical facts, many of which incorporate words such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “plans,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” "forecasts," “projects,” "proposes," "targets," “intends,” “likely,” “seeks,” “hopes,” or variations or similar expressions with respect to the future.

These forward-looking statements are based upon our judgment and assumptions as of the date such statements are made concerning future developments and events, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements, and the assumptions upon which they are based, (i) are not guarantees of future results and are based on current expectations only, (ii) are inherently speculative, and (iii) are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual events and results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected, or implied by us in those statements if one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove incorrect. All of our forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or implied by us in those forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to:

•our ability to successfully and timely implement our corporate strategies, including our transformation, modernization and simplification, buildout and deleveraging strategies and to successfully manage the decline of our legacy products;

•our ability to successfully respond to challenges with integrating, modernizing and digitally transforming our systems, capitalize on emerging market opportunities, especially artificial intelligence ("AI"), and innovate in response to new technologies and changing customer demands;

•risks associated with our use of AI in our service offerings and internal operations, including the risk that AI-enabled features do not perform as expected or produce inaccurate, biased, or harmful outputs, the inadvertent disclosure of confidential, proprietary or customer data, and the introduction of security vulnerabilities through AI-generated software code;

•rapid and uncertain developments in AI technology, regulation, and market dynamics that may increase cybersecurity, legal, competitive and reputational risks and adversely affect our business;

•our ability to fully realize, sustain, and achieve the anticipated benefits from the Mass Markets Fiber-to-the-Home divestiture and refinancing transactions, as well as any current or future acquisitions, divestitures and other material transactions, and to manage associated risks;

•the effects of intense competition from existing and future competitors, including increased pricing pressures;

•revenue and profitability declines associated with reduced pricing for legacy services and lower margins for many of our newer offerings;

•our ability to successfully and timely attain our key operating imperatives, including simplifying and consolidating our network, simplifying and automating our service support systems, replacing aging or obsolete plant and equipment, strengthening our relationships with customers, and attaining projected cost savings;

•our ability to successfully adjust to changes in customer demand for our products and services, including increased demand for high-speed data transmission services, low-latency connectivity, and scalable infrastructure driven by the growth of AI applications and workloads, and the risk that we may misjudge the timing, scale, or nature of such demand, leading to potential misalignment of our investments or strategic priorities;

•our ability to successfully and timely monetize our network-related assets through leases, commercial service arrangements or similar transactions (including as part of our PCF solutions);

•our ability to generate cash flows sufficient to fund our growth, interest payments on our substantial indebtedness, and other cash requirements;

•our dependence on cash flows from our subsidiaries;

•our complex debt structure and our ability to comply with our debt obligations and covenants, including our ability to make transfers of cash in compliance therewith;

•our obligations under the guarantees we have provided of indebtedness issued or incurred by our subsidiaries, including our unsecured guarantees of Qwest Corporation’s New Qwest Notes (as defined in Note 5 below) and of certain first lien notes and credit facility indebtedness of Level 3 Financing, Inc., the possibility that we may be required to perform under those guarantees, and the effects of the related simplification of our subsidiaries’ separate SEC reporting obligations;

•our ability to obtain future financing or refinancing on acceptable terms and the impact of changes in our debt ratings, our debt covenants, changes in interest rates, market conditions, and the macroeconomic environment on such ability;

•our ability to effectively retain and hire key personnel and to successfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements on reasonable terms without work stoppages;

•our ability to safeguard our network, and to avoid the adverse impact of cyber-attacks (including state-sponsored attacks targeting telecommunications infrastructure), security breaches, service outages, system failures, or similar events impacting our network or the availability and quality of our services;

•the negative impact of increases in the costs of our pension, healthcare, post-employment, or other benefits, including those caused by changes in capital markets, interest rates, mortality rates, demographics, or regulations;

•our reliance on other communications providers, key suppliers and vendors, key customer contracts and landowners and our ability to maintain positive relationships with key partners;

•our ability to timely obtain necessary hardware, software, equipment, services, governmental permits, and other items on favorable terms;

•the effects of, and our ability to comply with, complex and evolving regulations and judicial proceedings affecting our industry;

•the outcome of regulatory, governmental, or legislative actions relating to allegations regarding the potential environmental or public health impacts of lead-sheathed cables in our network infrastructure;

•any adverse developments in legal or regulatory proceedings involving us;

•our ability to protect and continue to use intellectual property necessary to conduct our operations;

•our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards in the amounts projected and to fully realize any anticipated benefits from recently-enacted federal tax legislation;

•the effects of adverse weather, terrorism, epidemics, pandemics, war, rioting, vandalism, societal unrest, political discord, inflation, trade policy changes, trade wars and tensions, sanctions, armed conflicts (including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East) and other social, political, and economic factors; and

•other risks and uncertainties identified under the "Risk Factors" section or other portions of this report or in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Additional factors or risks that we currently deem immaterial, that are not presently known to us, or that arise in the future could also cause our actual results to differ materially from our expected results. Given these uncertainties, investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events or developments, changed circumstances, or otherwise. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Furthermore, any information about our intentions contained in any of our forward-looking statements reflects our intentions as of the date of such forward-looking statement, and is based upon, among other things, our assessment of regulatory, technological, industry, competitive, economic, or market conditions as of such date. We may change our intentions, strategies, or plans (including our capital allocation plans) at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors or otherwise, and we undertake no obligation to make any public announcement of such changed intentions, except to the extent required by applicable law.