QWEST CORP

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, pending, or proposed transactions, including with respect to the completed sale of the Mass Markets Fiber-to-the-Home business operated by us and certain of our affiliates 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"), 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, initiatives related to artificial intelligence, other network capacity buildouts, transformation plans, debt refinancing plans, deleveraging plans, modernization and simplification initiatives, 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, debt leverage, capital allocation plans, financing or refinancing alternatives and sources, and our ability to manage the effects of ongoing geopolitical instability, including armed conflicts, tariffs, inflation, sanctions, and supply constraints on our costs, revenues, network expansion plans, and service delivery; 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:

•the effects of intense competition from a wide variety of competitive providers, including increased pricing pressures;

•decreased demand for our more mature service offerings;

•the effects of new, emerging, or competing technologies, including those that could make our products less desirable or obsolete;

•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 safeguard our network, and to avoid the adverse impact of cyber-attacks, security breaches, service outages, system failures, or similar events impacting our network or the availability and quality of our services;

•the effects of ongoing changes in the regulation of the communications industry, including the outcome of legislative, regulatory, or judicial proceedings relating to content liability standards, intercarrier compensation, universal service, service standards and obligations, data protection, network security, privacy, net neutrality, artificial intelligence (“AI”);

•our ability to generate cash flows sufficient to fund our financial commitments and objectives, including our capital expenditures, operating costs, debt obligations, taxes, and pension contributions and other benefits payments;

•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 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 enhance our growth products and manage the decline of our legacy products, including by maintaining the quality and profitability of our existing offerings, introducing profitable new offerings on a timely and cost-effective basis and transitioning customers from our legacy products to our newer offerings;

•our ability to successfully and timely implement our corporate strategies, including our transformation, modernization and simplification, buildout, and deleveraging strategies;

•our ability to fully realize, sustain and achieve the anticipated benefits from the completed sale of the Mass Markets Fiber-to-the-Home business in 11 states to AT&T;

•our ability to successfully and timely realize the anticipated benefits from our 2026 exchange offers and consent solicitations, as described in our prior reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”);

•changes in our operating plans, corporate strategies or capital allocation plans, whether based upon changes in our cash flows, cash requirements, financial performance, financial position, market or regulatory conditions, or otherwise;

•the impact of any future material acquisitions or divestitures that we may transact;

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

•the impact of events that harm our reputation or brands, including the potential negative impact of customer complaints, government investigations, security breaches, or service outages impacting us or our industry;

•adverse changes in our access to credit markets on acceptable terms, whether caused by changes in our financial position, lower credit ratings, unstable markets, debt covenant restrictions, or otherwise;

•the ability of us and our affiliates to meet the terms and conditions of our respective debt obligations and covenants, including our ability to make transfers of cash in compliance therewith;

•the ability of us or our affiliates to obtain future financing;

•our ability to maintain favorable relations with our security holders, key business partners, suppliers, vendors, landlords, or lenders;

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

•the potential adverse effects arising out of allegations regarding the release of hazardous materials into the environment from network assets owned or operated by us or our predecessors, including any resulting governmental actions, removal costs, litigation, compliance costs, or penalties;

•our ability to collect our receivables from, or continue to do business with, financially troubled customers;

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

•any adverse developments in legal or regulatory proceedings involving us or our affiliates, including Lumen Technologies;

•changes in tax, trade, tariff, pension, healthcare or other laws or regulations, in governmental support programs, or in general government funding levels;

•our ability to fully realize any anticipated benefits from recently-enacted federal tax legislation;

•the effects of changes in accounting policies, practices, or assumptions, including changes that could potentially require additional future impairment charges;

•the effects of adverse weather, terrorism, epidemics, pandemics, war, rioting, vandalism, societal unrest, political discord, trade policy changes, or other natural or man-made disasters or disturbances;

•the potential adverse effects if our internal controls over financial reporting have weaknesses or deficiencies, or otherwise fail to operate as intended;

•the effects of changes in interest rates or inflation;

•the effects of more general factors such as changes in exchange rates, in operating costs, in public policy, in the views of financial analysts, or in general market, labor, economic, public health, or geopolitical conditions;

•our exposure to cybersecurity threats, including state-sponsored attacks targeting telecommunications infrastructure;

•the potential for disruption to our network infrastructure, arising from geopolitical instability or conflicts, including the current conflict in the Middle East;

•our dependence on third-party suppliers and service providers whose operations and ability to deliver products and services may be affected by international conflicts or sanctions; and

•other risks and uncertainties identified under the "Risk Factors" section or other portions of this report or other of our filings with the SEC, 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.