Lumen’s Meta deal already likely reflected in outlook, says Raymond James

Lumen (LUMN) on Monday announced that is partnering with Meta (META) to significantly increase Meta’s network capacity to help drive future AI applications, Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan tells investors in a research note. The firm believes this is a delayed announcement from Meta for their participation in the previously announced $5B conduit network deal from August and says it is unclear if there is anything incremental in the announcement from what was already known was coming to Lumen, though it likely explains the recent strength in the name. The firm, which made no change to its Market Perform rating on Lumen shares, does not believe the announcement warrants any near-term moves in the shares and says it is already likely reflected in the outlook.