Lumen Named Among TIME’s America’s Best Companies and U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For as AI Transformation Accelerates

Independent recognition highlights Lumen’s advances in business performance and workplace culture

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) has been named to TIME’s “America’s Best Companies 2026” list and recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a 2026–2027 “Best Company to Work For – South,” underscoring the company’s evolution into the trusted network for AI and the culture powering its progress. Together, the recognitions reflect independent, data-driven evaluations spanning employee experience, financial performance, responsible business practices, and workplace strength.

The honors come as Lumen continues its multi-year transformation into a digital network services company designed to meet the demands of the AI era. As AI creates increasingly distributed, dynamic, and data-intensive computing environments, Lumen is helping enterprises move beyond static connectivity toward more flexible, programmable control over how data moves across clouds, data centers, partners, and AI workloads — quickly, securely, and effortlessly.

“Being recognized by both TIME and U.S. News & World Report is a testament to our people and the culture we’re building together,” said Ryan Asdourian, EVP, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer of Lumen. “As we transform Lumen into a digital network services company built for the AI era, our Lumenaries are showing what it means to play to win; they’re moving with urgency, delivering for customers, and leading with accountability, transparency, and trust.”

The TIME “America’s Best Companies 2026” ranking recognizes companies based on Employee Satisfaction, Financial Performance, and Sustainability Transparency (ESG). This marks Lumen’s first appearance on this list, underscoring advances in business performance, culture, and responsible business practices.

Lumen’s inclusion on the U.S. News & World Report 2026–2027 “Best Company to Work For” list is based on an independent analysis of publicly traded and privately held organizations. Factors evaluated include quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance and flexibility, job and company stability, and related workplace measures.

The recognitions reinforce a clear theme: Lumen is building a stronger company for customers, employees, and shareholders alike. The company continues to execute its growth strategy by expanding its physical network, scaling programmable network capabilities, and growing a connected ecosystem of technology partners that help deliver differentiated solutions for customers.

Continued adoption of Lumen’s Network-as-a-Service platform, which now supports more than 2,000 enterprise customers, along with nearly $13 billion in Private Connectivity Fabric agreements, highlights growing demand for the company’s programmable, AI-ready network. Together, these milestones reinforce Lumen’s position as a modern digital infrastructure provider helping enterprises operate and innovate in an increasingly AI-driven world.

The full list of TIME’s “America’s Best Companies 2026” can be found at: https://time.com/article/2026/07/09/americas-best-companies-2026/

The full list of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Companies to Work For – South” can be found at: https://careers.usnews.com/companies/rankings/best-companies/south

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen is unleashing the world's AI potential. As the trusted network for AI, we ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications — quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Lumen’s physical infrastructure, programmable network, and connected ecosystem give enterprises a simpler way to move data from virtually anywhere to anywhere in real-time to support their AI needs. Together, Lumen’s owned fiber backbone and cloud-native control plane provide a differentiated platform for connecting, securing, and operating modern enterprise environments at global scale. From metro connectivity and long-haul data transport to cloud networking, security services, digital platform capabilities, and connectivity orchestration, Lumen meets customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies, Inc. in the United States.

For news and insights visit news.lumen.com, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, X: lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies, Inc.

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