Sifting through countless of stocks in the Diversified Telecommunication Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc.

Lumen Technologies, Inc., a networking company, provides integrated products and services to business and mass customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Business and Mass Markets. It offers dark fiber and conduit, edge cloud, internet protocol (IP), voice over IP, managed security, software-defined wide area networks, unified communications and collaboration, and optical services; ethernet and VPN data networks services; and legacy services to manage cash flow, including time division multiplexing voice and private line; other legacy services, such as Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) based ethernet, legacy data hosting services, and conferencing services; and managed and professional service solutions, as well as sells communications equipment. The company also provides high speed and lower speed broadband service to residential and small business customers; local and long-distance voice services, professional services, and other ancillary services; and federal broadband and state support programs. It serves its products and services under the Lumen, CenturyLink, Black Lotus Labs, and Quantum Fiber brand name. The company was formerly known as CenturyLink, Inc. and changed its name to Lumen Technologies, Inc. in September 2020. Lumen Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, South America, Europe, Oceania, and Africa. It offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers. The company also provides Internet access and private network services to customers that are not located in buildings directly connected to its network; and on-net services to customers located in buildings that are physically connected to its network. In addition, it offers off-net services to corporate customers using other carriers’ circuits to provide the last mile portion of the link from the customers’ premises to the network. Further, the company operates data centers that allow its customers to collocate their equipment and access the network. It serves primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, communications service providers, and other bandwidth-intensive organizations. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.

Latest Diversified Telecommunication Services and Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, Lumen Technologies, Inc. had a $7.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Diversified Telecommunication Services median of $6.2 million. Lumen Technologies, Inc.’s stock is down 12.9% in 2026, up 12.1% in the previous five trading days and up 36.22% in the past year.

Currently, Lumen Technologies, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Lumen Technologies, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.8 billion with a -8.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -9.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-0.812 per share for the current fiscal year. Lumen Technologies, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 4, 2026, Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. had a $481.7 million market cap, putting it in the 36th percentile of all stocks. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.’s stock is down 53.4% in 2026, up 6% in the previous five trading days and down 72.59% in the past year.

Currently, Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $879.8 million with a -5.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-2.515 per share for the current fiscal year. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Lumen Technologies, Inc.	LUMN	F
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.	CCOI	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. has a Growth Score of 13, which is Very Weak. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings or Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Lumen Technologies, Inc.	LUMN	B
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.	CCOI	F

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 67, which is Strong. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 7, which is Very Weak.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Lumen Technologies, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Lumen Technologies, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Lumen Technologies, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Lumen Technologies, Inc.	LUMN	D
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.	CCOI	A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 37, which is Negative. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 89, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Lumen Technologies, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Growth and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Quality.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Lumen Technologies, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 13, Momentum Score of 67 and Estimate Revisions Score of 37.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 7 and Estimate Revisions Score of 89.

Comparing Lumen Technologies, Inc., Cogent Communications Holdings and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.