Lumen Technologies, Inc. (LUMN) Annual Deutsche Bank Leveraged Finance Conference

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) Annual Deutsche Bank Leveraged Finance Conference October 3, 2023 4:35 PM ET

Company Participants

Chris Stansbury - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Jitendra Joshi - Deutsche Bank

Jitendra Joshi

Thanks for attending our fireside with Lumen. Now that we're all sort of pumped up about Gen AI, let's talk about the company that is likely to benefit from all the bits that are going to flow as a result.

My name is Jiten Joshi, I'm the high-yield telco analyst at Deutsche. It's my pleasure to be hosting Chris Stansbury, EVP and CFO of the company; and we also have Mike McCormick, Head of IR, in the front row as well. So welcome, Chris and Mike, and thanks for being with us today.

Chris Stansbury

Yes, it's great to be here today.

Jitendra Joshi

So Chris, do you think you have an opening any…

Chris Stansbury

So just the standard stuff that some of the comments I'm going to make are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties, and you can see our investor relations website for more details on that. But we can jump right in.

Question-and-Answer Session

Q - Jitendra Joshi

Yes, sounds good. So I kind of just want to kick off on the macro picture. Obviously, we're all sort of seeing a little bit of volatility pick up, concerns about rates going higher and the potential for a slowdown or a recession, I think, the odd seem to be higher than they were a few months ago. So in terms of what you're – Chris, what you are seeing on the ground? Are you still seeing the elongated sale cycles and our customers still going through multiple layers to make decisions?

Chris Stansbury

Yes, we are seeing that. I would