Why Lumen isn't pitching itself as a telco

• "Telecom, in general, ceded innovation to the tech companies, to digital upstarts, to other industries…but didn't really think about value-added services," Johnson told Axios' Dan Primack at Axios' AI+ Summit in New York on Wednesday.

Flashback: Last year, Lumen restructured its debt to bolster its enterprise business. Now, it's pitching the foundation for AI services and currently touts partnerships with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google Cloud.

On stage, Johnson said the company has $8.5 billion in connectivity deals on the books.

• The deal with AT&T is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

What they're saying: "AI needs data, data needs data centers, and those data centers need to be connected," Johnson said.

It's been a tough sell and Wall Street remains unconvinced — the company's stock has fallen 30% since the start of the year.

• "We're turning the company around. Am I concerned about Wall Street ability to metabolize all the different things that we're doing? No, they're pretty smart as well," Johnson said.