What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after major financial and service firms like BlackRock and Citigroup reported impressive earnings. 

Investor confidence was further bolstered by the S&P 500’s steady climb toward a new all-time high, supported by the prospect of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Iran. These companies benefit from increased corporate spending and stabilizing macroeconomic conditions. 

As businesses shift their focus from crisis management to long-term growth, demand for professional services, digital transformation consulting, and automated financial platforms scales, allowing these providers to capitalize on higher deal volumes and expanded service contracts.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Terrestrial Telecommunication Services company Lumen (NYSE: LUMN) jumped 4%. Is now the time to buy Lumen? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data & Business Process Services company Verisk (NASDAQ: VRSK) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Verisk? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Lumen (LUMN)

Lumen’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 55 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 16 days ago when the stock dropped 4.4% on the news that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified, pushing major indices into correction territory. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq both fell more than 10% from their recent highs, a drop known as a "correction." This downturn was fueled by the conflict with Iran, which roiled markets and dampened investor sentiment. The primary concern was the surge in oil prices, a direct consequence of the geopolitical instability. Higher energy costs stoked inflation fears, leading investors to anticipate a "higher-for-longer" interest rate environment. This broad market decline reflected a classic "risk-off" sentiment, where investors move away from equities toward safer assets amid global uncertainty.

Lumen is up 5% since the beginning of the year, but at $8.08 per share, it is still trading 31.7% below its 52-week high of $11.83 from November 2025. Despite the year-to-date gain, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Lumen’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $638.50.

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