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Side-by-side financial comparison of QWEST CORP (CTBB) and F5, Inc. (FFIV). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

QWEST CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $811.7M, roughly 1.4× F5, Inc.). F5, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 18.2% vs -187.5%, a 205.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, F5, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.0% vs -15.0%). Over the past eight quarters, F5, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (8.0% CAGR vs -8.6%).

Qwest Corporation, doing business as CenturyLink QC, is a Regional Bell Operating Company owned by Lumen Technologies. It was originally named Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company, later becoming known as Mountain Bell, then US West Communications, Inc. from 1991 to 2000. It includes the former operations of Malheur Bell, Northwestern Bell and Pacific Northwest Bell as well.

F5, Inc. is an American technology company specializing in application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention, application delivery networking (ADN), application availability and performance, and network security, access, and authorization.

CTBB vs FFIV — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CTBB
CTBB
1.4× larger
CTBB
$1.1B
$811.7M
FFIV
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FFIV
FFIV
+26.1% gap
FFIV
11.0%
-15.0%
CTBB
Higher net margin
FFIV
FFIV
205.7% more per $
FFIV
18.2%
-187.5%
CTBB
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FFIV
FFIV
Annualised
FFIV
8.0%
-8.6%
CTBB

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Revenue
$1.1B
$811.7M
Net Profit
$-2.1B
$148.0M
Gross Margin
67.9%
81.4%
Operating Margin
-183.2%
22.1%
Net Margin
-187.5%
18.2%
Revenue YoY
-15.0%
11.0%
Net Profit YoY
-627.9%
1.5%
EPS (diluted)
$2.58

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$811.7M
Q4 25
$1.1B
$822.5M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$810.1M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$780.4M
Q1 25
$1.2B
$731.1M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$766.5M
Q3 24
$1.3B
$746.7M
Q2 24
$1.3B
$695.5M
Net Profit
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$148.0M
Q4 25
$-2.1B
$180.1M
Q3 25
$176.0M
$190.5M
Q2 25
$277.0M
$189.9M
Q1 25
$284.0M
$145.5M
Q4 24
$391.0M
$166.4M
Q3 24
$365.0M
$165.3M
Q2 24
$378.0M
$144.1M
Gross Margin
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
81.4%
Q4 25
67.9%
81.5%
Q3 25
65.3%
82.2%
Q2 25
68.2%
81.0%
Q1 25
69.3%
80.7%
Q4 24
71.2%
81.7%
Q3 24
69.9%
80.8%
Q2 24
71.6%
80.4%
Operating Margin
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
22.1%
Q4 25
-183.2%
26.0%
Q3 25
22.3%
25.4%
Q2 25
33.1%
25.2%
Q1 25
33.7%
21.7%
Q4 24
40.7%
26.8%
Q3 24
38.5%
25.6%
Q2 24
40.3%
23.4%
Net Margin
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
18.2%
Q4 25
-187.5%
21.9%
Q3 25
16.1%
23.5%
Q2 25
24.3%
24.3%
Q1 25
24.7%
19.9%
Q4 24
30.2%
21.7%
Q3 24
28.2%
22.1%
Q2 24
28.7%
20.7%
EPS (diluted)
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$2.58
Q4 25
$3.10
Q3 25
$3.25
Q2 25
$3.25
Q1 25
$2.48
Q4 24
$2.82
Q3 24
$2.79
Q2 24
$2.44

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$39.0M
$1.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$10.9B
$3.6B
Total Assets
$15.8B
$6.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.15×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$39.0M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$36.0M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$25.0M
$1.4B
Q1 25
$40.0M
$1.3B
Q4 24
$26.0M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$22.0M
$1.1B
Q2 24
$18.0M
$935.6M
Total Debt
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.7B
Q1 25
$1.7B
Q4 24
$1.7B
Q3 24
$1.7B
Q2 24
$1.9B
Stockholders' Equity
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$3.6B
Q4 25
$10.9B
$3.5B
Q3 25
$13.0B
$3.6B
Q2 25
$12.8B
$3.5B
Q1 25
$12.5B
$3.3B
Q4 24
$12.2B
$3.2B
Q3 24
$11.9B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$11.5B
$3.0B
Total Assets
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$6.5B
Q4 25
$15.8B
$6.3B
Q3 25
$17.9B
$6.3B
Q2 25
$17.8B
$6.1B
Q1 25
$17.6B
$5.9B
Q4 24
$17.4B
$5.9B
Q3 24
$17.0B
$5.6B
Q2 24
$16.6B
$5.4B
Debt / Equity
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.15×
Q3 25
0.13×
Q2 25
0.13×
Q1 25
0.13×
Q4 24
0.14×
Q3 24
0.14×
Q2 24
0.17×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$402.0M
$525.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$160.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
14.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
22.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.55×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$938.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
$525.1M
Q4 25
$402.0M
$159.2M
Q3 25
$427.0M
$208.1M
Q2 25
$480.0M
$282.2M
Q1 25
$453.0M
$256.6M
Q4 24
$548.0M
$202.8M
Q3 24
$627.0M
$246.5M
Q2 24
$548.0M
$159.0M
Free Cash Flow
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
Q4 25
$160.0M
$149.5M
Q3 25
$252.0M
$191.9M
Q2 25
$276.0M
$273.7M
Q1 25
$250.0M
$246.1M
Q4 24
$277.0M
$194.7M
Q3 24
$396.0M
$240.4M
Q2 24
$280.0M
$153.1M
FCF Margin
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
Q4 25
14.5%
18.2%
Q3 25
23.1%
23.7%
Q2 25
24.2%
35.1%
Q1 25
21.7%
33.7%
Q4 24
21.4%
25.4%
Q3 24
30.6%
32.2%
Q2 24
21.3%
22.0%
Capex Intensity
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
Q4 25
22.0%
1.2%
Q3 25
16.0%
2.0%
Q2 25
17.9%
1.1%
Q1 25
17.6%
1.4%
Q4 24
20.9%
1.1%
Q3 24
17.9%
0.8%
Q2 24
20.4%
0.8%
Cash Conversion
CTBB
CTBB
FFIV
FFIV
Q1 26
3.55×
Q4 25
0.88×
Q3 25
2.43×
1.09×
Q2 25
1.73×
1.49×
Q1 25
1.60×
1.76×
Q4 24
1.40×
1.22×
Q3 24
1.72×
1.49×
Q2 24
1.45×
1.10×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CTBB
CTBB

Nonrelated Party$665.0M60%
Other$436.0M40%

FFIV
FFIV

Segment breakdown not available.

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