Why Centurylink Inc. Stock Fell 23% in November

Shares of CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) fell 23.2% in November 2017, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company completed its $34 billion buyout of data networking giant Level 3 Communications on Nov. 1, but that was hardly the end of CenturyLink's troubles.

The Level 3 merger was first announced almost exactly one year earlier. The U.S. Department of Justice demanded the companies sell off Level 3's metro networks in three mid-sized markets along with a handful of unused long-range fiber connections. A week later, the two companies published their last earnings reports as separate businesses in the form of a joint filing. The old CenturyLink business saw revenues falling 8% year over year, while GAAP earnings per share dipped 39% lower. The former Level 3 operations held top-line sales steady and increased its earnings by 8%.

CenturyLink's shares fell 5% on the first day of the freshly completed merger, continued sliding through the earnings report, and never really stopped falling in November.

Source: Fool.com