1 Number CenturyLink Investors Should Worry About [telecom]

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Hint: It's not found in the company's financials.

By Billy Duberstein

CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) posted not-so-hot numbers in its recent earnings release. While the legacy telecom is generating cash flows and paying a fat dividend yield, its overall metrics are declining as it attempts to make a technology transition to more modern networking services.

For the full year 2016, operating revenues decreased 2.2% to $17.5 billion. Operating income decreased a much more alarming 13%, to $2.3 billion, as the revenues from strategic growth areas were lower-margin than those of the legacy wireline and low-data services. Operating cash flow declined 7.1%, and adjusted net income declined 5.9%, from $2.71 to $2.45.