Repurchase of CenturyLink Common Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Equity [Abstract]

Repurchase of CenturyLink Common Stock

Repurchase of CenturyLink Common Stock

In February 2013, our Board of Directors authorized us to repurchase up to $2 billion of our outstanding common stock. On May 29, 2014, we completed the 2013 stock repurchase program, repurchasing over the course of the program a total of 59.5 million shares in the open market at an average purchase price of $33.63 per share. Of those aggregate amounts, we repurchased 13.7 million shares in the open market during the first half of 2014 for an aggregate market price of $433 million, or an average purchase price of $31.54 per share. All shares of common stock repurchased under our 2013 stock repurchase program have been retired.

In February 2014, our Board of Directors authorized a 24-month program to repurchase up to an aggregate of $1 billion of our outstanding common stock. This 2014 stock repurchase program took effect on May 29, 2014, immediately upon the completion of our predecessor 2013 stock repurchase program. During the year ended December 31, 2014, we repurchased 5.2 million shares of our outstanding common stock in the open market. These shares were repurchased for an aggregate market price of $200 million, or an average purchase price of $38.40 per share. The repurchased common stock has been retired. These repurchased shares exclude shares that, as of December 31, 2014, we had agreed to purchase under this program for an aggregate of $6 million, or an average purchase price of $40.22 per share, in transactions that settled early in the first quarter of 2015. The $6 million in shares excluded from the repurchase is included in other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2014. As of December 31, 2014, we had approximately $800 million in stock remaining available for repurchase under the Stock Repurchase Program. As of February 20, 2015, we had repurchased 7.7 million shares for $298 million, or an average purchase price of $38.57 per share.