By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — When cellphone giants Sprint and Nextel merged in 2005, investors had a lot of hope for the combined company.
Few paid attention to Embarq, which was spun off from Sprint after the Nextel merger closed. Its core asset was in the dowdy — and dying — local phone business.

They're paying attention now.

Since being freed from Sprint (S) 15 months ago, Embarq (EQ) has emerged as a top performer among U.S. telecommunications companies, easily surpassing its former parent.

Cotinued: »www.usatoday.com/money/industrie···m?csp=34