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CCOI

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.

CCOI

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. • NASDAQ
$19.08 ▲ 0.42% (+0.08)
Market Cap $937.23 M
52w High $84.06
52w Low $15.96
Dividend Yield 3.05%
P/E -4.7
Volume 718.62K
Outstanding Shares 49.12M

Income Statement

Period Revenue Operating Expense Net Income Net Profit Margin Earnings Per Share EBITDA
Q3-2025 $222.749M ▼ $128.4M ▲ $-41.544M ▲ -18.651% ▲ $-0.87 ▲ $51.202M ▲
Q2-2025 $246.247M ▼ $64.924M ▼ $-57.807M ▼ -23.475% ▼ $-1.21 ▼ $40.542M ▼
Q1-2025 $247.048M ▼ $149.901M ▲ $-52.042M ▼ -21.066% ▼ $-1.09 ▼ $40.857M ▼
Q4-2024 $252.291M ▼ $130.346M ▼ $-43.317M ▲ -17.169% ▲ $-0.91 ▲ $50.002M ▲
Q3-2024 $257.202M $153.479M $-63.112M -24.538% $-1.33 $33.835M

Balance Statement

Period Cash & Short-term Total Assets Total Liabilities Total Equity
Q3-2025 $226.294M ▲ $3.148B ▼ $3.187B ▼ $-39.17M ▼
Q2-2025 $213.651M ▲ $3.271B ▲ $3.224B ▲ $46.668M ▼
Q1-2025 $153.805M ▼ $3.121B ▼ $2.978B ▲ $142.844M ▼
Q4-2024 $198.486M ▼ $3.173B ▼ $2.95B ▲ $222.848M ▼
Q3-2024 $279.191M $3.204B $2.881B $323.553M

Cash Flow Statement

Period Net Income Cash From Operations Cash From Investing Cash From Financing Net Change Free Cash Flow
Q3-2025 $-41.544M ▲ $3.1M ▲ $-11.25M ▲ $-63.002M ▼ $-80.431M ▼ $-33.15M ▲
Q2-2025 $-57.807M ▼ $-44.038M ▼ $-31.2M ▲ $193.754M ▲ $122.755M ▲ $-100.238M ▼
Q1-2025 $-52.042M ▼ $36.351M ▲ $-33.088M ▼ $-57.015M ▲ $-43.946M ▲ $-21.737M ▲
Q4-2024 $-43.317M ▲ $14.532M ▲ $-21.104M ▲ $-75.143M ▼ $-88.176M ▲ $-31.572M ▲
Q3-2024 $-63.112M $-20.226M $-34.244M $-50.978M $-110.149M $-79.47M

Five-Year Company Overview

Income Statement

Income Statement Revenue has been rising steadily over the past five years, which is a clear strength, and suggests the core business demand is healthy. At the same time, profitability has become more volatile and recently weaker. Gross profit has held up reasonably well, but operating income has swung from clearly positive a few years ago to losses more recently, indicating that overhead, integration expenses, or other operating costs have grown faster than revenue. Net income shows a sharp one‑time jump followed by a return to losses, which likely reflects accounting gains and then the drag from higher interest, depreciation, and integration costs related to the Sprint wireline acquisition. In plain terms: the top line is moving in the right direction, but earnings are bumpy and currently under pressure while the company digests its growth moves.

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet The balance sheet has grown significantly, mainly because of the large acquisition that added a lot of network assets. That has helped turn shareholder equity from negative to positive, which is a structural improvement, but the cushion is still relatively thin compared with the overall size of the business. Debt has climbed meaningfully and now makes up the bulk of the capital structure, while cash on hand remains fairly modest. This points to a highly leveraged profile: the company controls a much larger asset base, but it is financing a lot of it with borrowing. The key risk is that weak or volatile earnings make it harder to comfortably service this debt; the key opportunity is that if the acquired assets are integrated well, they can justify this larger balance sheet over time.

Cash Flow

Cash Flow Historically, the business generated steady, if not spectacular, cash from operations and modest positive free cash flow. Recently, that pattern has flipped: operating cash flow is now roughly breakeven to slightly negative, and free cash flow has moved clearly into negative territory. The main driver appears to be heavier investment in the network and integration activities, with capital spending rising as the company absorbs and upgrades the Sprint assets. This is typical for a major network expansion but raises the bar for future performance: the company now needs to convert these investments into stronger and more stable cash generation. Until that happens, the combination of negative free cash flow and higher debt is an area to watch closely.

Competitive Edge

Competitive Edge Cogent occupies a focused niche as a low‑cost, high‑capacity internet backbone provider, rather than a full‑service telecom. Its all‑IP, data‑only network and emphasis on standardized equipment and simple products give it a structural cost advantage versus legacy carriers, enabling very aggressive pricing. The company has also built considerable scale and reach, operating as a Tier 1 backbone with extensive peering relationships, which supports performance and helps keep transit costs low. Its focus on dense data centers and large multi‑tenant office buildings concentrates it in customer segments with heavy bandwidth needs, improving economics. The Sprint wireline acquisition significantly enlarged this footprint and deepened the moat on reach and scale—but also introduces integration complexity and exposes Cogent more directly to large incumbents, who may respond with pricing pressure. Overall, the competitive story is one of cost leadership and scale, balanced against the realities of a fiercely competitive, price‑sensitive industry.

Innovation and R&D

Innovation and R&D Cogent does not showcase heavy traditional R&D in the way a software or semiconductor company might, but it has innovated in how it designs, builds, and operates its network. Its all‑optical, IP‑over‑wavelength architecture is purpose‑built for data traffic, making it simpler and cheaper to run than multi‑purpose legacy networks. The company has repeatedly used a “buy distressed fiber, then modernize and scale” playbook, which is itself a strategic innovation: it acquires underused assets at low cost and folds them into a unified, standardized platform. On the product side, it continues to expand high‑capacity offerings like optical wavelength and Ethernet transport services, colocation, and even monetization of scarce IPv4 addresses. Looking ahead, Cogent’s network is well aligned with growth in cloud, streaming, and AI‑driven data traffic; the question is execution—how effectively it upgrades and integrates the Sprint assets, keeps its cost edge, and captures demand for ever‑higher bandwidth without eroding margins through excessive discounting or overspending on capacity.

Summary

Cogent is in the middle of a major transition: it has grown its network and asset base substantially through acquisition, strengthened its equity position, and reinforced a cost‑focused, scale‑driven competitive model. At the same time, current financials show the strain of this shift—operating losses, net losses after a one‑time earnings spike, higher leverage, and negative free cash flow as integration and capital spending ramp up. The long‑term story depends on whether management can translate its larger, more advanced network into steadier earnings and robust cash generation while managing debt safely. The company’s technological and cost advantages give it a promising strategic position in a world that keeps demanding more bandwidth, but the near‑term financial profile is more stretched, and the execution risks around integration, pricing pressure, and leverage are important to keep in view.

NEWS

November 20, 2025 · 9:15 AM UTC

Cogent Communications CEO to Present at Three Upcoming Conferences

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November 17, 2025 · 5:20 PM UTC

Cogent Communications to Resume Stock Repurchase Program

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November 14, 2025 · 4:45 AM UTC

Heidelberg Engineering joins the Collaborative Community on Ophthalmic Innovation (CCOI) through EssilorLuxottica's Vision Architect membership

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November 6, 2025 · 6:59 AM UTC

Cogent Communications Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results

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November 4, 2025 · 8:30 AM UTC

Cogent Communications CEO to Present at Two Upcoming Conferences

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