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Cogent Comms
(NASDAQ:CCOI)
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Rating:47Neutral
Price Target:
$8.50
▼(-13.97% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/07/26
The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance (sharp TTM revenue contraction, high leverage with negative equity, and deeply negative free cash flow). Technicals also remain soft with the stock below key longer-term moving averages and negative MACD. Offsetting factors include constructive earnings-call developments around monetization-driven deleveraging and margin improvement, plus a high dividend yield, but these are not enough to overcome balance-sheet and cash-flow risks.
Positive Factors
Facilities-Based Recurring Network
Cogent’s owned global fiber network and on-net footprint support recurring connectivity subscriptions across enterprise and wholesale customers. This facilities-based model can improve utilization economics as bandwidth demand grows, while contracted monthly revenue provides visibility and supports durable customer relationships.
Negative Factors
High Leverage and Refinancing Risk
Cogent’s substantial debt burden and upcoming $750 million maturity leave the company dependent on successful refinancing while leverage remains high. Refinancing at less favorable terms could increase interest costs, constrain capital allocation, and limit flexibility to invest in network growth or absorb operating weakness.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Facilities-Based Recurring Network
Cogent’s owned global fiber network and on-net footprint support recurring connectivity subscriptions across enterprise and wholesale customers. This facilities-based model can improve utilization economics as bandwidth demand grows, while contracted monthly revenue provides visibility and supports durable customer relationships.
Read all positive factors
Cogent Comms (CCOI) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$437.38M
Dividend Yield0.94%
Average Volume (3M)2.14M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.68
Revenue Growth-4.54%
EPS Growth79.01%
CountryUS
Employees1,833
SectorCommunication Services
Sector Strength97
IndustryTelecommunications Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-1.78
Shares Outstanding51,215,736
10 Day Avg. Volume2,089,773
30 Day Avg. Volume2,142,952
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.51
Price to Book (P/B)-16.18
Price to Sales (P/S)1.06
P/FCF Ratio-5.22
Enterprise Value/Market Cap6.72
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.50
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit5.94
Enterprise Value/Ebitda9.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$14.31Price Target Upside44.86% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering8
EPS Forecast (FY)-1.47
Revenue Forecast (FY)$947.50M
Cogent Comms Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc., founded in 1999 and based in Washington, D.C., functions as a multinational provider of high-speed internet connectivity, private networking solutions, and data center co-location services. Its extensive reach...
How the Company Makes Money
Cogent makes money primarily by selling recurring connectivity services, typically billed as monthly subscription fees under term contracts, with pricing generally linked to bandwidth capacity (e.g., Mbps/Gbps) and access type.
Key revenue stream...
Cogent Comms Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 06, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 05, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call conveyed measurable operational and financial progress — notable asset monetizations, margin expansion, deleveraging steps, strong wavelength revenue growth and traffic acceleration — but also highlighted continuing revenue pressure from the acquired Sprint base, substantial legacy debt and upcoming refinancing risk, constrained free cash flow (excluding T‑Mobile payments), and slower-than-desired wavelength conversion due to supply chain and data center constraints. Achievements on cost savings, on‑net product rotation, asset sales and traffic/EBITDA improvements are significant, yet material challenges remain that temper near‑term credit and cash flow outlooks.Positive Updates
Data Center Monetization — Closed Sale of 10 Former Sprint Facilities
Sold 10 converted Sprint data centers for $225.0 million in cash in Q2 2026, recording a GAAP gain of $130.7 million; proceeds used primarily to reduce gross and net leverage.
Negative Updates
Revenue Decline and Negative Growth Commentary
Total revenues were $235.6 million, declining $3.6 million or 1.5% sequentially; management acknowledged revenue growth for Q2 was negative and that declines from the acquired Sprint customer base remain a headwind.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Data Center Monetization — Closed Sale of 10 Former Sprint Facilities
Sold 10 converted Sprint data centers for $225.0 million in cash in Q2 2026, recording a GAAP gain of $130.7 million; proceeds used primarily to reduce gross and net leverage.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided to multi‑year revenue growth of 6–8% and expected EBITDA margin expansion of roughly 200 basis points per year (multi‑year, not quarterly), with a planned Q3 2026 refinancing of the $750M 2027 notes and continued deleveraging funded by data‑center monetization (10 former‑Sprint sites sold for $225M in Q2, GAAP gain $130.7M; company committed at least $175M of those proceeds into the borrowing group per the 2032 supplemental indenture). Key metrics cited: net leverage as‑adjusted down to 6.23x EBITDA (from 6.79x last quarter and 6.61x YoY), gross debt ~ $2.3B, net debt ~$1.8B, cash & restricted cash $369.7M; cumulative 2032 note repurchases $138.8M par at an average price of $90.348 (cash paid $126.2M) yielding $13.4M gain; Q2 CapEx $38.5M (down 16.7% QoQ, 31.4% YoY) with further declines expected; integration costs largely wound down with most savings captured; Q2 EBITDA as‑adjusted $71.1M (+$0.9M QoQ) and EBITDA adj margin 30.2% (+90 bps QoQ), gross margin 47% (+90 bps QoQ, +260 bps YoY); and continued focus on wavelength growth (wavelength revenue $14.8M, +63.8% YoY, +9.2% QoQ; 2,445 connections, +66.4% YoY, +8% QoQ; available in 1,137 locations, sold in 608 locations to 546 unique customers; company at ~3% of the NA long‑haul market with a 25% long‑term target).Cogent Comms Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
34
Negative
Balance Sheet
18
Very Negative
Cash Flow
22
Negative
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.18B | 975.77M | 1.04B | 940.92M | 599.60M | 589.80M |
| Gross Profit | 494.48M | 170.62M | 394.27M | 396.69M | 371.45M | 363.46M |
| EBITDA | 326.11M | 186.58M | 161.69M | 1.56B | 229.29M | 218.72M |
| Net Income | -84.77M | -182.17M | -204.07M | 1.27B | 5.15M | 48.19M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.10B | 3.10B | 3.17B | 3.21B | 1.01B | 984.56M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 183.70M | 205.11M | 198.49M | 75.09M | 223.78M | 319.61M |
| Total Debt | 2.64B | 2.93B | 2.34B | 1.83B | 1.36B | 1.26B |
| Total Liabilities | 3.14B | 3.16B | 2.95B | 2.60B | 1.53B | 1.36B |
| Stockholders Equity | -34.13M | -63.85M | 222.85M | 609.56M | -518.63M | -373.10M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | -142.92M | -198.15M | -203.64M | -112.29M | 94.74M | 100.34M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 15.14M | -10.58M | -8.64M | 17.34M | 173.71M | 170.26M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 174.44M | -87.57M | 21.49M | 76.73M | -78.97M | -69.92M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -119.18M | 62.90M | 105.92M | -257.85M | -144.85M | -140.82M |
Cogent Comms Technical Analysis
Negative
9.88
Price Trends
9.69
Negative
12.18
Negative
16.79
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.19
Negative
45.61
Neutral
69.82
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CCOI, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 9.88 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 8.65, above the 50-day MA of 9.69, and below the 200-day MA of 16.79, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.19 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 45.61 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 69.82 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for CCOI.
Cogent Comms Risk Analysis
Cogent Comms disclosed 46 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Cogent Comms reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Cogent Comms Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
75 Outperform | $151.99B | 7.32 | 19.48% | 5.00% | 2.63% | 72.35% | |
72 Outperform | $73.31B | 6.71 | 12.04% | 6.39% | 0.58% | -48.94% | |
65 Neutral | $173.05B | 10.85 | 15.52% | 6.75% | 1.38% | -10.78% | |
60 Neutral | $48.67B | 4.58 | -11.27% | 4.14% | 2.83% | -41.78% | |
56 Neutral | $18.21B | 2.65 | 30.43% | ― | -1.50% | 4.45% | |
47 Neutral | $437.38M | -4.80 | 140.52% | 0.94% | -4.54% | 79.01% | |
47 Neutral | $5.45B | -5.17 | -52.11% | 9.72% | -7.74% | 13.54% |
* Communication Services Sector Average
CCOI
Cogent Comms
8.54
-34.83
-80.31%
T
AT&T
22.18
-2.25
-9.20%
LUMN
Lumen Technologies
5.28
-1.47
-21.78%
CHTR
Charter Communications
103.38
-155.35
-60.04%
CMCSA
Comcast
20.66
-5.49
-21.00%
VZ
Verizon
41.65
4.38
11.75%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.