Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Q3 2026 Earnings Recap

Cogent shares fell 30.9% after earnings, with the transcript offering little reassurance on a key near-term risk: $700 million of unsecured notes mature in June 2027, and the company is still evaluating proposals to address them. Cost cuts and improving margins were positives, but they did not remove the uncertainty around refinancing.

Key Takeaways

• The company has $700 million of 2027 unsecured notes outstanding and says it is evaluating proposals with Evercore and Latham & Watkins; no resolution was announced in the transcript.
• Adjusted EBITDA rose $2.8 million sequentially to $73.9 million; adjusted EBITDA margin increased 150 basis points sequentially to 32%.
• Gross margin reached 47.6%, up 60 basis points sequentially and 180 basis points year over year, while network-service costs fell 3.1% sequentially and 7.7% year over year.
• On-net revenue, including wavelengths, grew 5.8% year over year to $153.9 million. Wavelength revenue rose 57% year over year to $16 million, with 277 net connections added in the quarter.
• Gross leverage, adjusted for amounts due from T-Mobile, declined to 6.94x from 7.5x. Combined capital expenditures and capital-lease principal payments fell 10% sequentially to $43.4 million.