Cogent Communications reported first-quarter 2026 service revenue of $239.2 million, down from $240.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $247.0 million in the first quarter of 2025. On a constant-currency basis, service revenue slipped 0.7% sequentially and 4.6% year over year.
The company’s on-net business continued to grow. On-net revenue rose to $135.6 million, up 1.0% from the prior quarter and 4.6% from a year earlier. Off-net revenue fell to $89.0 million, down 4.2% sequentially and 17.0% year over year. Wavelength revenue climbed to $13.6 million, an increase of 12.3% from the fourth quarter and 90.8% from the first quarter of 2025. Revenue from leasing IPv4 addresses reached $18.0 million, up 3.9% from the prior quarter and 24.8% from a year earlier.
Customer counts moved in mixed directions. Total customer connections declined to 116,809, down 0.7% from the end of 2025 and 3.2% from a year earlier. On-net customer connections edged down to 87,899 from 87,995 in the prior quarter, though they were up 1.3% from a year earlier. Off-net connections fell to 24,014, down 2.6% sequentially and 12.7% year over year. Wavelength customer connections increased to 2,263, up 9.6% from the fourth quarter and 71.2% from the first quarter of 2025. Non-core customer connections dropped to 2,633 from 2,979 in the prior quarter and 5,120 a year earlier.
The company’s on-net footprint expanded to 3,605 buildings, up 26 from the fourth quarter and 105 from the first quarter of 2025. Cogent said it was offering optical wavelength services in 1,107 locations across the U.S., Mexico and Canada at quarter-end.
Gross profit improved sharply year over year. GAAP gross profit rose to $55.9 million, up 4.0% from the fourth quarter and 66.5% from a year earlier, with GAAP gross margin at 23.4%, compared with 22.3% in the prior quarter and 13.6% a year earlier. Non-GAAP gross profit was $110.3 million, down 2.0% sequentially but up 0.2% year over year, while non-GAAP gross margin was 46.1%, compared with 46.8% in the fourth quarter and 44.6% in the first quarter of 2025.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $45.2 million, down from $51.7 million in the fourth quarter but up from $43.8 million a year earlier. EBITDA margin was 18.9%, compared with 21.5% in the prior quarter and 17.7% in the first quarter of 2025. EBITDA, as adjusted for cash paid under the IP transit services agreement, was $70.2 million, down from $76.7 million in the fourth quarter but up from $68.8 million a year earlier. The adjusted margin was 29.3%, compared with 31.9% in the prior quarter and 27.8% a year ago.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $14.8 million, rebounding from a use of $6.0 million in the fourth quarter, though below the $36.4 million generated in the first quarter of 2025. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $(0.83), wider than $(0.64) in the prior quarter and narrower than $(1.09) a year earlier.
Cogent also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share for the second quarter of 2026, after paying the same amount in the first quarter. The company said payments under its IP transit services agreement with T-Mobile remained $25.0 million for the quarter, unchanged from the prior two quarters. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 2.09% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $24.47. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.
