At a glance
Cogent Communications Group Inc is worth $391.3M. Revenue fell 5.8% to $975.8M in fiscal 2025, at a loss; over 5 years it has grown 11.4% a year. It pays a 1.05% dividend yield, and returned $866.0M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −82.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −33.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 21.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 29.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high within a month and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Cogent Communications uses its own global network to provide fast, low-cost internet access and private network links between a customer's sites. It also offers optical wavelength and optical transport services (dedicated fiber-optic capacity between two points), rents space and power in its data centers, and leases out IPv4 addresses, the number labels that identify devices online. Based in Washington, DC, it serves customers in 57 countries.
Customers fall into three groups. Corporate customers, such as law firms, financial firms and health care providers, usually sit in multi-tenant office buildings. “Net-centric” customers include other internet providers, phone, cable and mobile companies, and content firms such as streaming services and content delivery networks; they mostly connect in data centers. Larger “enterprise” customers came with Cogent's May 1, 2023 acquisition of Sprint's U.S. long-haul fiber network from T-Mobile, which added about 23,500 route miles of owned fiber.
In 2025, revenue was about $976 million, down 5.8% from 2024. On-net services, for buildings and data centers connected directly to Cogent's network, made up 54.5%. Off-net services, which use another carrier's “last mile” line to reach the customer, made up 40.7%, and wavelength services added 3.9%. North America supplied 84% of revenue and Europe 12.5%. Cogent aims to be the low-cost operator in an industry where prices keep falling.
Price history
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CCOI -82.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| On Net Services | $531.5M | 54.5% |
| Off Net Services | $397.5M | 40.7% |
| Wavelength Services | $38.5M | 3.9% |
| Non Core Services | $8.3M | 0.9% |
By geography
| North America | $819.5M | 84% |
| Europe | $122.0M | 12.5% |
| Oceania | $24.8M | 2.5% |
| South America | $8.8M | 0.9% |
| Africa | $588K | 0.1% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $235.6M, down 4.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $66.6M.
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $975.8M (-5.8% year over year; +11.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a -18.7% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +11.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | -10.4% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | -20.3% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | -5.9% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.55B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $568.1M | $6.2M | $84.4M |
| FY2021 | $589.8M | $48.2M | $100.3M |
| FY2022 | $599.6M | $5.1M | $94.7M |
| FY2023 | $940.9M | $1.27B | $-112.3M |
| FY2024 | $1.04B | $-204.1M | $-203.6M |
| FY2025 | $975.8M | $-182.2M | $-198.1M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $391.3M |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 1.05% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Cogent Communications Group’s market value went from $1.88B at the end of 2016 to $391.3M on Oct 28, 2026, down 79%; since the end of 2025 it is down 63%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $391.3M | -63.1% |
| 2025 | $1.06B | -72.0% |
| 2024 | $3.78B | +2.2% |
| 2023 | $3.70B | +35.0% |
| 2022 | $2.74B | -21.5% |
| 2021 | $3.49B | +23.3% |
| 2020 | $2.83B | -8.2% |
| 2019 | $3.08B | +46.7% |
| 2018 | $2.10B | +0.9% |
| 2017 | $2.08B | +10.7% |
| 2016 | $1.88B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCOI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -64.4% | -82.3% | -48.3% | -33.4% | -10.4% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -64.4% |
| 2025 | -70.2% |
| 2024 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | +41.3% |
| 2022 | -16.1% |
| 2021 | +27.7% |
| 2020 | -5.3% |
| 2019 | +51.9% |
| 2018 | +4.2% |
| 2017 | +14.3% |
| 2016 | +24.1% |
| 2015 | +2.5% |
| 2014 | -9.5% |
| 2013 | +82.8% |
| 2012 | +35.4% |
| 2011 | +19.4% |
| 2010 | +43.4% |
| 2009 | +51.0% |
| 2008 | -72.5% |
| 2007 | +46.2% |
| 2006 | +195.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 81.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 88.1%, back to its old high 53.5 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 10.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 21.4%, back to its old high 0.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 28.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 29.5%, back to its old high 3.7 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 6 sales ($300K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2026 | Thaddeus Gerard Weed VICE PRESIDENT, CFO | sell | $81K |
| May 28, 2026 | Lewis H FERGUSON Director | sell | $57K |
| May 14, 2026 | Sheryl Lynn Kennedy Director | sell | $54K |
| Sep 2, 2026 | Thaddeus Gerard Weed VICE PRESIDENT, CFO | sell | $45K |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Henry W Kilmer VP OF NETWORK STRATEGY | sell | $41K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. | 8.2% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 7.7% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Park West Asset Management LLC | 5.6% | Jun 10, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.5% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 4.85% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in CCOI
| PSCU Invesco S&P SmallCap Utilities & Communication Services ETF | 3.43% |
| XTL SPDR S&P Telecom ETF | 3.18% |
| SMDV ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF | 0.83% |
| NIXT Research Affiliates Deletions ETF | 0.67% |
| RZG Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Growth ETF | 0.48% |
| SMMV iShares MSCI USA Small-Cap Min Vol Factor ETF | 0.46% |
| TDIV First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund | 0.45% |
| VIOG Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.45% |
What could go wrong
- Sprint fiber deal may not pay off. Cogent acquired Sprint's U.S. long-haul fiber network in May 2023. It says the integration has been more difficult, costly or time-consuming than expected, and the planned cost savings and profits may not arrive.
- Keeping the larger enterprise customers. The enterprise customers that came with Sprint are bigger than Cogent's traditional clients. It may fail to keep them, maintain the service levels they expect, or win new ones.
- Uncertain income from IPv4 addresses. Cogent leases out IPv4 addresses and has borrowed $380.4 million against that income. That revenue depends on factors outside its control, and it may not manage to cash in these addresses or its data centers.
- Heavy debt and restricted cash. Total debt was about $1.73 billion at December 31, 2025, including $750 million due June 2027. Some cash can be used only if financial tests (covenants) are met, which could squeeze flexibility.
- Prices fall while costs rise. Internet access prices have fallen for years and Cogent expects that to continue. Costs such as electricity have risen, and the company may be unable to fully pass them on to customers.
- Emptier offices and a weaker economy. Corporate customers are typically in multi-tenant office buildings, so rising vacancy rates would hurt. A downturn in North America or Europe would also slow demand for new internet-based services that drive traffic growth.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Major agreement signed; Other company announcement
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Cogent's regular dividend per share rose each year from $2.78 in 2020 to $3.92 in 2024, then fell to $3.05 in 2025, ending the streak of increases. Neither earnings nor cash flow covered the payout: in 2025 the company lost $182 million and free cash flow (cash from operations after capital spending) was negative by about $198 million, yet it paid $150 million in dividends. The yield was 1.05% as of October 28, 2026. Share buybacks were small, about $25 million over 2021–2025, and the share count rose 7.4% from October 2021 to July 2026.
The stock fell 88% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about four and a half years to recover. It fell 21% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering within two weeks, and 30% in the 2022 bear market, recovering in under four months. In the year to October 28, 2026, it lost 82%. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Cogent Communications make money?
Mostly by providing internet access to businesses and other networks. In 2025, on-net services, for buildings and data centers wired directly to its network, brought in 54.5% of its roughly $976 million revenue. Off-net services, which use other carriers' last-mile lines to reach customers, brought in 40.7%. Optical wavelength services, dedicated fiber capacity added after the 2023 Sprint fiber purchase, were 3.9%. It also rents data center space and leases IPv4 internet addresses. North America produced 84% of revenue.
Does Cogent Communications raise its dividend every year?
No. Its regular dividend per share rose each year from $2.78 in 2020 to $3.92 in 2024, then fell to $3.05 in 2025, so it has no streak of increases. Over 2020 to 2025 the dividend grew only about 1.9% a year on average. The company reported net losses and negative free cash flow in both 2024 and 2025, so neither earnings nor the cash the business generated covered the payout. The yield was 1.05% as of October 28, 2026.
Is Cogent Communications profitable?
No, not in its two latest full years. It reported a net loss of $182.2 million in 2025 on revenue of $975.8 million, after a $204.1 million loss in 2024. It also had an operating loss of about $101 million in 2025, and free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business, was negative by about $198 million. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, it reported net income of $66.6 million, though revenue was 4.3% lower than a year earlier.
How much debt does Cogent Communications have?
About $1.73 billion as of December 31, 2025. The main pieces are $750 million of 7.00% unsecured notes due June 2027, $600 million of 6.50% secured notes due July 2032, and $380.4 million of notes backed by revenue from its IPv4 addresses. Cash and investments were about $184 million at June 30, 2026, and shareholders' equity was negative, meaning recorded liabilities exceeded assets. Some cash is restricted and can be reached only if certain financial tests (covenants) are met.
How has Cogent Communications stock performed?
It has fallen sharply over one, five and ten years. As of October 28, 2026, the stock had lost 82.3% over one year, 87% in total over five years and 67% over ten years. It fell 70.2% in calendar 2025 and was down 64.4% for 2026 through October 28. Its largest peak-to-trough drop over three years was about 91%. Its one-year beta, a measure of swings relative to the market, was 1.91, meaning it tended to move almost twice as much as the overall market.