Cogent Communications (CCOI)
Tier 1 IP backbone built on distressed fiber, serving corporate, net-centric, and enterprise buyers.
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Runs a Tier 1 IP backbone serving corporate tenants in office buildings, bandwidth-heavy net-centric buyers, and enterprise customers across a global fiber network grown through distressed-asset acquisitions. The 2023 Sprint Wireline deal added long-haul wavelength capacity and pushed the company into optical transport and colocation alongside its core Internet transit business.
Operates a Tier 1 all-optical IP backbone built through acquisitions of distressed fiber assets — a model set in 1999 and applied most dramatically when the Sprint Wireline long-haul network was acquired for a nominal sum in 2023.
Revenue spans three customer types: corporate buyers in multi-tenant office buildings taking dedicated Internet access; net-centric buyers — CDNs, streaming platforms, gaming companies, and access ISPs — that carry most network traffic; and enterprise customers on large multi-site contracts, mostly served over third-party last-mile.
IP transit and dedicated access dominate the product mix, while optical wavelength services are expanding rapidly across the data center footprint added in the Sprint deal. Colocation is present but small.
Flat-rate pricing and deep on-net building penetration anchor the corporate and net-centric lines. Founder David Schaeffer has been Chairman, CEO, and President since 1999.
Company facts
Target rangeAs of Sep 22, 2026
Latest analyst notes
| Date | Firm | Action | Prior | Current |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2026 | UBS | Target | Target: $11 | Target: $9 |
| Aug 19, 2026 | JP Morgan | Downgrade | ||
| Aug 17, 2026 | UBS | Reiterate | Rating: —Target: $17 | Target: $11 |
| Aug 13, 2026 | RBC Capital | Reiterate | Rating: —Target: $18 | Target: $12 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | Goldman Sachs | Target | Target: $22 | Target: $12 |
EPSReportedEstimate
RevenueReportedEstimate
Balance sheet, Jun 30, 2026Cash & short-term investments $183.7M · Total debt $2.64B · Total assets $3.10B · Shareholders' equity −$34.1M
- Revenue
- $474.7M
- Operating income
- $105.4M
- Net income
- $27.1M
HistoryDividendAnnual yield
| Institutions | 93.88% | 48.08M shares | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 239 holders · as of Jun 30, 2026 | |||
| Insiders | 2.86% | 1.46M shares | |
| 13 holders · as of Sep 15, 2026 | |||
| Strategic holders | 0.07% | 33.8K shares | |
| 1 holder · as of Jul 1, 2026 | |||
| Other | 3.19% | 1.63M shares | |
| remainder | |||
51.22M company shares as of Sep 22, 2026 · institutions as of Jun 30, 2026 · holders as of their latest filing
Top shareholders13F · 13D/G · Form 4
| Holder | Stake | Shares | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc.Institution | 14.40% | 7.38M | as of Jun 30, 2026 |
Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc.Institution | 8.21% | 4.20M | as of Jun 30, 2026 |
Park West Asset Management LLCInstitution | 6.07% | 3.11M | as of Jun 30, 2026 |
State Street CorpInstitution | 5.43% | 2.78M | as of Jun 30, 2026 |
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLCInstitution | 4.66% | 2.38M | as of Jun 30, 2026 |
Insider tradesForm 4
| Date | Insider | Role | Shares | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2026 | Henry W. Kilmer | officer: VP OF NETWORK STRATEGY | −2,400 | $9.21 |
| Sep 2, 2026 | Thaddeus Gerard Weed | officer: VICE PRESIDENT, CFO | −4,850 | $9.37 |
| Jun 16, 2026 | Thaddeus Gerard Weed | officer: VICE PRESIDENT, CFO | −4,850 | $16.79 |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Henry W. Kilmer | officer: VP OF NETWORK STRATEGY | −2,400 | $17.01 |
| May 28, 2026 | Lewis H. FERGUSON | director | −2,800 | $20.36 |
- Lumen Technologies
Broadest overlap: IP transit, wavelength, enterprise WAN, and DIA.
- Verizon
Tier 1 backbone rival competing in IP transit, wavelength, and enterprise WAN.
- AT&T
Tier 1 US carrier competing in DIA, IP transit, wavelength, and enterprise WAN.
- Comcast
Comcast Business competes on DIA and Carrier Ethernet in its US cable footprint.
- Equinix
World's largest carrier-neutral colo operator; 273 IBX data centers globally.
CompareAfter hours
| Company | Price | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cogent Communications | $9.31 | −0.11% | $465.2M | — | — | 0.4 | −4.3% |
| Lumen Technologies | $6.42 | +0.41% | $6.66B | — | — | 0.6 | −9.3% |
| Verizon | $46.55 | +0.19% | $199.09B | 12.4 | 9.1 | 1.4 | −0.7% |
| AT&T | $25.13 | 0.00% | $174.53B | 8.5 | 10.4 | 1.4 | +2.3% |
| Comcast | $22.50 | +0.33% | $81.37B | 7.4 | 6.5 | 0.7 | −1.2% |
| Equinix | $1,059.26 | −0.01% | $104.32B | 68.1 | 60.9 | 10.6 | +16.4% |
| Median | 10.4 | 9.8 | 1.4 | −0.7% |