StockData
Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. logo

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (CCOI) stock analysis

CCOINasdaqCommunications Services, NECFiscal year ends December 31
Financials through Q3 FY2026, quarter ended Sep 30, 2026Last filing: 10-Q on Nov 5, 2026Score 10/30
$4.44+0.09 (+2.07%)

Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $227.40MP/E –Yield 68.69%

StockData Score

Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works

Value2Growth2Performance1Health4Dividend1

Mixed10 of 30 checks passed

Cogent Communications passes 10 of the 30 checks behind our score; 14 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.

Valuation
2/6
Growth
2/6
Past performance
1/6
Financial health
4/6
Dividend
1/6

What stands out

  • No debt

    Cogent Communications has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.

  • Revenue growing 10%+ a year

    Revenue grew 17.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.

  • Interest well covered

    No meaningful interest expense to cover.

  • Debt covered by cash flow

    There is no debt to cover.

What to watch

  • Elevated bankruptcy risk

    The Altman Z-score is -0.07; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

  • Dividend was cut

    The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

  • Growing slower than the industry

    Revenue grew -4.2% over the last twelve months; the Communications median is 3.0%.

  • Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

    Current assets are 0.48 times current liabilities.

Valuation2/6

  • P/E against its history

    Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

  • P/E against the industry

    Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

  • EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

    Cogent Communications's EV/EBITDA of 0.2 is below its 5-year median of 13.7.

  • P/S below the industry

    Cogent Communications's price-to-sales of 0.24 is below the Communications median of 2.03 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

  • Price against fair value

    We could not estimate a fair value: it needs at least two valuation methods with positive inputs.

  • Margin of safety

    Depends on the fair value estimate.

Growth2/6

  • Revenue growing 10%+ a year

    Revenue grew 17.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.

  • EPS growth over 3 years

    Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.

  • Earnings acceleration

    Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

  • Growing slower than the industry

    Revenue grew -4.2% over the last twelve months; the Communications median is 3.0%.

  • Company guidance

    No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

  • Gross margin improving

    Gross margin was 46.8% over the last twelve months, against 43.1% a year earlier.

Past performance1/6

  • Return on equity

    Needs positive equity and five years of results.

  • Return on invested capital

    Needs operating income and invested capital.

  • Return on equity against the industry

    Needs positive equity.

  • Earnings over 5 years

    Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

  • Net margin against its history

    Needs five years of revenue and net income.

  • Net margin above the industry

    Cogent Communications's net margin of -3.5% is above the Communications median of -10.4%.

Financial health4/6

  • No debt

    Cogent Communications has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.

  • Debt not rising

    With no debt today, leverage cannot have risen.

  • Debt covered by cash flow

    There is no debt to cover.

  • Interest well covered

    No meaningful interest expense to cover.

  • Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

    Current assets are 0.48 times current liabilities.

  • Elevated bankruptcy risk

    The Altman Z-score is -0.07; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Dividend1/6

  • Pays a dividend

    Cogent Communications paid dividends worth 1.8% of the share price over the last twelve months.

  • Yield below Treasuries

    The 1.8% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

  • Yield below the top quarter

    The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Cogent Communications yields 1.8%.

  • Dividend was cut

    The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

  • Earnings cover

    Needs dividends paid and net income.

  • Cash-flow cover

    Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.

Scores of similar companies

Fair value

How we estimate it

We don't publish a fair value for Cogent Communications. It needs a US-dollar share price, at least two valuation methods with positive inputs (earnings, EBITDA, book value or sales) and, for companies with several share classes, classes that trade at the same price.

Valuation over time

Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.

  • P/E at month end
  • Own 5-year median 73.6
  • Communications median 14.4

An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.

Market risk

From the past year of daily prices.

Liquidity

Medium risk

Average value traded per day
$15.28M
Value traded per 1% price move
$3.26M

Downside

High risk

Typical loss in a bad month
40.8%
Volatility (annualized)
97%
Sharpe ratio, 1 year
-0.87
Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
0.78

Typical bad-month loss, week by week

25%: high

Margins

Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025

Gross margin

45.2%−16.2 pts over 5 years

Operating margin

-10.4%−29.2 pts over 5 years

Net margin

-18.7%

See a number that looks wrong?