Cogent (CCOI) Misses Earnings & Revenue Estimates in Q2

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. CCOI reported unimpressive second-quarter 2020 results, with the top and the bottom line missing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Net Income

Net income in the June-end quarter was $8.6 million or 18 cents per share compared with $7.1 million or 16 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. Quote

Revenues

Quarterly service revenues increased 4.6% year over year to $141 million. On a constant-currency basis, revenues increased 5.1% year over year. However, the top line lagged the consensus estimate of $143 million.

On-net revenues increased to $103.8 million from $97.5 million in the year-ago quarter. On-net service is provided to customers located in buildings that are physically connected to Cogent’s network by its facilities. The number of on-net buildings increased by 117 year over year to 2,854 as of Jun 30.

Off-net revenues slipped to $37 million from $37.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Off-net customers are located in buildings directly connected to the company’s network using other carriers’ facilities.

Other Details

Total operating expenses were $113.6 million compared with $113 million in the prior-year quarter. Operating income was $27.6 million compared with $22 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $53.6 million compared with $47.3 million in the year-ago quarter for a margin of 38% and 35.1%, respectively.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cogent increased its dividend for the 32nd consecutive quarter. It hiked dividend by 2.5 cents per share to 70.5 cents for third-quarter 2020. The amount is payable on Sep 4 to shareholders on record as of Aug 21.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

In the first half of 2020, Cogent generated $69.8 million of net cash from operating activities compared with $69.3 million in the year-ago period. As of Jun 30, the company had $417 million in cash and cash equivalents with $189 million of finance lease obligations.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Cogent carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Turtle Beach Corporation HEAR, Plantronics, Inc. PLT and Clearfield, Inc. CLFD, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Turtle Beach has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 46.4%, on average.

Plantronics has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 540%, on average. The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters.

Clearfield has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 45.6%, on average. The company’s earnings topped the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters.

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