Cogent Communications vs Lumen Technologies
Lumen Technologies reported revenue of $12.4 billion in fiscal 2025, 12.7 times Cogent Communications' $976 million in fiscal 2025. Cogent Communications' revenue fell 5.8% in its latest year, and Lumen Technologies' fell 5.4%. Cogent Communications had an operating margin of -10.4%, against -6.5% at Lumen Technologies. Free cash flow was −$198 million at Cogent Communications and $371 million at Lumen Technologies.
Side by side
| Cogent Communications | Lumen Technologies | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $976M | $12.4B |
| Revenue growth | −5.8% | −5.4% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 11.4% | −9.7% |
| Gross margin | 45.2% | 46.5% |
| Operating margin | −10.4% | −6.5% |
| Net margin | −18.7% | −14.0% |
| Free cash flow | −$198M | $371M |
| Free cash flow margin | −20.3% | 3.0% |
| Return on capital | −3.8% | −3.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 13.0x | 8.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $167M | $1M |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Last close | $7.36 | $4.43 |
| P/E at the last close | — | — |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $995,500 | bought $1.1 million, sold $355,050 |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 of 9 | 4 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Cogent CommunicationsLumen Technologies
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Cogent CommunicationsLumen Technologies
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Cogent CommunicationsLumen Technologies
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Cogent Communications and Lumen Technologies pages.