Revenue increased 14% sequentially and Net Income improved by $18M;
further significant gains expected in 4Q 2026
IP Optical Networks Revenue increased 17% QoQ led by new wins in North America
Cloud and Edge Revenue increased 11% QoQ led by U.S. Tier 1 Network Modernization
Growing Pipeline of Data Center and AI-related Opportunities
PLANO, Texas, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN), a global leader in real-time communications technology, IP routing, and optical networking solutions, today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2026.
Third Quarter 2026 Highlights
Financial Results¹:
- Revenue was $219 million, compared to $215 million for the third quarter of 2025
- GAAP Operating Income was $6 million, compared to $3 million for the third quarter of 2025
- Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $27 million, compared to $29 million for the third quarter of 2025
- GAAP Gross Margin was 48.2%, compared to 50.1% for the third quarter of 2025
- Non-GAAP Gross Margin was 50.3%, compared to 52.6% for the third quarter of 2025
"We had meaningful sequential increases in revenue and profitability in both of our operating segments again in the third quarter, consistent with our second quarter results commentary. The strong IP Optical Networks bookings trend in the first half of the year translated into a record third quarter sales for the business, growing 5% year over year and included two new U.S. Tier 2 Internet Service Provider customers," stated Bruce McClelland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ribbon Communications. "We are also encouraged by increased activity in the Cloud and Edge segment with Service Provider revenue growing 15% sequentially supported by a 50% increase in sales to our largest customer, along with further growth in the Enterprise and Government market segments. This progress clearly supports the second-half improvement we expected, with positive trends in both operating segments and stronger results projected for the fourth quarter. Looking ahead to 2027, we see further growth drivers with the adoption of voice-enabled Enterprise AI applications, new solutions to mitigate AI-generated voice-phishing cyber-attacks, and broader demand for data center fiber infrastructure."
Rick Marmurek, Chief Financial Officer of Ribbon Communications, remarked, "Our performance improved significantly in the third quarter, with revenue increasing 14% and Adjusted EBITDA more than doubling to $27 million from $12 million in the second quarter. At the same time, Non-GAAP operating expenses remained at $88 million. We continue to focus on expanding margins, maintaining strong cost discipline, and further strengthening our balance sheet."
Business Highlights:
- HubOne Selects Ribbon's PSX to Unify Voice Traffic Across Its Applications
- Ribbon's Optical and DCI Solutions Enable PT Jala Lintas Media (JLM) to Unlock Subsea and Metro Network Capacity Between Indonesia and Singapore
- Ribbon Bolsters Its Market-Leading Critical Infrastructure Portfolio
- Ribbon and TNS Simplify Legacy Voice Switch Replacement
Business Outlook2
For the fourth quarter of 2026, the Company projects revenue of $233 million to $247 million. Non-GAAP gross margin is projected in a range of 53.5% to 54.5%. Adjusted EBITDA is projected in a range of $40 million to $47 million.
The Company's outlook is based on current indications for its business, which are subject to change.
Upcoming Conference Schedule
- November 10-12, 2026: Ribbon Insights, U.S.
- November 19, 2026: Needham Virtual Technology Conference
- December 1, 2026: UBS Global Technology & AI Conference
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Ribbon Communications will host a conference call to discuss the Company's financial results at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Dial-in Information:
US/Canada: 877-407-2991
International: 201-389-0925
Instant Telephone Access: Call meâ¢
A live (listen-only) webcast and replay will be available on the Company's Investor Relations website at investors.ribboncommunications.com.
Investor Contact
+1 (978) 614-8050
[email protected]
Media Contact
Catherine Berthier
+1 (646) 741-1974
[email protected]
About Ribbon
Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN) is a global provider of voice communications software, IP routing, and optical networking to mobile and wireline service providers, enterprises, critical infrastructure and defense sectors. We support our customers' Path to Autonomous Networks by leveraging the latest AIOps automation platforms and Agentic AI technologies, helping them deliver better customer experiences, reduce operational costs, and achieve sustainable growth. To learn more about Ribbon, visit rbbn.com.
Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including without limitation, statements regarding Company's projected financial results for the fourth quarter 2026 and beyond; expected customer bookings, spend and timing; beliefs about the Company's business strategy, including new product introductions such as the Acumen AIOps platform; beliefs about the accelerating adoption of AI and the shift towards autonomous networking; and the timing of customer network transformation projects, are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "expectations", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects" and other similar language, whether in the negative or affirmative, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions regarding its business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are unknown and/or difficult to predict and that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, unpredictable fluctuations in quarterly revenue and operating results; the impact of restructuring and cost-containment activities; impacts from new tariffs, the potential modification of, or loss of benefits under, the USMCA and other trade restrictions or taxes on our products; supply chain disruptions resulting from component availability; impacts from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and related economic volatility and uncertainty resulting therefrom; the impact of military call-ups of our employees in Israel; material litigation; the impact of fluctuations in interest rates; material cybersecurity and data intrusion incidents, including any security breaches resulting in the theft, transfer, or unauthorized disclosure of customer, employee, or company information; our ability to comply with applicable domestic and foreign information security and privacy laws, regulations and technology platform rules or other obligations related to data privacy and security; failure to compete successfully against telecommunications equipment and networking companies; failure to grow our customer base or generate recurring business from our existing customers; credit risks; the timing of customer purchasing decisions and our recognition of revenues; macroeconomic conditions, including inflation; our ability to adapt to rapid technological and market changes; our ability to generate positive returns on our research and development; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and obtain necessary licenses; our ability to maintain partner, reseller, distribution and vendor support and supply relationships; the potential for defects in our products; risks related to the terms of our Credit Agreement, including our ability to comply with the maximum net leverage ratio, our ability to obtain future waivers or amendments to the Credit Agreement, and increases in the applicable interest margin; higher risks in international operations and markets; currency fluctuations; unanticipated adverse changes in legal, regulatory or tax laws; future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; and/or failure or circumvention of our controls and procedures. We therefore caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements.
These factors are not intended to be an all-encompassing list of risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business and results from operations. Additional information regarding these and other factors can be found in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this release speaks only as of the date on which this release was first issued. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement publicly or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company's management uses several different financial measures, both GAAP and non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of its business, making operating decisions, planning and forecasting future periods, and determining payments under compensation programs. The Company considers the use of non-GAAP financial measures helpful in assessing the core performance of its continuing operations and when planning and forecasting future periods.