Verizon And Federal Wins Power Ribbon Communications' Confident Outlook

Core Viewpoint - Ribbon Communications reported strong second-quarter 2025 results, driven by robust demand and key customer wins, with total revenue of $221 million, a 22% sequential increase and a 15% year-over-year rise, surpassing estimates by approximately $6 million [1][2] Revenue Performance - Domestic revenue reached $117 million, jumping 40% quarter-over-quarter and 45% year-over-year [5] - International revenue was $104 million, rising 6% sequentially but declining 7% year-over-year [5] - The Cloud and Edge segment generated $137 million in revenue, up 27% sequentially and 24% year-over-year, primarily due to strong growth from Verizon and government customers [5] - IP Optical revenue rose to $84 million, up 13% sequentially and 2% year-over-year, beating estimates by 6% [7] Profitability Metrics - Company-wide gross margin reached 52.1%, expanding 340 basis points quarter-over-quarter but contracting 230 basis points year-over-year [8] - Operating margin expanded sharply to 12.5%, up 1,120 basis points sequentially and 300 basis points year-over-year, beating projections by 20 basis points [8] - Adjusted EBITDA totaled $32 million, representing a 433% increase sequentially and 47% growth year-over-year [8] Segment Insights - The Cloud and Edge segment's gross margins contracted 110 basis points sequentially and 410 basis points year-over-year to 61.9% [6] - The IP Optical segment's gross margin expanded 760 basis points sequentially to 35.9%, supported by stronger North American sales and improved mix and margins in Asia-Pacific [7] Future Outlook - Management guided third-quarter revenue between $213 million and $227 million, slightly below prior estimates [9] - The company reiterated its full-year 2025 outlook, maintaining revenue guidance of $870 million to $890 million and adjusted EBITDA of $130 million to $140 million [10] - Management expects the fourth quarter to remain the strongest quarter of the year, typical for Ribbon [11] Analyst Commentary - Analyst Mike Genovese reaffirmed a Buy rating for Ribbon Communications and increased his price forecast from $5.50 to $6.00 [3] - Genovese highlighted Ribbon's ability to weather recent headwinds and consistently deliver on guidance across multiple quarters [12] - The analyst noted meaningful improvement in the Cloud and Edge narrative, particularly with Verizon's shift to next-gen voice infrastructure [13]