Ribbon Communications Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results

PLANO, Texas – Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN), a global leader in real-time communications technology and IP optical networking solutions, today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2025. Ribbon Communications is dedicated to assisting the world's largest service providers, enterprises, and critical infrastructure operators in modernizing and safeguarding their networks and services.

Third Quarter 2025 Highlights

Financial Highlights¹:

• Revenue was $215 million, compared to $210 million for the third quarter of 2024
• GAAP Operating Income was $3 million, compared to a loss of $1 million for the third quarter of 2024
• Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $29 million, compared to $30 million for the third quarter of 2024
• GAAP Gross Margin was 50.1%, compared to 52.1% for the third quarter of 2024
• Non-GAAP Gross Margin was 52.6%, compared to 55.3% for the third quarter of 2024

“Ribbon delivered solid results in the third quarter, with sales growing 2% year over year, an increase of 6% year to date. IP Optical Networks sales grew 11% year over year in the quarter with strong growth in EMEA and India. Cloud & Edge sales year to date have increased more than 8% with sales to Global Service Providers continuing to grow. The recent U.S. Federal Government shut down had a minor impact on our Cloud & Edge third quarter results and creates a near-term timing issue on new purchases, but related voice modernization projects are continuing to progress,” stated Bruce McClelland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ribbon Communications. “More broadly, we believe that our momentum remains strong as evidenced by the expanding number of customers initiating Network Transformation programs and continued growth in our IP Optical Networks segment.”  

Mr. McClelland continued, “I am also excited about our innovation pipeline. During the third quarter, we announced the launch and initial deployment of our Acumen AIOps platform with a leading U.S. service provider. Acumen is a powerful new AIOps and automation platform designed to help service providers and enterprises navigate the complexities of today's challenging operational environment and accelerate their transition to autonomous networks. Beyond AIOps, our Cloud & Edge portfolio is becoming increasingly strategic to our customers as they bring voice-enabled Agentic AI capabilities to their offerings including some of the largest global technology and software companies.”

John Townsend, Chief Financial Officer of Ribbon Communications, remarked, “Our financial performance in the third quarter of 2025 was in line with our guidance range, supported by solid growth and positive adjusted EBITDA contribution in our IP Optical Networks segment. We also continued to demonstrate strong discipline with operating expenses lower year over year despite foreign exchange headwinds of approximately $3 million. Cash flow from operations was $26 million and our closing cash balance was $77 million, up $14 million from the second quarter of 2025, resulting in a net debt leverage ratio of 2.2 times at quarter end.”

¹ Please see the reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and additional information about non-GAAP measures in the section entitled “Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in the attached schedules.

Business Highlights:

• Ribbon Launches New AI Platform: Acumen™ for Autonomous Networking
• Automation, Alignment, and AI: A Fireside Chat with Industry Leaders
• Ribbon Expands Portfolio of DISA JITC-Certified Solutions in Support of U.S. Department of Defense Network Deployments
• NGN Partners with Ribbon for Future-Ready Optical Network Infrastructure
• Vibrant Broadband Transforms Middle Mile Infrastructure with Ribbon
• Kerala State Leverages Ribbon for its Kerala Fiber Optic Network (KFON) Deployment
• Ribbon Names Steve McCaffery Executive Vice President, Global Sales
• Ribbon Appoints Fahad Najam as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy
• Ribbon to host INSIGHTS Dallas on November 11-13, 2025 in Frisco, Texas

Business Outlook²   

For the fourth quarter of 2025, the Company projects revenue of $230 million to $250 million. Non-GAAP gross margin is projected in a range of 55% to 56%. Adjusted EBITDA is projected in a range of $42 million to $48 million.

The Company’s outlook is based on current indications for its business, which are subject to change.

² GAAP earnings guidance is not provided. Please see the reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and additional information about the non-GAAP measures in the section entitled “Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in the attached schedules.

Upcoming Conference Schedule

• November 18, 2025: Craig-Hallum 16^th Annual Alpha Select Conference
• November 19, 2025: ROTH Technology Conference
• November 20, 2025: 6^th Annual Needham Tech Week
• December 1-4, 2025: UBS TMT Conference
• January 13-14, 2026: 28^th Annual Needham Growth 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 Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

Dial-in Information:

US/Canada: 877-407-2991
International: 201-389-0925
Instant Telephone Access: Call me™ 

A live (listen-only) webcast and replay will be available on the Company’s Investor Relations website at investors.ribboncommunications.com.

About Ribbon

Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN) delivers communications software, IP and optical networking solutions to service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors globally. We engage deeply with our customers, helping them modernize their networks for improved competitive positioning and business outcomes in today's smart, always-on and data-hungry world. Our innovative, end-to-end solutions portfolio delivers unparalleled scale, performance, and agility, including core to edge software-centric solutions, cloud-native offers, leading-edge security and analytics tools, along with IP and optical networking solutions for 5G and broadband internet. We maintain a keen focus on our commitments to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters, offering an annual Sustainability Report to our stakeholders. 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 the Company’s projected financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025 and beyond; the impact of the government shutdown on the Company’s operating results, beliefs about the Company’s business strategy, including new product introductions, and market share growth, 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; increases in tariffs, trade restrictions or taxes on the Company’s products; material cybersecurity and data intrusion incidents, including any security breaches resulting in the theft, transfer, or unauthorized disclosure of customer, employee, or Company information; the impact of the government shutdown on the Company’ operating results; supply chain disruptions resulting from component availability and/or geopolitical instabilities and disputes (including those related to the wars in Israel and Ukraine); the impact of military call-ups of employees in Israel; material litigation; the impact of fluctuations in interest rates; the Company’s 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 the Company’s customer base or generate recurring business from existing customers; credit risks; the timing of customer purchasing decisions and the Company’s recognition of revenues; macroeconomic conditions, including inflation; the Company’s ability to adapt to rapid technological and market changes; the Company’s ability to generate positive returns on its research and development; the Company’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights and obtain necessary licenses; the Company’s ability to maintain partner, reseller, distribution and vendor support and supply relationships; the potential for defects in the Company’s products; risks related to the terms of the Company’s credit agreement; higher risks in international operations and markets; currency fluctuations; unanticipated adverse changes in legal, regulatory or tax laws; future accounting pronouncements or changes in the Company’s accounting policies and/or failure or circumvention of the Company’s 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, 2024. 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. The Company’s annual financial plan is prepared on a non-GAAP basis and is approved by its board of directors. In addition, budgeting and forecasting for revenue and expenses are conducted on a non-GAAP basis, and actual results on a non-GAAP basis are assessed against the annual financial plan. The Company defines continuing operations as the ongoing results of its business adjusted for certain expenses and credits, as described below. The Company believes that providing non-GAAP information to investors allows them to view the Company's financial results in the way its management views them and helps investors to better understand the Company’s core financial and operating performance and evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by its management to evaluate and measure such performance.

While the Company’s management uses non-GAAP financial measures as tools to enhance its understanding of certain aspects of the Company’s financial performance, management does not consider these measures to be a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP measures. In addition, the Company’s presentations of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives for, or in isolation from, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures. In particular, many of the adjustments to the Company’s financial measures reflect the exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in its financial results for the foreseeable future.

Stock-Based Compensation

The expense related to stock-based awards is generally not controllable in the short-term and can vary significantly based on the timing, size and nature of awards granted. The Company believes that presenting non-GAAP operating results that exclude stock-based compensation provides investors with visibility and insight into its management’s method of analysis and its core operating performance.

Amortization of Acquired Technology (including software licenses); Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets

Amortization amounts are inconsistent in frequency and amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and size of acquisitions. Amortization of acquired technology is reported separately within Cost of revenue and Amortization of acquired intangible assets is reported separately within Operating expenses. These items are reported collectively as Amortization of acquired intangible assets in the accompanying reconciliations of non-GAAP and GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that excluding non-cash amortization of these intangible assets facilitates the comparison of its financial results to its historical operating results and to other companies in its industry as if the acquired intangible assets had been developed internally rather than acquired.

Litigation Costs

In connection with certain ongoing litigation where Ribbon is the defendant (as described in the Company's Commitments and Contingencies footnotes in its Form 10-Qs and Form 10-Ks filed with the SEC, the Company has incurred litigation costs beginning in 2023.  These costs are included as a component of general and administrative expense. The Company believes that such costs are not part of its core business or ongoing operations, are unplanned, and generally are not within its control. Accordingly, the Company believes that excluding litigation costs related to these specific legal matters facilitates the comparison of the Company's financial results to its historical operating results and to other companies in its industry.

Acquisition-, Disposal- and Integration-Related

The Company considers certain acquisition-, disposal- and integration-related costs to be unrelated to the organic continuing operations of the Company and its acquired businesses.  Such costs are generally not relevant to assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the acquired assets. In 2025, the Company recorded expense for legal and professional fees associated with contemplated corporate development activities. The Company excludes such acquisition-, disposal- and integration-related costs to allow more accurate comparisons of its financial results to its historical operations and the financial results of less acquisitive peer companies and allows management and investors to consider the ongoing operations of the business both with and without such expenses.

Restructuring and Related

The Company has recorded restructuring and related expense to streamline operations and reduce operating costs by closing and consolidating certain facilities and reducing its worldwide workforce. The Company believes that excluding restructuring and related expense facilitates the comparison of its financial results to its historical operating results and to other companies in its industry, as there are no future revenue streams or other benefits associated with these costs.

Preferred Stock and Warrant Liability Mark-to-Market Adjustment

The Company recorded adjustments to the fair value of its Series A Preferred Stock and Warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock in Other (expense) income, net. Both of these instruments were issued in March 2023 in connection with the Company’s private placement and have been classified as liabilities and marked to market each reporting period until the Series A Preferred Stock was fully redeemed on June 25, 2024. The Warrant liability remains outstanding and will continue to be marked to market each reporting period. The Company excluded these gains and losses from the change in the fair value of these liabilities because it believes that such gains or losses were not part of its core business or ongoing operations.

Tax Effect of Non-GAAP Adjustments

The Non-GAAP income tax provision is presented based on an estimated tax rate applied against forecasted annual non-GAAP income. The Company computes its non-GAAP estimated tax rate using its estimated GAAP annual effective tax rate for the period and adjusting for the tax effect of pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments. The Company computes a single annual non-GAAP rate for the Company and applying that rate (rather than multiple rates by jurisdiction) to its consolidated quarterly results. The Company expects that this methodology will provide a consistent rate throughout the year and allow investors to better understand the impact of income taxes on its results. Due to the methodology applied to its estimated annual tax rate, the Company’s estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income will differ from its GAAP tax rate and from its actual tax liabilities.

Adjusted EBITDA

The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review and assess its performance. The Company calculates Adjusted EBITDA by excluding from income (loss) from operations: depreciation; stock-based compensation; amortization of acquired intangible assets; certain litigation costs; acquisition-, disposal- and integration-related expense; and restructuring and related expense. In general, the Company excludes the expenses that it considers to be non-cash and/or not a part of its ongoing operations. The Company may exclude other items in the future that have those characteristics. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that is used by the investing community for comparative and valuation purposes. The Company discloses this metric to support and facilitate dialogue with research analysts and investors. Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than the Company does, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.