Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI) saw its stock plummet 7.40% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the release of its disappointing first-quarter earnings report. The company's financial results fell short of analysts' expectations, overshadowing a small increase in its quarterly dividend.

For the first quarter of 2025, Cogent reported a loss of $1.09 per share, missing the FactSet consensus estimate of a $1.06 loss. The company's revenue also disappointed, coming in at $247.05 million, below the analyst consensus estimate of $250.97 million. This represents a 7.18% decrease compared to the same period last year when the company reported sales of $266.17 million. The adjusted gross margin for the quarter stood at 44.6%, while the EBITDA was $43.759 million.

Despite the underwhelming results, Cogent Communications announced a bright spot for investors, approving an increase of $0.005 per share to its regular quarterly dividend. However, this positive news was not enough to offset the overall disappointing performance. The wider-than-expected loss and the significant year-over-year decline in sales have raised concerns among investors about the company's near-term growth prospects, leading to the substantial pre-market decline in the stock price.