IQST - IQSTEL Reports Q1 2026 Revenue of $97.9 Million, Up 69.9% Year Over Year, and Accelerates High-Margin Digital Services Expansion
Rhea-AI Summary
IQST (NASDAQ: IQST) reported Q1 2026 revenue of $97.9 million, up 69.9% year over year, with 87% generated organically and gross profit above $2.0 million, up 7.8%.
The company reaffirmed its $430 million 2026 revenue target and accelerated launches of high-margin AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and digital health services, supported by a global telecom distribution platform and the GlobeTopper fintech acquisition.
Positive
- Q1 2026 revenue of $97.9 million, up 69.9% year over year
- 87% of Q1 2026 revenue generated organically
- Gross profit above $2.0 million, up 7.8% year over year
- Consolidated adjusted EBITDA reported near breakeven
- No convertible debt and no earnout obligations outstanding
- 2026 revenue target of $430 million reaffirmed
- GlobeTopper contributed $13 million revenue and $829,000 gross profit
- GlobeTopper accounted for 42% of consolidated gross profit
- Cybersecurity and digital services margins expected to exceed 25%
- AI services targeting gross margins approaching 40%
Negative
- Consolidated adjusted EBITDA only near breakeven, not yet clearly positive
News Market Reaction – IQST
In the May 26 session, IQST declined 5.79%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +28.9% during that session. Argus tracked a trough of -22.7% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 33 alerts that day, indicating elevated trading interest and price volatility. Trading volume was exceptionally heavy at 36.0x the daily average, suggesting significant selling pressure.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 06 | FY 2025 earnings | Positive | -8.6% | Reported 2025 revenue and profit growth with focus on higher-margin services. |
| Nov 14 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | +12.7% | Record quarterly revenue, adjusted EBITDA and strengthened balance sheet metrics. |
| Aug 14 | Q2 2025 earnings | Positive | -3.4% | Strong Q2 results with equity growth, margin expansion and rising profitability. |
| Dec 30 | Partner earnings update | Neutral | -0.2% | ONAR results and alliance with iQSTEL for market presence and technology. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Earnings-related announcements often showed mixed-to-negative immediate reactions, with two of three IQST earnings events followed by declines despite growth-focused messaging.
Over the last six months, IQSTEL has repeatedly highlighted rapid revenue growth and a shift toward higher-margin digital services. Prior earnings updates reported full-year 2025 revenue of $316.9M, margin expansion, and equity growth, while more recent news emphasized investor outreach and the launch of IQSTEL Digital Services and AI partnerships. Despite this, several growth-oriented updates, including FY 2025 results and AI deployment wins, were followed by negative next-day moves, underscoring a pattern of cautious market response to fundamentally positive narratives.
Key Terms
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convertible debt financial
earnout obligations financial
revenue run rate financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Company Reinforces
During the earnings call, IQSTEL management emphasized that the Company has reached a pivotal inflection point—transitioning from a telecom-focused operator into a scalable commercialization platform for high-margin digital services.
Key Financial Highlights from Q1 2026
IQSTEL reported strong first quarter performance, including:
$97.9 million 69.9% year-over-year growth87% of revenue generated organically- Gross profit exceeding
$2.0 million 7.8% year-over-year - Positive adjusted EBITDA at the operating subsidiary level
- Near breakeven consolidated adjusted EBITDA
- Book equity per share approaching
$3.00 - No convertible debt outstanding
- No earnout obligations outstanding
Management reaffirmed IQSTEL's previously announced
IQSTEL's Strategic Platform: The Real Competitive Advantage
CEO Leandro Jose Iglesias highlighted that IQSTEL's most valuable asset is not simply its telecom revenue, but the global commercial platform the Company has spent years building, which now includes:
- Commercial relationships with more than 600 telecom operators worldwide
- Operations in 21 countries across 4 continents
- 6 strategic commercial offices globally
- Potential commercial reach to approximately 2.3 billion end users
- A business operating at nearly a
$400 million
"This is our moat," said Iglesias. "Many companies can build products. Very few can commercialize those products globally through trusted enterprise relationships already in place."
Commercial Launch of High-Margin Digital Services Underway
Management confirmed that IQSTEL's digital services commercialization strategy is now actively underway.
During the call, management reported live commercial activity at International Telecoms Week in
The Company confirmed commercial launches in:
- Cybersecurity services (supported by strategic partnership with Cycurion)
- Digital Health solutions
- Fintech services
- Artificial Intelligence-driven enterprise solutions
According to management, the reception from telecom partners has been highly encouraging, reinforcing IQSTEL's strategy of leveraging trusted carrier relationships to accelerate go-to-market execution.
High-Margin Opportunity Expected to Drive EBITDA Expansion
CFO Alvaro Quintana highlighted that the introduction of digital services is expected to materially improve profitability.
Management disclosed expected margin profiles including:
- Cybersecurity and digital services margins exceeding
25% - Artificial Intelligence services targeting gross margins approaching
40%
"These services are expected to materially improve EBITDA, net income, and overall profitability," said Quintana.
The Company also noted that investments made over the past two years in AI development and switching platform modernization are nearing commercialization and are expected to begin contributing positively to operational efficiency and earnings.
GlobeTopper Acquisition Delivering Strategic Value
Management also highlighted the successful integration of GlobeTopper, which contributed approximately:
$13 million $829,000 42% of consolidated gross profit
This contribution reinforces IQSTEL's strategy of business diversification and expansion into fintech services.
A Pivotal Moment for IQSTEL
In closing remarks, CEO Leandro Jose Iglesias described 2026 as a transformational year:
"We spent years building the business platform, the trust, and the commercial relationships. Now we are entering the monetization phase—leveraging that infrastructure to commercialize high-margin digital services globally."
He added:
"This is the pivotal moment for IQSTEL. We believe the digital expansion now underway has the potential to significantly accelerate growth, profitability, and long-term shareholder value creation."
Access the Full Earnings Call Materials
Available on our Official IQSTEL Investors Landing Page: www.landingpage.iqstel.com
Full Earnings Call Transcript:
https://landingpage.iqstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IQSTEL-Earnings-Conference-Q1-2026-May-21-2026.pdf
Earnings Call Audio Replay:
https://landingpage.iqstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Audio_IQSTEL_IQST_Q1_2026_EarningsCall.mp3
Investor Presentation:
https://landingpage.iqstel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IQSTEL_IQST_Q1_2026_Earnings_Call.pdf
About IQSTEL Inc.
IQSTEL Inc. (NASDAQ: IQST) is a global telecom and technology company operating in 21 countries with over 600 Telecommunication Carrier Interconnections. The company delivers international voice, SMS, messaging, connectivity, and mobile financial services to telecom operators and enterprise customers worldwide. Built through a decade of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, IQSTEL is now expanding into AI-powered communications and cybersecurity through its RealityBorder.com AI Division and Cycurion partnership.
For more information, please visit www.IQSTEL.com.
Official Investors Landing Page: www.landingpage.iqstel.com
Safe Harbor Statement:
Statements in this news release may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions, or any other information relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend", "could" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company or its management, identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about our business based partly on assumptions made by management. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: our ability to successfully market our products and services; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our ability to complete complementary acquisitions and dispositions that benefit our company; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements with our industry partners; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; our ability to secure capital when needed; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may and are likely to differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release, and IQSTEL Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release.
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SOURCE iQSTEL