A reconciliation of these non-GAAP metrics to the closest comparable GAAP metric is provided in our earnings press release and earnings presentation slides, which are available on 8x8's Investor Relations website at investors.8x8.com. In Q1, we returned to year-over-year growth for the first time in nine quarters. We exceeded the midpoint of our service revenue guidance by more than $3 million. This growth was fueled by strong growth for our 8x8 CPaaS Solutions, continued momentum in platform adoption, a steady shift towards usage-based consumption models, and a small tailwind on FX.

Our rapid growth in 8x8 CPaaS Solutions reflects that alignment, as more customers tap into programmable voice, video, digital messaging, authentication, and AI-enabled workflows. That said, this transition brings trade-offs: a different financial profile with higher growth but lower gross margins. In Q1, consumption-based revenue, primarily 8x8 CPaaS Solutions, but also usage related to our UCaaS and CCaaS subscriptions, grew more than 30% year-over-year. We saw growth in new use cases, new channels, and more diverse engagement models.

Sales of 8x8 Voice for Teams licenses grew more than 30% year-over-year again this quarter. Voice interactions grew more than 7x year-over-year, representing more than three quarters of all AI interactions this quarter. Revenue from customers using three or more products now accounts for about one-third of our annual subscription revenue. That eliminates complexity, unlocks margin leverage, and frees up resources to focus on growth.

What went well
  • Returned to year-over-year total revenue growth for the first time in nine quarters, with roughly 1.9% total growth and about 5.18% growth excluding fuse.
  • Service revenue of $176.3 million came in above the high end of guidance, growing 2% year-over-year, while total revenue of $181.4 million landed near the high end of guidance.
  • Consumption-based revenue, led by 8x8 CPaaS Solutions, grew more than 30% year-over-year and set a new record in communications platform usage revenue, with usage-based revenue rising to about 17% of service revenue from about 12% a year ago.
  • Excluding fuse customers, service revenue grew just over 5% year-over-year, the third consecutive quarter of acceleration.
  • AI and platform adoption momentum was strong: intelligent customer assistant adoption rose 75% year-over-year, voice interactions grew more than 7x year-over-year (over three quarters of all AI interactions), and communication API messaging interactions rose more than 200% year-over-year and over 50% sequentially.
  • The company delivered its 18th consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow (over $11 million) and non-GAAP operating income, and its fourth consecutive quarter of positive GAAP operating income, with EPS of $0.08 in the middle of guidance.
  • Debt reduction continued with a $15 million term loan prepayment in the quarter (plus $10 million just after quarter end), bringing cumulative debt reduction to $219 million, or 40% since the August 2022 peak of $548 million.
What went wrong
  • Gross margin fell to 67.8%, down both year-over-year and sequentially, driven by a mix shift toward lower-margin usage-based communications platform revenue.
  • Management guided to lower gross margins for the remainder of the year as the faster-growing, lower-margin CPaaS business scales.
  • Q2 revenue guidance reflects a sequential decline following a particularly strong Q1 that benefited from record platform usage revenue and favorable FX.
  • A strengthening U.S. dollar against the British pound after quarter end created a sequential revenue headwind for both Q2 and the full year.
  • The fuse platform still represented about 4% of service revenue and remains a growth headwind (about 3% last quarter, expected to be about 1.5% next year), with roughly half of the remaining fuse base expected to churn during migration.
  • Operating margin slipped to 9%, down from the double-digit levels of a few quarters ago, as the company accepts lower margins to reinvest for growth.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
Q2 total/service revenueQ2 FY2026Sequential decline expected following a strong Q1 that included record platform usage revenue and favorable FX; usage-based revenue forecast more cautiously.
Gross marginRemainder of FY2026Guiding lower for the rest of the year due to rapid growth of lower-margin communications platform solutions.
FX impactQ2 FY2026 and full yearStrengthening U.S. dollar versus the British pound creates a sequential revenue headwind relative to June 2025 rates.
Usage-based revenue mixThrough fiscal year endExpected to continue growing roughly 1%-2% per quarter (management characterized this as an estimate).
Fuse migration growth headwindNext fiscal yearExpected to be about 1.5% of growth headwind next year, with roughly half of the remaining ~4% fuse base retained.
Fuse platform sunsetBy fiscal year end / end of calendar yearOn track to fully sunset the fuse platform and migrate remaining customers to the 8x8 system by end of the calendar year.

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Total revenue up ~1.9% Return to growth fueled by CPaaS/consumption revenue, platform adoption, usage-based shift, and an FX tailwind; landed near the high end of guidance.
Service revenue up 2% Above the high end of guidance on healthy core demand and go-to-market execution; grew just over 5% excluding fuse.
Usage-based revenue as % of service revenue ~17% vs ~12% in Q1 2025 Rapid growth of 8x8 CPaaS Solutions and usage tied to UCaaS/CCaaS, plus AI products that are consumption-priced.
Consumption-based revenue up more than 30% Growth across new use cases, channels, and engagement models beyond SMS into programmable voice, alerts, authentication, and AI workflows.
Gross margin 67.8%, down year-over-year and sequentially Mix shift toward lower-margin usage-based communications platform revenue.
Operating margin 9% Within guidance; slightly below prior double-digit levels as the company reinvests for growth, with FX raising costs to offset revenue tailwinds.
Non-GAAP fully diluted EPS $0.08 Landed in the middle of the guidance range on disciplined spending.
Cash flow from operations over $11 million Healthy cash collections; 18th consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow.
Stock-based compensation as % of revenue 3.5%, a multi-year low Continued downward trend from prudent equity management and reduced dilution.
Fuse platform share of service revenue ~4% vs ~8% in Q1 2025 Ongoing migration of fuse customers to the 8x8 platform ahead of the fiscal year-end sunset.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Fuse platform sunsetA persistent drag on revenue (about 8% of service revenue a year ago, ~3% growth headwind last quarter).Down to about 4% of service revenue; all remaining customers dispositioned and on track to fully sunset by fiscal year end, unlocking margin leverage; upgraded fuse cohort delivered 94% gross retention and over 100% net revenue retention.
CPaaS / usage-based consumption shiftEmerging stream running ~12% of service revenue a year ago.Fastest-growing part of the business at ~17% of service revenue, up more than 30% year-over-year, set a usage record, and is reshaping the financial profile toward higher growth but lower gross margin.
AI-enabled engagement and voicePerception that voice is in decline.Company positions voice as foundational to AI-era customer experience; intelligent customer assistant adoption up 75%, voice AI interactions up more than 7x, and roadmap centered on predictive orchestration, sentiment analysis, and AI summarization.
AI strategy: build and partner vs. buyBroader industry trend of acquiring AI assets.8x8 favors building in-house and partnering with best-in-breed providers over buying, preferring optionality given how fast AI is evolving.
Debt reduction and capital returnPeak debt of $548 million in August 2022.Debt reduced 40% ($219 million) with continued prepayments; term loan amended July 29 to add flexibility and a $25 million acquisition basket; returned over $17 million to investors via debt paydown, buybacks, and reduced dilution.
Growth vs. profitability trade-offDouble-digit operating margins a few quarters ago.Willing to accept slightly lower operating margin (9%) and reallocate OpEx/COGS to secure a return to growth, with intent to grow revenue faster than expenses and rebuild margins over time.
Microsoft Teams and channel go-to-marketSKU-based selling.Moved to outcome-based, multi-product selling; 8x8 Voice for Teams licenses up more than 30% year-over-year, now a top-five Operator Connect partner by country reach, and largest U.K. partner grew bookings more than 100% year-over-year.

Q&A Summary

How is the fuse migration progressing, what is the remaining growth headwind, and how many customers and how much churn are left in the final 4%?
Fuse is now just under 4% of service revenue (down from ~8%); the growth headwind was about 3% last quarter and is subsiding, expected to be about 1.5% next year. All fuse customers have been dispositioned (indicated whether they will stay or leave), and about half of the remaining base is expected to be retained as they migrate to the 8x8 platform by end of the calendar year; those staying tend to stay to the very end.
How will the mix between usage-based and traditional seat-based revenue evolve between now and year end?
Usage-based has been rising about 1%-2% per quarter and is now ~17% of revenue; with AI products and CPaaS all being consumption-priced, management expects it to keep growing roughly 1%-2% per quarter, but cautioned this is an estimate.
How do you weigh buying versus building, especially in the AI portfolio?
There are three options: buy, build, and partner. 8x8 pursues build and partner rather than buy, because buying locks in an asset for a long horizon while AI is changing rapidly; partnering with best-in-breed providers plus in-house AI (summarization, transcription, agent assist) is optimal for customers even if not always optimal from a Wall Street perspective.
Are you seeing any uptick in migrations off legacy on-prem vendors?
Legacy on-prem vendors like Avaya and Mitel going through bankruptcies and end-of-life products are a tailwind for the whole industry, not just 8x8. Adopting AI increasingly requires cloud-native platforms with open APIs, so there may be some acceleration.
Are you seeing an uptick in RCS, and what is the opportunity ahead?
Yes, interest in RCS is accelerating; it is live in the U.S. and will roll out to several European countries in the next three to four months. Its two-way, graphical, carousel capabilities make it attractive to replace MMS and even WhatsApp in some areas, and it is fully integrated into the contact center, creating a significant opportunity in the CPaaS business.
How are you balancing profitability versus growth given only modest OpEx increases, and where geographically is CPaaS growth strongest?
There is no large OpEx increase; spend is being reallocated across both COGS and OpEx toward its highest use, and the company is willing to take a modest operating-margin hit now to secure growth before growing revenue faster than expenses to rebuild margins. On geography, CPaaS is growing fairly globally, with Asia the largest in raw dollars and growing over 30% year-over-year, strong UK multi-product traction, and fast U.S. growth driven by RCS traffic.

More on 8X8 Inc /De/

Reported 2025-08-05 · figures from the 8X8 Inc /De/ Q1 2026 earnings call.

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