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. We are continuing to execute against our priorities for the year, returning to growth, expanding our use of AI to improve both customer and employee outcomes. It is transforming how customers experience 8x8 and what is powering our growth. And I'm excited to share that Stephen Hamill has stepped into the role of Chief Revenue Officer to lead this next phase.

We're expecting strong demand for 8x8 Workforce Management, so we've begun a progressive rollout starting next week. Across the Atlantic, a multi-hundred-million-dollar software company using 8x8 is another powerful example of how our innovation drives measurable business outcomes. This software vendor exemplifies what we mean when we talk about long-term customer partnerships built on a comprehensive portfolio of products. And I also want to thank you for joining us for our fiscal Q2 2026 earnings call.

Unless otherwise noted, all figures other than revenue and cash flow are presented on a non-GAAP basis. Q2 marked our second consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, reflecting healthy usage trends and disciplined execution. Excluding revenue from Fuze customers, whether on the 8x8 Platform or not, service revenue grew nearly 6% year-over-year, higher growth than we achieved last quarter, and our fourth quarter of acceleration. Service revenue remaining on the Fuze platform declined to approximately 3% of total service revenue, down from approximately 7% in Q2 2025.

What went well
  • Q2 fiscal 2026 marked the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth, with total revenue of $184.1 million (up 1.7%) and service revenue of $179.1 million (up 2.3%), both exceeding the high end of guidance by roughly $4 million.
  • Excluding Fuze customers, service revenue grew nearly 6% year-over-year, higher than the prior quarter and the fourth consecutive quarter of acceleration.
  • Usage-based revenue, which includes CPaaS communication APIs, delivered another record performance at approximately 19% of service revenue, up from about 13% in Q2 fiscal 2025.
  • Profitability beat across the board: operating income was $17.3 million (a 9.4% operating margin, above the high end of guidance), fully diluted EPS was $0.09 (a penny above the high end), and cash flow from operations of $8.8 million also topped the high end of guidance.
  • The company continued aggressive deleveraging, making a $10 million term loan prepayment in the quarter plus an additional $5 million after quarter end, bringing cumulative debt principal reduction to $224 million, or 41%, since the August 2022 peak of $548 million.
  • Stock-based compensation fell to 2.9% of revenue, another multi-year low, and the year-over-year increase in diluted share count decelerated for the second straight quarter.
  • 8x8 launched its first product-led-growth product, 8x8 Workforce Management, offered free to all Contact Center customers through the new 8x8 App Store, with a premium version planned for the future.
What went wrong
  • Gross margin declined sequentially to 65.7% due to the continued mix shift toward lower-margin usage revenue, and management is guiding to lower gross margins for the remainder of the year.
  • Q3 guidance reflects a sequential revenue decline, following record Q2 usage revenue and the ongoing wind-down of Fuze-related revenue.
  • The company is seeing pricing pressure in some deals, led mainly by a video conferencing competitor that appears price-agnostic, plus rationalization of seats as rushed COVID-era on-prem-to-cloud deals reach two- and three-year renewals.
  • The U.S. business is not performing as well as international, with the U.S. being the center of price compression and competitive gamesmanship, while U.K. and international (nearly 40% of the business) grow substantially faster.
  • Full-year operating margin is expected to decline year-over-year due to mix-related gross margin pressure.
  • The remaining roll-off of Fuze customers is expected to create roughly a two-point (or slightly less) headwind to next year's growth rate before growth normalizes.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
Service revenueQ3 FY2026$172 million to $177 million
Total revenueQ3 FY2026$177 million to $182 million
Gross marginQ3 FY202664% to 66%
Operating marginQ3 FY20269% to 10%
Fully diluted non-GAAP EPSQ3 FY2026$0.08 to $0.09, on ~143.5 million fully diluted shares
Cash flow from operationsQ3 FY2026$10 million to $14 million
Contractual interest expenseQ3 FY2026approximately $4.2 million (cash interest payments of ~$2.2 million; term loan rate ~7%, SOFR plus 3%)
Service revenueFull year FY2026 (updated)$692 million to $706 million
Total revenueFull year FY2026 (updated)$712 million to $726 million
Gross marginFull year FY2026 (updated)65% to 66%
Operating marginFull year FY2026 (updated)8.5% to 9.5% (implying non-GAAP operating income of ~$65 million at midpoint)
Fully diluted non-GAAP EPSFull year FY2026 (updated)$0.31 to $0.33, on ~143 million average diluted shares
Cash flow from operationsFull year FY2026 (updated)$38 million to $42 million

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Total revenue +1.7% (to $184.1 million) Continued strength in usage-based offerings; exceeded the high end of guidance by roughly $4 million.
Service revenue +2.3% (to $179.1 million) Healthy usage trends and disciplined execution; beat the high end of guidance by roughly $4 million.
Service revenue excluding Fuze grew nearly 6% Fourth consecutive quarter of acceleration, driven by growth outside the declining Fuze base.
Usage revenue as % of service revenue approximately 19%, up from approximately 13% in Q2 FY2025 Record performance driven by CPaaS communication APIs and AI-related consumption.
Fuze-platform service revenue as % of total service revenue approximately 3%, down from approximately 7% in Q2 FY2025 Ongoing migration of remaining Fuze customers onto the 8x8 Platform, on track to complete by calendar year-end.
Gross profit / gross margin $120.9 million; gross margin 65.7%, down sequentially Continued mix shift toward lower-margin usage revenue; about $2 million above implied guidance midpoint.
Operating income / operating margin $17.3 million; 9.4% operating margin Revenue outperformance and disciplined execution; above the high end of guidance.
Fully diluted non-GAAP EPS $0.09 A penny above the high end of the guidance range, on profitability outperformance.
Cash flow from operations $8.8 million Above the high end of guidance; company ended the quarter with $76.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash.
Stock-based compensation as % of revenue 2.9%, another multi-year low Ongoing focus on prudent equity management and minimizing dilution.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Fuze platform sunsetFuze represented approximately 7% of total service revenue in Q2 FY2025.Down to approximately 3% of total service revenue and on track to move the remaining Fuze customers onto the 8x8 Platform by calendar year-end; expected to be roughly a two-point headwind to next year's growth.
Usage-based / CPaaS revenue shiftUsage revenue was approximately 13% of service revenue in Q2 FY2025.Record ~19% of service revenue; management models the exit run rate forward conservatively and views the shift to consumption-based pricing as an 'unstoppable force' across the SaaS industry.
AIAI features embedded across the platform (call summarization, transcription, agent assist).Positioned as the core growth driver and monetized on a consumption basis; expanded to agentless payments and digital channels (Viber, RCS), used internally to improve GTM efficiency, forecasting and right-size software spend, and enabling the first product-led-growth launch.
Debt reduction / capital allocationPeak debt of $548 million in August 2022.Cumulative principal reduction of $224 million (41%) after a $10 million in-quarter prepayment and a $5 million post-quarter payment; next required term loan payment of only $2 million not due until June 30, 2026; debt retirement remains a primary route to shareholder value alongside tuck-in M&A.
Gross margin vs. gross profit dollarsManagement had repeatedly warned that margins would compress as the business scales toward usage.Guiding to lower gross margins for the rest of the year but emphasizing absolute gross profit dollars, a light-OpEx model, higher LTV, and improving bottom-line and cash flow over time.
Go-to-market transformationLegacy sales, marketing and partner motions.New Chief Revenue Officer (Stephen Hamill), motions aligned around customer outcomes, improved pipeline quality (measured as stage-three-plus deals) driven by more SDRs and AI in the sales process, and a shift toward product-led growth via the 8x8 App Store.

Q&A Summary

Michael Funk (Bank of America) asked how much of the service-margin pressure from usage-based revenue is driven by volume versus price.
CFO Kevin Kraus said it is mostly volume given the absolute usage volumes; application-side margins have been stable for years, so it is a pure mix issue. Some pricing pressure exists in certain deals, but price is not a driver in totality right now.
Michael Funk asked whether ex-Fuze is the right way to think about the revenue trajectory exiting the year as remaining Fuze customers are transitioned.
CEO Samuel Wilson clarified Fuze customers are being upgraded (not end-of-lifed) onto the 8x8 Platform, leaving a modest 'hump.' He expects roughly a two-point (or slightly less) headwind to next year's growth rate as Fuze rolls off, after which growth normalizes.
Michael Funk asked whether 8x8 would provide a pro forma ex-Fuze figure next year for comparability.
Wilson said that is about two quarters away and he had not thought that far ahead, but probably would provide numbers if it makes analysts' lives easier.
Michael Funk asked how the company measures pipeline quality and what is driving the improvement cited in the shareholder letter.
Wilson said quality is measured as deals reaching stage three or higher in a seven-stage sales process (past first meeting, discovery and vetting). Improvement is driven by more SDRs weeding out weak deals and heavy use of AI to boost go-to-market efficiency.
Josh Nichols (B. Riley) noted guidance implies service revenue may trough in fiscal Q4 and asked whether, without the Fuze overhang, fiscal 2027 would show sequential improvement.
Wilson called it hard to answer now that usage is 19% of revenue, since 8x8 models usage conservatively and is early in the transition. He would not predict the exact inflection (it depends on renewals, usage and new bookings) but was confident in two quarters of accelerating growth and putting perpetual year-over-year declines in the rearview mirror.
Josh Nichols asked how the company is handicapping what it sees versus how it guides on usage-based revenue.
Wilson explained they take the exit run rate for a quarter and run it forward in perpetuity without assuming further growth, then add known growth events (big deals, holidays). Because the business is actually growing, this conservative baseline tends to beat. Kraus and Wilson added that seasonality is emerging: more usage in the holiday retail/hospitality season and less in the March quarter (holidays, Lunar New Year Asia slowdown).
Josh Nichols asked where gross margin ultimately levels out a few quarters ahead.
Kraus said it depends on mix; margins by business segment are stable, and the company focuses on absolute dollar profitability and cash flow in a light-OpEx model. Gross margin may deteriorate a little as usage scales, but bottom line and cash flow could improve. Wilson reinforced that they would not be surprised to see gross margin come down while gross profit dollars increase, because more products per customer drive stickiness, higher LTV and higher revenue per customer.
Peter Levine (Evercore) asked how much pricing pressure stems from COVID-era deals being right-sized at renewal.
Wilson acknowledged rushed pandemic on-prem-to-cloud buying is being right-sized at two- and three-year renewals, plus pricing pressure led mainly by a video conferencing competitor. This is offset by AI, messaging and digital products; for example customers may reduce UC seats but add globally available RCS, lifting average revenue per customer and retention among multi-product customers. He stressed the company is not surprised and is managing it.
Peter Levine asked about the strategy behind offering Workforce Management for free and how many customers use 8x8 versus a point solution for WFM.
Wilson said the most common WFM tool is Excel; with average U.S. contact centers around 73 seats (40-50 internationally), 8x8 built a better-than-Excel product and gives it away to add value and enter product-led growth, with a planned pro version (enhanced analytics, forecasting, multi-site). It is aimed at replacing spreadsheets, not competing with high-end vendors like Calabrio or Verint used by 1,000-plus-seat centers.
Peter Levine asked how 8x8 thinks about tuck-in M&A versus organic investment and whether debt covenants constrain it.
Wilson said 8x8 did a small non-material tuck-in in the March quarter, is actively looking at others, and views tuck-ins for geographic, product-portfolio or customer expansion as part of capital allocation, while debt retirement remains a primary route to value. As a cash-flow-driven company it avoids large loss-making AI acquisitions. The term loan A has very manageable, fully disclosed covenants, and Kraus noted last quarter's amendment created a basket for tuck-ins.
Catharine Trebnick (Rosenblatt) asked how buying patterns are changing as AI becomes part of the discussion, and the difference between traditional brokers and professional services partners.
Wilson split it into two parts: buyers now come in seeking specific first use cases (agent assist / Smart Assist, AI receptionist, summarization) rather than asking generally about AI; and AI is sold on a consumption model, not per-seat, which is spilling back into subscription services as customers want the right to adjust seat counts. He agreed traditional telco sellers are less equipped for the more complex sale, and noted professional services are shifting to continuous, contracted monthly hours because models require constant fine-tuning.
Chad (Mizuho, on for City) asked what cost actions 8x8 is taking as lower-margin revenue flows through and how it plans to expand operating margins.
Wilson said the company is aggressively deploying AI internally (which temporarily lowers margin while old and new processes run in parallel) and pressuring suppliers for better unit pricing as it returns to growth, but much is mix; over time he expects rising revenue growth, declining gross margin, rising gross profit dollars and rising operating margins. Kraus gave an example of using AI internally to right-size software purchases so the company does not overbuy at renewal.
Chad asked about domestic U.S. versus international revenue trends in the quarter and how they relate to the improved outlook.
Wilson said the U.S. business is not doing as well as international; the U.K. and international together are almost 40% of the business and growing substantially faster, while the U.S. is the center of price compression and competitive gamesmanship. Kate Patterson and Wilson added that the large existing customer base is largely U.S.

More on 8X8 Inc /De/

Reported 2025-11-04 · figures from the 8X8 Inc /De/ Q2 2026 earnings call.

See how VectorShift works for your firm

Request Demo