iQSTEL (NASDAQ:IQST) reported sharp year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026 as management emphasized the company’s ongoing shift from a telecommunications-focused business toward a broader digital services distribution platform.
On the company’s earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Leandro Iglesias said first-quarter revenue increased nearly 70% from the prior-year period, calling the quarter “a very important” one for the company’s strategic evolution. Iglesias said iQSTEL is increasingly positioning itself as a global commercial platform capable of distributing digital services through its existing telecom relationships.
Revenue Rises as GlobeTopper Adds to Diversification
Chief Financial Officer Alvaro Quintana said consolidated revenue reached $97.9 million in the first quarter, compared with $57.6 million in the same quarter last year. Gross revenue before eliminations was $98.6 million.
Quintana said the growth was driven by organic expansion and the integration of GlobeTopper. He said organic growth represented 87% of total revenue, with the company’s core subsidiaries — Etelix, IoT Labs, QXTEL, Smartbiz, SwissLink, QGlobal and Whisl — delivering most of the increase.
Gross profit was more than $2 million, up 7.8% year over year. Quintana said telecom operations accounted for 87% of total revenue, while fintech, through GlobeTopper, contributed 13% of revenue, or nearly $13 million, in its first full comparable quarter. GlobeTopper added $829,000 in gross profit, representing 42% of consolidated gross profit.
“These results reinforce our business diversification strategy,” Quintana said.
Management Reaffirms 2026 Revenue Target
Iglesias said the company remains committed to its previously announced $430 million revenue target for 2026. He noted that the first quarter has historically been one of iQSTEL’s softer seasonal quarters, but said the company’s performance supports management’s confidence in its annual objectives.
The CEO also reiterated the company’s longer-term ambition of building a $1 billion annual revenue business, supported by a stronger mix of higher-margin digital services.
Iglesias described iQSTEL’s existing telecom footprint as a key asset in that strategy. He said the company has commercial relationships with more than 600 telecom operators worldwide, operations in 21 countries across four continents, six strategic commercial offices globally and potential commercial reach to approximately 2.3 billion end users. He said the business is operating at nearly a $400 million annual revenue run rate.
“This platform took years to build,” Iglesias said. “Replicating this would require years, significant capital, and deep industry execution capability.”
Digital Services Take Center Stage
Management said iQSTEL is entering what it sees as a monetization phase for its platform. Iglesias said the company is focusing on AI-powered solutions, fintech, cybersecurity, digital health, enterprise communications and other advanced digital business services.
The company recently launched IQSTEL Digital Services, a dedicated subsidiary focused on commercializing higher-margin digital offerings. Iglesias said Jorge Enrique Becerra has been appointed to lead that initiative. He also pointed to the company’s partnerships with Alhambra IT as an early indication of market demand for its enterprise digital capabilities.
During the question-and-answer portion of the call, Barry Sine of Litchfield Hills Research asked about progress in selling digital services through iQSTEL’s global telecom relationships. Iglesias said the company was attending International Telecoms Week in Washington, D.C., where it had launched cybersecurity, digital health and fintech services to large telecom carriers.
Iglesias said the company had held four meetings, with a fifth scheduled, with large telecom carriers to introduce the services. He said carriers showed interest in exploring the products and were comfortable with iQSTEL adding the offerings to its portfolio because of existing commercial relationships.
“It’s a trustworthy relation that we have built over the years,” Iglesias said.
Quintana said the digital services strategy is important to profitability because those offerings can carry higher margins. He said digital services have margins above 25%, while artificial intelligence services are expected to generate gross margins close to 40%.
Profitability and Balance Sheet Remain Key Focus Areas
Quintana said adjusted EBITDA for iQSTEL’s operating subsidiaries remained “strongly positive,” while consolidated adjusted EBITDA was nearly breakeven. He said the company is focused on improving EBITDA performance, increasing operating leverage and supporting commercialization of high-margin digital services.
He also said iQSTEL has a clean capital structure, with no convertible debt and no outstanding earnouts. Quintana said book equity per share is nearly $3, while the company’s stock was trading around $1.30, adding that management views the valuation as disconnected from the company’s fundamentals, growth trajectory and balance sheet strength.
Quintana said increased technology expenses affected net income at the operating subsidiary level during the quarter. He said the spending is tied to development of AI-driven solutions and completion of a combined switching platform. Management expects those initiatives to support future efficiencies, lower operating costs and contribute to profitability as they are completed and commercialized.
In closing remarks, Iglesias said the company’s current strategy depends on leveraging the telecom revenue base, customer relationships and trust it has built over several years while adding digital services to its portfolio.
“This is the pivotal moment for the company,” Iglesias said, adding that management expects high-margin services to play a larger role in future results.
About iQSTEL (NASDAQ:IQST)
iQSTEL, Inc (NASDAQ: IQST) is a U.S.-based telecommunications company that operates a global connectivity platform for voice, data and messaging services. The company leverages cloud-native infrastructure to deliver international roaming solutions, prepaid mobile top-up services and eSIM provisioning. Its technology enables seamless wireless communications for both individual subscribers and business clients across a broad network of partner carriers.
The company’s core offerings include instant airtime reloads, cross-border mobile voice and data plans, machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
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