Ribbon Communications Inc. Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
(9) INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL
The Company’s intangible assets at December 31, 2025 and 2024 consisted of the following (in thousands):
| Weighted | ||||||||||
average | |||||||||||
amortization | Net | ||||||||||
period | | | Accumulated | | carrying | ||||||
December 31, 2025 | | (years) | Cost | | amortization | | value | ||||
Developed technology | 7.84 | $ | 340,380 | $ | 281,000 | $ | 59,380 | ||||
Customer relationships | 11.86 | 268,140 | 184,462 | 83,678 | |||||||
Trade names | 3.88 | 5,000 | 5,000 | — | |||||||
Software licenses |
| 3.00 |
| 5,748 |
| 5,462 |
| 286 | |||
| $ | 619,268 | $ | 475,924 | $ | 143,344 | |||||
| Weighted | ||||||||||
average | |||||||||||
amortization | Net | ||||||||||
period | | | Accumulated | | carrying | ||||||
December 31, 2024 | | (years) | Cost | | amortization | | value | ||||
Developed technology | 7.84 | $ | 340,380 | $ | 262,085 | $ | 78,295 | ||||
Customer relationships | 11.86 | 268,140 | 160,635 | 107,505 | |||||||
Trade names | 3.88 | 5,000 | 4,978 | 22 | |||||||
Software licenses |
| 3.00 |
| 5,748 |
| 4,033 |
| 1,715 | |||
| $ | 619,268 | $ | 431,731 | $ | 187,537 | |||||
Estimated future amortization expense for the Company’s intangible assets at December 31, 2025 was as follows (in thousands):
Years ending December 31, | | | |
2026 | $ | 39,143 | |
2027 |
| 33,976 | |
2028 |
| 23,400 | |
2029 |
| 18,380 | |
2030 | 7,723 | ||
Thereafter | 20,722 | ||
$ | 143,344 |
Goodwill is recorded when the consideration for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. For the purpose of testing goodwill for impairment, all goodwill is assigned to a reporting unit, which may be either an operating segment or a portion of an operating segment. The Company’s are its two operating segments, Cloud and Edge and IP Optical Networks. Testing for impairment of goodwill is completed annually as of October 1st. The Company’s IP Optical Networks operating segment, with $76.0 million of associated goodwill, had a negative carrying value and a positive fair value as of October 1st for both 2025 and 2024.
Upon completion of the 2025 and 2024 annual tests for goodwill impairment, the Company determined that there was no impairment of goodwill in either of its reporting units. There was no change in the carrying value of the Company’s goodwill in the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
The components of goodwill at December 31, 2025 and 2024 were as follows (in thousands):
| Cloud and | | IP Optical | | |||||
Edge | Networks | Total | |||||||
Goodwill | $ | 392,302 | $ | 191,996 | $ | 584,298 | |||
Accumulated impairment losses |
| (167,406) |
| (116,000) |
| (283,406) | |||
$ | 224,896 | $ | 75,996 | $ | 300,892 | ||||
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 27, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 31, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 11, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 26, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 28, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Mar 4, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Mar 8, 2018 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.