Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) executives said the company ended 2025 with renewed momentum after a slower third quarter for software bookings, highlighting growth in professional services, continued cash generation, and plans to return more than $27 million to shareholders through dividends in 2026.
Full-year results: software growth offsets wireless declines
Chief Financial Officer Calvin Rice reported GAAP net income of $15.9 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, for 2025, compared with $15.0 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, in 2024. Total GAAP revenue increased to $139.7 million from $137.7 million.
Within software, license and hardware revenue was $8.6 million, down from $9.0 million. Maintenance and subscription revenue totaled $36.4 million, down 2.1% from the prior year. Management reiterated that product development efforts are intended to support future bookings and license sales growth, which would also support maintenance revenue over time.
Bookings rebound in Q4; larger multiyear deals highlighted
Chief Executive Officer Vince Kelly and Chief Operating Officer Mike Wallace said software operations bookings grew 14% year over year and 83% sequentially in the fourth quarter, reversing what Wallace described as “headwinds” that affected third-quarter bookings after a strong first half of the year.
Wallace said Spok executed 73 six- and seven-figure customer contracts in 2025, and in the fourth quarter the average customer contract size increased more than 50% from the prior year period. He also cited a 47% increase in licensed bookings tied to multiyear engagements.
The company ended the year with professional services and maintenance backlog of more than $58 million, and Wallace said the sales pipeline is growing in both size and quality. On the call, management emphasized that quarterly bookings can be “lumpy” due to the timing of large contracts, but said the company expects to grow total operations bookings in 2026 versus 2025.
Wireless business: pricing and GenA replacements used to manage declines
Rice said wireless revenue declines moderated in 2025, primarily due to pricing actions on unreturned pager equipment earlier in the year. He noted that net unit loss was relatively flat versus 2024, while product sales increased $1.4 million, or 54%, with unreturned pager equipment fees comprising more than 80% of related product sales revenue.
Average revenue per unit (ARPU) increased $0.23 year over year, which management described as a key tool to counteract unit losses. Rice said much of the ARPU improvement came from prior pricing actions and, to a lesser extent, pass-through taxes and fees.
Net unit churn in the fourth quarter improved 12 basis points to 1.3% from the prior quarter. Rice said Spok believes it can manage net unit churn to the mid-single-digit range in 2026. He added that, while the company expects secular demand declines in wireless services to continue, Spok is focused on pricing and initiatives such as GenA pager replacements. At the end of 2025, the company had more than 72,000 GenA units in service, about 11% of total units.
Expenses, cash generation, and dividends
Kelly said Spok’s strategy remains centered on growing software revenue, generating cash, and returning capital to shareholders. He said the company returned $27.3 million of cash to shareholders in 2025 while generating $29 million of adjusted EBITDA. Spok paid $6.4 million in dividends during the fourth quarter and expects to pay dividends in excess of $27 million in 2026.
Rice reported adjusted operating expenses of $116.1 million for the year, up 2.4%. He cited higher cost of revenue tied to increased professional services activity and related hiring, along with increased research and development spending. Selling and marketing expense rose 9.1%, driven primarily by higher commissions on higher revenue, while general and administrative costs increased 2%, largely due to legal costs in non-core activities. Adjusted EBITDA was $29.0 million, in line with 2024, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of nearly 21%.
Spok ended 2025 with $25.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $21.4 million at the end of the third quarter.
Rice also noted that the company completed an internal reclassification of certain IT software and personnel costs, moving amounts historically included in general and administrative expense into other functional groups. Prior periods were restated to conform to the updated presentation, with additional detail expected in the company’s Form 10-K.
2026 outlook: revenue mix shifts further toward software
For 2026, Spok guided for total revenue of $136 million to $143 million and adjusted EBITDA of $27.5 million to $32.5 million. Rice said the midpoint implies consolidated revenue generally in line with 2025 but with a higher mix of software, while the high end would represent nearly 2.3% annual growth.
- Wireless revenue: expected to range from $68 million to $71 million
- Software revenue: expected to range from $68 million to $72 million
- Adjusted EBITDA: expected to range from $27.5 million to $32.5 million
Rice said the midpoint of software guidance implies more than 4% growth, rising to more than 7% at the high end. He added that at the midpoint, 2026 would represent the first time in company history that software revenue would exceed wireless revenue. The company’s adjusted EBITDA outlook assumes benefits from a greater mix of higher-margin software license bookings.
In the Q&A, Rice addressed a question about the “cancelable” portion of backlog, saying that larger deal sizes and the negotiation of terms can result in some provisions that are “slightly unfavorable” to the company. However, he said Spok fully expects to collect the full value of backlog and noted the company has not historically seen customers renege on those cancelable portions.
Management also discussed artificial intelligence as both an internal productivity tool and a potential enhancement to customer-facing products, particularly operator console workflows. Kelly said Spok is working with partners to incorporate AI into functionality, while emphasizing the need for caution in life-and-death use cases and suggesting AI may first serve as an “assistant” to help operators work more efficiently and support training.
Kelly said Spok has started 2026 “strong,” and reiterated the company’s focus on balancing investment in its roadmap with its commitment to profitability and dividend returns.
About Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK)
Spok, Inc is a publicly traded healthcare communications and collaboration company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. The company specializes in providing secure, real-time clinical communication solutions designed to streamline workflows and enhance patient care. Serving hospitals, health systems, and other healthcare organizations across North America and selected international markets, Spok has positioned itself as a leading provider of secure messaging and nurse call integration.
Spok’s flagship offering, the Spok Care Connect platform, delivers a suite of integrated products, including secure text and voice messaging, alarm and event management, call center solutions, and digital signage.
