New York, Feb 23, 2026, 05:04 EST — Premarket
- RNG is steady before the bell, coming off a sharp rally Friday.
- Trading momentum is still being shaped by last week’s news on dividends and the buyback.
- Analysts are bumping up their estimates again, and investors are still looking for proof to back them up.
RingCentral, Inc. shares were steady near $39.50 before the bell Monday, barely budging from Friday’s close. The stock had soared 34.4% in the last session.
Swings like this could stick around, or just vanish once normal trading resumes. For RingCentral, the key question is whether buyers return as volume starts to build.
RingCentral, based in Belmont, California, said on Feb. 19 it generated $530 million in free cash flow for 2025 and forecasted $580 million to $600 million for 2026. Free cash flow here means what’s left after capital expenditures. The company launched a quarterly dividend and raised its share buyback authorization to $500 million. Revenue is set to rise 4% to 5% this year. CEO Vlad Shmunis pointed to “AI is proving to be a strong tailwind,” while CFO Vaibhav Agarwal mentioned “disciplined execution” as key to improved margins. RingCentral
Oppenheimer lifted its price target on RingCentral, taking it up to $38 from $35, while reiterating an Outperform rating. Analysts described the company as still being “early in its evolution,” citing its move toward a broader, multi-product platform. They pointed to “strong momentum” in AI capabilities as well. Nearly 10% of annual recurring revenue now comes from customers using at least one AI product—a metric the firm calls key for sales. TipRanks
Rosenblatt’s Catharine Trebnick raised her price target to $37.50—up from $32—while maintaining her Buy rating following the earnings report. Trebnick wrote that the 2026 guidance highlights what she called a “durable profitable growth profile,” even as management projects revenue growth will remain in the mid-single digits. TipRanks
Mizuho stuck to its Neutral rating, but lifted the price target to $32 from $27, pointing to stronger operating margins. The firm highlighted RingCentral’s adjusted EPS of $1.18, which came in ahead of expectations.
Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $33, up from $30, while maintaining an Equalweight rating, MT Newswires reported.
RingCentral has started integrating OpenAI’s latest models—including GPT-5.2—directly into its enterprise voice AI, putting generative AI to work inside live phone calls. President Kira Makagon described the OpenAI partnership as a way to “turn powerful technology into tangible business value.” Giancarlo ‘GC’ Lionetti, OpenAI’s chief commercial officer, argued the move “moves beyond insight and into action.” RingCentral
Attention has shifted to other contact-center software names. Five9, the smaller firm, set its 2026 revenue target between $1.25 billion and $1.26 billion after releasing quarterly figures last week.
RingCentral’s outlook for growth hasn’t budged from the mid-single digits, yet the stock sits above several pre-earnings targets. If enterprise customers delay upgrades again or budgets swing away from tech to shore up sales and product, this rally could start to unravel.
Traders on Monday are eyeing whether the recent momentum will persist now that liquidity is returning, and are on alert for fresh revisions after the market opens. As per a filing, the first dividend is scheduled for March 16, with shareholders on record by March 9 eligible for the payout.
