IDT Corporation (IDT): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a company born from pioneering international callback service in 1990 transform into a diversified fintech and cloud communications powerhouse, delivering record profitability in 2025? IDT Corporation is not just a legacy telecom play anymore; its strategic pivot has driven full fiscal year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA to a record $129 million, a 43% surge, on the back of approximately $1.23 Billion USD in trailing twelve-month revenue. You need to understand how their National Retail Solutions (NRS) platform, which saw a 27% increase in recurring revenue, and their BOSS Money service, which processed over 23 million remittance transactions, are the real engines behind this financial acceleration.

IDT Corporation (IDT) History

The story of IDT Corporation is a classic example of a company that constantly reinvents itself, shifting from a disruptive telecom startup to a diversified holding company focused on high-growth fintech and cloud communications. You need to understand this history of strategic pivots-especially the spin-offs-to appreciate how the company achieved a record Adjusted EBITDA of $128.7 million in fiscal year 2025, a 43% jump from the prior year.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

August 1990

Original location

Bronx, New York, USA

Founding team members

Howard Jonas, who remains the company's Chairman.

Initial capital/funding

The company was founded with modest initial capital, primarily self-funded by Howard Jonas. The core technology-an automatic-dialing device for the original international callback service-was built for an initial expense of only about $1,200, leveraging entrepreneurial resourcefulness over large external funding at inception.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The most transformative period for IDT Corporation wasn't a single event, but a sustained strategy of strategic divestitures and aggressive investment into new, high-growth verticals. This approach allowed the company to shed low-margin or non-core assets and concentrate capital where it could generate the highest return for you, the investor.

The 2000 Net2Phone sale was the initial war chest, but the real long-term shift came through a series of spin-offs like Genie Energy and Rafael Holdings. This model defintely helped unlock shareholder value by separating distinct business lines, giving each a clearer path to growth.

Today, the focus is squarely on the new segments, which are driving the company's profitability and future outlook. These segments, funded by the cash flow from the legacy Traditional Communications business, are the engine of IDT's growth:

• National Retail Solutions (NRS): This fintech segment's recurring revenue grew by 27% to $122.6 million in fiscal year 2025, proving the value of its POS network.
• BOSS Money: The money transfer service has rapidly digitized; its digital remittance channel now accounts for over 80% of its total transaction volume, boosting margins significantly.
• net2phone: The cloud communications (UCaaS) provider continues its international expansion, moving beyond the legacy VoIP roots to offer modern, subscription-based services.

If you want to dive deeper into the current financial health and valuation metrics of these segments, you should read Breaking Down IDT Corporation (IDT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

IDT Corporation (IDT) Ownership Structure

The ownership structure of IDT Corporation is a classic example of founder control, where a publicly traded company (NYSE: IDT) is governed by a dual-class share structure that solidifies the founder's voting power, even as institutional money holds the majority of the economic interest.

This setup means that while you see significant institutional holdings, the strategic direction is ultimately steered by the Jonas family and affiliated entities. This is critical for investors to understand, as it affects everything from capital allocation to long-term vision. If you want a deeper dive into the numbers, you should read Breaking Down IDT Corporation (IDT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Current Status

IDT Corporation is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol IDT. The company's fiscal year ends July 31st, and its market capitalization as of November 2025 sits around C$1.81 Billion (Canadian Dollars), reflecting its global operations and diverse business segments, including Fintech and National Retail Solutions (NRS). The company reported annual revenue for the fiscal year 2025 of approximately $1.23 Billion, with a strong cash position of $253.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments as of July 31, 2025.

The key to its control lies in its two classes of stock: Class A and Class B. This structure ensures that founder-related parties retain a disproportionate level of voting rights, giving them effective control over the board and major corporate decisions.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

As of late 2025, institutional investors hold the largest percentage of the common stock float, but the founder and his affiliates maintain control. Here's the quick math on where the shares-and thus, the influence-reside:

What this breakdown hides is the voting power. Even with institutions holding a majority of the economic interest, the founder's control over the high-vote Class B shares means he can defintely steer the ship. For example, BlackRock, Inc. held 1,707,001 shares and Vanguard Group Inc. held 1,307,604 shares as of September 30, 2025, making them top institutional holders.

Given Company's Leadership

The leadership team is a mix of long-tenured executives and the founder's family, providing both continuity and a clear line of authority from the controlling shareholder.

• Howard S. Jonas: Chairman of the Board. He founded the company in 1990 and remains the key controlling figure.
• Shmuel Jonas (Samuel Jonas): Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He has served in this role since December 2013 and is the founder's son, representing the next generation of leadership.
• Abilio S. Pereira (Bill Pereira): President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He is a key executive focused on operations and value creation.
• Marcelo Fischer: Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He manages the company's financial strategy, a crucial role given the company's diverse segments.
• Menachem Ash: Executive Vice President, Strategy and Legal Affairs.

The average tenure of the management team is long-around 12.5 years-which suggests a stable, experienced hand on the tiller, but also a potential resistance to radical strategic shifts.

IDT Corporation (IDT) Mission and Values

IDT Corporation's core purpose is to empower accessible, affordable, and memorable communication and payment services for people globally, which is a clear extension of their founding spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. This mission is financially grounded, with the company achieving a record Adjusted EBITDA of $128.7 million in fiscal year 2025, proving value creation is not just a slogan.

IDT Corporation's Core Purpose

The company's cultural DNA is rooted in a desire to be of value, not just of success, focusing on connecting underserved communities through technology and financial services. This ethos is directly reflected in the growth of their key segments, like the fintech business, which saw its Adjusted EBITDA increase by a massive 267% in fiscal year 2025, demonstrating the market demand for their value-driven approach. Honestly, they make their money by helping people share and stay connected across borders.

Official mission statement

While IDT Corporation does not publish a single, rigid mission statement, their stated purpose and operating philosophy center on delivering innovative, accessible, and affordable solutions in their core markets: communications and payments. They care about more than just minutes and messages; they are all about people.

• Deliver innovative telecommunications, technology, and financial services solutions.
• Empower accessible, affordable, and memorable communication for all.
• Provide clients with quality services through a portfolio of synergistic businesses.

Vision statement

The vision for IDT Corporation is to cement its position as a leading global provider of communication and cloud services, recognized for its commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. The company's focus on digital channels, for example, is a direct move toward this vision, with BOSS Money's digital revenue growing 31% in FY 2025.

• Achieve global leadership in the communication and cloud services industry.
• Be acknowledged for pioneering new and effective technologies.
• Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction through superior service and support.

You can read more about their foundational principles here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of IDT Corporation (IDT).

IDT Corporation slogan/tagline

The main motto used by IDT Corporation, particularly for its global operations, is a concise statement that reflects their goal of providing high-quality, cost-effective solutions to their customers and partners.

• Simply Better is the brand's main motto.

Here's the quick math: IDT's consolidated revenue hit $1,231.5 million in fiscal year 2025, with a gross profit of $446.2 million, which shows their ability to scale a business built on value creation and simplicity. We defintely see the 'Simply Better' philosophy in those numbers.

IDT Corporation (IDT) How It Works

IDT Corporation operates as a diversified technology and communications company, shifting its focus from traditional long-distance voice services to high-growth, high-margin fintech and cloud communications solutions for underserved consumer and small business markets.

IDT Corporation's Product/Service Portfolio

IDT Corporation's Operational Framework

The company's operational model is built on a synergistic portfolio, where the legacy, cash-generative segment funds the high-growth, technology-focused segments. Honestly, this is a smart way to manage a business transition.

• Capital Allocation: The Traditional Communications segment, while declining in revenue, generated substantial cash flow in fiscal year 2025, which is strategically used to fund the capital expenditures and working capital needs of the growth segments (NRS, Fintech, net2phone).
• Fintech Infrastructure: BOSS Money leverages a strong cash position-over $224 million in cash and current investments with zero debt as of Q3 2025-to manage the high working capital requirements of money remittance, specifically the prefunding needed for rapid international disbursements.
• Platform Monetization: The NRS segment deploys its point-of-sale terminals at low or no cost to retailers, creating a network that is then monetized through high-margin services like payment processing, merchant services, and the sale of digital advertising inventory (NRS Media).
• Digital-First Growth: The Fintech segment is rapidly digitizing, with BOSS Money digital revenue growing by 36% to $99.0 million in FY 2025, indicating a successful operational shift to lower-cost, higher-margin digital channels.

IDT Corporation's Strategic Advantages

IDT's market success is driven by its deep penetration into specific, often overlooked, consumer and business niches, plus a disciplined focus on margin expansion.

• Underserved Market Focus: The company excels at serving the unbanked/underbanked consumer for remittances and the independent, non-chain retailer for POS technology. This focus provides a defensible market position against larger competitors.
• Operational Leverage: The three high-margin growth segments-NRS, BOSS Money, and net2phone-generated over 50% of the consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the first time in FY 2025, which totaled a record $128.7 million for the full year.
• Balance Sheet Strength: A robust balance sheet with zero debt allows for defintely aggressive investment in new growth initiatives, such as AI product development in net2phone, and opportunistic share buybacks, like the $8.5 million in Class B stock repurchased in 2Q25.
• Synergistic Ecosystem: The NRS POS network acts as a physical distribution channel for BOSS Money and IDT Digital Payments products, creating a powerful cross-selling loop that lowers customer acquisition costs across the portfolio. You can see how this integrated model creates a moat. Breaking Down IDT Corporation (IDT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors

IDT Corporation (IDT) How It Makes Money

IDT Corporation makes money by operating a portfolio of complementary businesses centered on fintech and communications, primarily serving immigrant communities and independent retailers. The company's revenue engine is a two-part system: a high-margin, high-growth core of digital services, and a stable, cash-generating legacy segment that funds the growth businesses.

IDT Corporation's Revenue Breakdown

In fiscal year 2025, which ended July 31, 2025, IDT Corporation generated total consolidated revenue of approximately $1.23 billion, an increase of 2.1% over the prior year. The revenue mix shows a clear strategic shift, with the three growth segments-Fintech, National Retail Solutions (NRS), and net2phone-collectively contributing 30.1% of total revenue, a significant jump from prior years.

Business Economics

The core economic story for IDT Corporation is a successful pivot toward higher-margin, recurring-revenue models, even as the legacy business provides a solid financial foundation. The Traditional Communications segment, which includes BOSS Revolution Calling and IDT Global, is a mature business facing secular decline in its minutes-based voice services, but it remains a crucial cash-flow engine. Honestly, it's the engine funding the future.

• Fintech Margin Expansion: The BOSS Money international remittance business is the fastest-growing segment, with revenue surging 29% in FY2025 to $154.6 million. The focus is on digital transactions, which saw a 41% increase and carry a higher gross margin than retail transactions. Management expects the business to scale to an Adjusted EBITDA margin in the 15% to 20% range, comparable to industry peers.
• Recurring Revenue at NRS: National Retail Solutions (NRS) generates high-quality recurring revenue from its point-of-sale (POS) platform, which serves over 37,200 independent retailers. Recurring revenue grew 27% in FY2025 to $122.6 million, primarily from merchant services and Software as a Service (SaaS) fees. This is a sticky, high-margin revenue base.
• Traditional Cash Flow: While Traditional Communications revenue decreased, the segment's income from operations actually increased in FY2025 to $66.5 million due to aggressive cost-cutting and improved pricing in IDT Digital Payments. This segment generated $70 million in free cash flow, which is then reinvested into the growth segments.

The pricing strategy across the growth segments is volume-driven, focusing on a low-cost, high-volume model for remittances and a value-added SaaS model for retailers, which deepens customer lock-in. You can learn more about the strategic drivers behind this shift in their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of IDT Corporation (IDT).

IDT Corporation's Financial Performance

IDT Corporation's fiscal 2025 performance shows a clear inflection point, with profitability metrics outpacing revenue growth due to the shift to digital and recurring services. The company is defintely generating more profit per dollar of revenue.

• Record Profitability: Full-year Adjusted EBITDA surged 43% year-over-year to a record $128.7 million. Income from operations also saw a massive jump, increasing 55% to $100.4 million.
• Margin Improvement: Consolidated gross profit for the year increased 14% to $446 million, with the gross profit margin expanding 380 basis points. This margin expansion is a direct result of the growth segments becoming a larger piece of the revenue pie.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS): GAAP EPS for FY2025 was $3.01, an increase of 18.5%. Non-GAAP EPS, which provides a cleaner view of core operations, climbed even more dramatically, jumping 63.6% to $3.19.
• Balance Sheet Strength: The company maintains a strong balance sheet with a net cash positive position and no outstanding debt. Cash and investments totaled approximately $254 million at the end of the fiscal year.

IDT Corporation (IDT) Market Position & Future Outlook

IDT Corporation is strategically positioned as a hybrid growth play, successfully pivoting from its traditional communications foundation to high-margin, digital-first businesses like Fintech and National Retail Solutions (NRS). The company's focus on underserved market niches-specifically international money remittance for immigrant communities and Point-of-Sale (POS) solutions for independent retailers-drove its consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to a record $129 million in fiscal year 2025, a 43% surge year-over-year. This financial strength, coupled with its aggressive AI and platform expansion, signals a continued trajectory of value creation, even as the legacy business declines.

Competitive Landscape

In the digital cross-border remittance and specialized retail POS markets, IDT Corporation (IDT) competes against both established giants and nimble digital-native players. Its competitive edge lies in the synergistic relationship between its BOSS Money digital platform and the physical retail network of its National Retail Solutions (NRS) POS terminals, a key differentiator from purely digital or purely agent-based models.

Opportunities & Challenges

The near-term outlook is defined by IDT Corporation's ability to scale its high-growth segments and manage the inevitable decline of its legacy units. The company's strategic investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and platform integration are defintely the core drivers for future performance.

Industry Position

IDT Corporation holds a unique, defensible position across its core markets, largely due to its focus on the independent, immigrant-serving retail channel. The NRS segment is the leading provider of Point-of-Sale (POS) solutions specifically for the over 30,000 independent convenience stores and bodegas in the US. This network provides a low-cost distribution and cash-handling backbone for its Fintech segment.

• BOSS Money leverages this retail footprint to facilitate over 23 million remittance transactions annually, achieving a 29% revenue increase in FY 2025 by focusing on a digital-first strategy for a cash-heavy customer base.
• The net2phone segment, while smaller, is carving out a niche in unified communications as a service (UCaaS) by injecting AI into its offerings, aiming for 30% or more of its sales to include an AI solution in the next fiscal year.
• Overall, the company's FY 2025 revenue of $1.23 billion reflects a successful strategic shift, with the three high-margin growth segments (NRS, Fintech, net2phone) collectively generating over 50% of the consolidated Adjusted EBITDA.

To understand the underlying financial mechanics of this pivot, you should read Breaking Down IDT Corporation (IDT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. Finance: track BOSS Money's digital wallet development milestones against projected Q1 2026 revenue contribution by the end of this month.