A company applies for a class C IP address for subnetting.

Detailed Explanation:To accommodate 26 hosts, the subnet needs at least 30 addresses (including network and broadcast addresses). A subnet mask of 255.255.255.192 provides 64 addresses (2^6 - 2 = 62 usable addresses), which is more than enough to support 26 hosts while also leaving space for additional hosts if needed.