Iridium World Communications (OTCMKTS:IRIDQ) versus Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) Critical Comparison

Iridium World Communications (OTCMKTS:IRIDQ) and Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Iridium World Communications and Gogo, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iridium World Communications	0	0	0	0	0.00
Gogo	0	3	1	0	2.25

Gogo has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 145.31%. Given Gogo’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Gogo is more favorable than Iridium World Communications.

Volatility & Risk

Iridium World Communications has a beta of 0.07, suggesting that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gogo has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Iridium World Communications and Gogo”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iridium World Communications	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gogo	$910.49 million	0.51	$12.92 million	$0.01	346.50

Gogo has higher revenue and earnings than Iridium World Communications.

Profitability

This table compares Iridium World Communications and Gogo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iridium World Communications	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gogo	-0.09%	22.55%	1.97%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.6% of Gogo shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Iridium World Communications shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.6% of Gogo shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Gogo beats Iridium World Communications on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Iridium World Communications

In August 1999, Iridium World Communications Ltd. filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Court, and operated as a debtor-in-possession. Iridium World Communications, Ltd. was engaged in the ownership and participation in the management of Iridium LLC, its parent company, which owned Iridium Operating LLC (Iridium), as of March 31, 1999. Iridium operated as a global wireless telecommunications company. It enabled its customers to make and receive phone calls, and receive pages virtually anywhere in the world. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Gogo

Gogo Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband connectivity services to the aviation industry in the United States and internationally. The company's product platform includes networks, antennas, and airborne equipment and software. It offers in-flight systems; in-flight services; aviation partner support; and engineering, design, and development services, as well as production operations functions. The company offers voice and data, in-flight entertainment, and other services. In addition, it engages in the development, deployment, and operation of networks, towers, and data center infrastructure to support in-flight connectivity services, as well as in the provision of telecommunications connections to the internet. The company sells its products primarily to aircraft operators and original equipment manufacturers of business aviation aircraft through a distribution network of independent dealers. Gogo Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. As of May 2024, Gogo Inc. claims that “Gogo is the only company in North America with a complete, certified airborne 5G network, meaning that all components within the network (including onboard equipment) are 5G native.”