Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) released its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.07), FiscalAI reports. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Iridium Communications’ conference call:

• Iridium’s new Iridium 9604 tri‑mode module is on track for commercial availability in June and is in beta with partners; the small, lower‑cost integration of satellite, cellular and GPS is expected to accelerate IoT subscriber growth and simplify legacy hardware integration.
• The company will roll out its PNT ASIC in July, has received interest from over 100 firms, and continues to target at least $100 million of annual PNT revenue by 2030 as ASIC availability accelerates deployments.
• Iridium NTN Direct is moving toward commercial launch later this year with live over‑the‑air demos and seven mobile network operator agreements to date, positioning Iridium as a standards‑based complement for D2D and IoT roaming use cases.
• Management reaffirmed full‑year guidance (service revenue and operational OIBDA) and highlighted strong cash generation: pro forma free cash flow ~ $318M for 2026, net leverage of 3.4x OIBDA and capacity to invest in growth or M&A.
• Q1 OIBDA fell 5% (a $4.2M quarterly hit) largely from a policy shift to pay annual incentive compensation fully in cash (projected $17M OIBDA impact in 2026), while commercial broadband revenue declined ~5% as customers migrate to lower‑cost backup plans.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

IRDM traded down $0.78 on Thursday, hitting $39.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,647,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,359,672. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $44.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,684. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IRDM. BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.60.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.