Iridium Communications Inc

Iridium Communications cleared Wall Street's bar with room to spare in the third quarter, posting earnings of $0.35 per diluted share on revenue of $226.94 million — well ahead of analyst consensus estimates of $0.26 and $223.69 million — as a surge in government engineering work and steady commercial IoT gains combined to lift results across the board. Net income climbed to $37.13 million from $24.45 million a year earlier, while operational EBITDA rose 10% to $136.59 million. The standout driver was engineering and support revenue, which jumped 31% to $40.19 million on the back of accelerating U.S. government activity, including work tied to a Space Development Agency contract. Commercial IoT data revenue grew 7% on 5% subscriber growth, reinforcing the durability of Iridium's recurring revenue base even as commercial broadband slipped 17%. Looking ahead, the company narrowed its full-year service revenue growth guidance to approximately 3% and tightened OEBITDA guidance to $495 million–$500 million, signaling confidence despite pausing share buybacks to focus on deleveraging and strategic investments — a positioning that has <a href="https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/02/17/ast-spacemobile-intuitive-machines-and-rocket-lab-tumble-while-iridium-gains/">helped the stock hold ground</a> amid broader satellite sector volatility.