Iridium Communications Inc

Iridium Communications delivered a mixed fourth quarter for 2025, narrowly beating on the bottom line while falling short on revenue — a split verdict that captured the company's ongoing transition toward a more recurring, service-driven model. EPS of $0.24 edged past the $0.2365 consensus by 1.48%, but revenue of $212.94 million trailed estimates of $219.33 million by 2.91%, landing essentially flat year-over-year. The story beneath the headline was more nuanced: service revenue climbed 3% to $158.85 million, lifted by 11% growth in commercial IoT and 4% growth in commercial voice and data, while a 21% drop in subscriber equipment revenue and a 13% decline in hosted payload revenue — tied to a delayed recognition from an existing customer — dragged the total down. Net income fell to $24.86 million from $36.34 million a year earlier, pressured by a swing from a tax benefit to a $7.99 million tax expense. Looking ahead, Iridium guided 2026 OEBITDA to $480 million–$490 million, with the midpoint reflecting a $17 million headwind from shifting to all-cash incentive compensation — a dynamic that has kept <a href="https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/02/17/ast-spacemobile-intuitive-machines-and-rocket-lab-tumble-while-iridium-gains/">Iridium relatively resilient</a> compared to more speculative satellite peers.