| Indicators | Browse All

Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM)

Communication Services | Telecom Services | McLean, United States | NasdaqGS
46.60 USD -1.04 (-2.183%) ⇩ (Aug. 28, 2026, 4 p.m. EDT)
After hours: 46.50 -0.10 (-0.100%) ⇩ (Aug. 28, 2026, 7:33 p.m. EDT)

Short-term:★★⯪☆☆Long-term:★★⯪☆☆Dividends:★★⯪☆☆
Hot Take | Aug. 22, 2026, 5:36 a.m. EDT

The investment case for Iridium is currently bifurcated between a compelling strategic narrative and deteriorating operational reality. While the pending acquisition by Rocket Lab offers a potential catalyst for vertical integration and a re-rating of the space infrastructure play, the underlying business is struggling. Fundamentals reveal a stark disconnect: revenue growth has stalled at a modest 3.8%, while earnings have collapsed by 55% year-over-year. This deterioration is confirmed by the price history, which shows a brutal 45% drop in 2024 followed by another 5.5% decline in 2025, resulting in two consecutive years of negative returns. Despite the long-term cumulative gain of nearly 200% since 2016, the recent multi-year decline suggests the market is pricing in significant structural challenges or execution risks that outweigh the acquisition premium. The valuation is stretched, trading at a forward P/E of roughly 28x despite shrinking earnings, and the balance sheet carries substantial debt relative to equity. On the income side, the 1.24% yield is stable but insufficient to offset the capital destruction risk given the payout ratio is nearly 69%. Technically, the stock is hovering near its 50-day average but remains well below its 200-day moving average, indicating a lack of sustained momentum. Options flow reinforces this caution, with traders buying protection at deep discounts rather than betting on a rally. Until the acquisition closes and clarity emerges on how it resolves the earnings decay, the risk-reward profile appears neutral to slightly negative.

Model Selection — Backtest MAE (log-scale, lower is better)
ModelMAE
MSTL ✓0.141843
AutoTheta0.145920
AutoETS0.148983
AutoARIMA0.152200

Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: MSTL

Forecast Reliability
Score 41%
H-stat 0.57
Ljung-Box p 0.000
Jarque-Bera p 0.308
Excess Kurtosis 0.80
Attribute Value
Sector Communication Services
Ex Dividend Date 2026-09-14
Last Dividend Date 2026-06-14
Debt to Equity Ratio 378.657
Revenue per Share 8.328
Market Cap 4,938,740,224
Trailing P/E 54.82
Forward P/E 27.17
Beta 0.88
Profit Margins 10.55%
Website https://www.iridium.com

As of Aug. 22, 2026, 5:36 a.m. EDT: Speculators are positioning defensively with heavy out-of-the-money put volume and open interest concentrated at strikes significantly below the current price (e.g., $30-$40 range), suggesting a fear of a sharp downside gap. Conversely, call activity is sparse and skewed toward out-of-the-money strikes ($55-$70), indicating limited bullish conviction despite the recent price recovery. Implied volatility remains elevated across both sides, reflecting uncertainty surrounding the pending Rocket Lab acquisition and integration risks.


Dividend Data

Yield Summary
Last Yield 1yr Yield 3yr Avg 5yr Avg
0.33% 2.61% 2.06%
Dividend History
Date Dividend Yield %
2026-06-15 0.15 0.330469
2026-03-16 0.15 0.600240
2025-12-15 0.15 0.852273
2025-09-15 0.15 0.825082
2025-06-13 0.14 0.488827
2025-03-17 0.14 0.506329
2024-12-16 0.14 0.463576
2024-09-13 0.14 0.519095
2024-06-14 0.14 0.529301
2024-03-14 0.13 0.475842
2023-12-14 0.13 0.319567
2023-09-14 0.13 0.269095
2023-06-14 0.13 0.213115
2023-03-14 0.13 0.209711
Additional Data
dividendRate 0.6
dividendYield 1.26
exDividendDate 2026-09-15
trailingAnnualDividendRate 0.6
trailingAnnualDividendYield 0.012594459
lastDividendValue 0.15
lastDividendDate 2026-06-15
dividendDate 2026-09-30

Info Dump

Attribute Value
52 Week Change 0.92251813
Address1 1,676 International Drive
Address2 Suite 1100
All Time High 68.34
All Time Low 5.25
Ask 49.34
Ask Size 1
Audit Risk 1
Average Analyst Rating 2.1 - Buy
Average Daily Volume10 Day 852,790
Average Daily Volume3 Month 2,154,211
Average Volume 2,154,211
Average Volume10Days 852,790
Beta 0.884
Bid 44.54
Bid Size 1
Board Risk 1
Book Value 4.46
City McLean
Compensation As Of Epoch Date 1,767,139,200
Compensation Risk 4
Country United States
Crypto Tradeable 0
Currency USD
Current Price 46.6
Current Ratio 2.782
Custom Price Alert Confidence HIGH
Date Short Interest 1,786,665,600
Day High 47.61
Day Low 46.5
Debt To Equity 378.657
Dividend Date 1,790,726,400
Dividend Rate 0.6
Dividend Yield 1.26
Earnings Call Timestamp End 1,776,947,400
Earnings Call Timestamp Start 1,776,947,400
Earnings Growth -0.55
Earnings Quarterly Growth -0.559
Earnings Timestamp 1,784,723,400
Earnings Timestamp End 1,792,672,200
Earnings Timestamp Start 1,792,672,200
Ebitda 423,361,984
Ebitda Margins 0.47882
Enterprise To Ebitda 15.454
Enterprise To Revenue 7.4
Enterprise Value 6,542,735,872
Eps Current Year 1.08
Eps Forward 1.715
Eps Trailing Twelve Months 0.85
Esg Populated 0
Ex Dividend Date 1,789,430,400
Exchange NMS
Exchange Data Delayed By 0
Exchange Timezone Name America/New_York
Exchange Timezone Short Name EDT
Fax 703-287-7450
Fifty Day Average 48.1974
Fifty Day Average Change -1.5974007
Fifty Day Average Change Percent -0.03314288
Fifty Two Week Change Percent 92.251816
Fifty Two Week High 57.18
Fifty Two Week High Change -10.580002
Fifty Two Week High Change Percent -0.18502976
Fifty Two Week Low 15.65
Fifty Two Week Low Change 30.949999
Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent 1.9776357
Fifty Two Week Range 15.65 - 57.18
Financial Currency USD
First Trade Date Milliseconds 1,206,019,800,000
Float Shares 86,836,653
Forward Eps 1.715
Forward P E 27.17201
Free Cashflow 239,205,376
Full Exchange Name NasdaqGS
Full Time Employees 975
Fullday Change -1.04
Fullday Change Percent -2.18304
Fullday Price 46.5
Gmt Off Set Milliseconds -14,400,000
Governance Epoch Date 1,785,542,400
Gross Margins 0.71851
Gross Profits 635,281,984
Has Pre Post Market Data 1
Held Percent Insiders 0.11943
Held Percent Institutions 0.89844
Implied Shares Outstanding 105,981,552
Industry Telecom Services
Industry Disp Telecom Services
Industry Key telecom-services
Is Earnings Date Estimate 1
Language en-US
Last Dividend Date 1,781,481,600
Last Dividend Value 0.15
Last Fiscal Year End 1,767,139,200
Long Business Summary Iridium Communications Inc. provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers mobile satellite communications services for land mobile end users and aviation sectors; broadband terminals, embedded devices, and handsets for merchant shipping, fishing, leisure and research vessels, and specialized watercraft; satellite-based IoT services; hosted payload and other data services; and other data services and engineering services. It also provides postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; Internet of Things (IoT); and satellite time and location services. In addition, the company offers personnel tracking devices; asset tracking devices for equipment, vehicles, and aircrafts; beyond-line-of-sight aircraft communications applications; maritime communications applications; specialized communications solutions for high-value individuals; and mobile communications and data devices for the military and other government agencies, such as secure satellite handsets; and maintenance services for the U.S. government's dedicated gateway. Further, it provides satellite handsets, voice and data modems, broadband data devices, and IoT data devices; and various accessories for its devices that include batteries, holsters, earbud headphones, portable auxiliary antennas, antenna adaptors, USB data cables, and charging units. The company sells its products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network that includes service providers, and value-added resellers and value-added manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Iridium Holdings LLC and changed its name to Iridium Communications Inc. in September 2009. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.
Long Name Iridium Communications Inc.
Market us_market
Market Cap 4,938,740,224
Market State CLOSED
Max Age 86,400
Message Board Id finmb_702261
Most Recent Quarter 1,782,777,600
Net Income To Common 93,265,000
Next Fiscal Year End 1,798,675,200
Non Diluted Market Cap 5,048,961,137
Number Of Analyst Opinions 5
Open 47.61
Operating Cashflow 395,139,008
Operating Margins 0.15099
Overall Risk 2
Payout Ratio 0.6897
Peg Ratio 3.35
Phone 703-287-7400
Post Market Change -0.099998474
Post Market Change Percent -0.21458901
Post Market Price 46.5
Post Market Time 1,787,959,985
Previous Close 47.64
Price Eps Current Year 43.148144
Price Hint 2
Price To Book 10.44843
Price To Sales Trailing12 Months 5.585742
Profit Margins 0.10548
Quick Ratio 2.13
Quote Source Name Nasdaq Real Time Price
Quote Type EQUITY
Recommendation Key buy
Recommendation Mean 2.125
Region US
Regular Market Change -1.04
Regular Market Change Percent -2.18304
Regular Market Day High 47.61
Regular Market Day Low 46.5
Regular Market Day Range 46.5 - 47.61
Regular Market Open 47.61
Regular Market Previous Close 47.64
Regular Market Price 46.6
Regular Market Time 1,787,947,201
Regular Market Volume 1,507,500
Return On Assets 0.051149998
Return On Equity 0.19715
Revenue Growth 0.038
Revenue Per Share 8.328
Sand P52 Week Change 0.20504117
Sector Communication Services
Sector Disp Communication Services
Sector Key communication-services
Share Holder Rights Risk 4
Shares Outstanding 105,981,552
Shares Percent Shares Out 0.0271
Shares Short 2,872,219
Shares Short Previous Month Date 1,784,073,600
Shares Short Prior Month 2,826,191
Short Name Iridium Communications Inc
Short Percent Of Float 0.0317
Short Ratio 2.15
Source Interval 15
State VA
Symbol IRDM
Target High Price 54.0
Target Low Price 36.0
Target Mean Price 42.0
Target Median Price 40.0
Total Cash 184,214,000
Total Cash Per Share 1.739
Total Debt 1,789,196,032
Total Revenue 884,169,024
Tradeable 0
Trailing Annual Dividend Rate 0.6
Trailing Annual Dividend Yield 0.012594459
Trailing Eps 0.85
Trailing P E 54.823524
Trailing Peg Ratio 3.3932
Triggerable 1
Two Hundred Day Average 33.16545
Two Hundred Day Average Change 13.434547
Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent 0.40507656
Type Disp Equity
Volume 1,507,500
Website https://www.iridium.com
Zip 22,102