Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) Stock

Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) is a Communication Services stock trading at $48.42 (as of 2026-08-20), with a market capitalization of $5.13B and a trailing P/E of 55.0. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Iridium Communications Inc. provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services. It also provides hosted payload and other data services, such as satellite time and location services, and inbound connections from the public switched telephone network, short message, subscriber identity module, activation, customer reactivation, and other peripheral services. In addition, the company offers voice and data solutions comprising 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; mobile communications and data devices for the military and intelligence agencies, such as secure satellite handsets, as well as netted voice, messaging, and paging services; and maintenance services for the United States government's dedicated gateway. Further, it provides satellite handsets, personal connectivity devices, voice and data modems, broadband data devices, and IoT data devices; various accessories for its devices that include batteries, holsters, earbud headphones, portable auxiliary antennas, antenna adaptors, USB data cables, charging units, and others; and engineering and support services. Iridium Communications Inc. sells its products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network that include service providers, and value-added resellers and manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Iridium Holdings LLC and changed its name to Iridium Communications Inc. in September 2009. Iridium Communications Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Understand Iridium Communications Inc.: how it makes money

Iridium Communications provides satellite mobile voice and data, push-to-talk, broadband data, and IoT communications services to businesses and governments, and sells subscriber equipment, earning revenue mainly from recurring service offerings rather than equipment sales.

The profit model is driven mainly by Service Revenue from satellite communications (voice and data, including IoT and other hosted data services), with subscriber growth supporting the larger recurring revenue base, while Subscriber Equipment Sales Revenue is a smaller, separate component.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Service	$0.2B
Equipment	$0.0B

Business quality (Solid): Good clarity on the revenue mix between service and equipment, and a relevant subscriber-growth operating KPI is available, but the provided segment breakdown is limited versus what a full reportable-segment view would typically show.

Valuation: At 55× earnings, IRDM trades 212% above the Communication average (18×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

Recurring service revenue is the core: Service Revenue is the largest revenue component (0.16B out of about 0.2B total revenue provided), which ties business performance more directly to ongoing satellite service relationships.
Commercial growth is trackable via subscriber adds: Net New Commercial Subscribers is provided (70,000), giving investors a direct operating input into how the commercial subscriber base is changing.
Broad commercial offering mix within services: Commercial service revenue includes commercial voice and data (0.06B) and commercial Internet of Things data (0.05B), which indicates multiple service lines within the recurring revenue base.

Bear case

Service revenue dependence increases sensitivity: Because Service Revenue is much larger than Subscriber Equipment Sales Revenue, changes in commercial or government service demand can have an outsized impact relative to the smaller equipment sales portion.
Subscriber growth may be volatile: The most prominent operating KPI is subscriber growth (Net New Commercial Subscribers), which can vary quarter to quarter and may not translate into sustained revenue growth if retention or upgrades do not keep pace.
Equipment sales are a smaller and separate swing factor: Subscriber Equipment Sales Revenue is provided as 0.02B and is smaller than service revenue, so equipment demand weakness is less able to offset service-driven declines.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$48.42
Market Cap	$5.13B
P/E Ratio	55.0
EV / EBITDA	11.7
Price / Book	10.86
Price / Sales	5.80
FCF Yield	5.6%
DCF Value (model)	$5.12
DCF Upside vs Price	-89.4%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$871.66M
Net Margin	13.1%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.8%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-55.0%
FCF Growth (YoY)	-15.2%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	1.97 (grey)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	55.0
Sector P/E (Communication Services)	24.4
Industry P/E (Communication)	17.9
vs Sector	125.6%
vs Industry	206.8%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	BlackRock, Inc. ($386.68M)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10

Company
Sector	Communication Services
Industry	Communication
CEO	Matthew J. Desch
Employees	873
Country	US
IPO Date	2008-03-20

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Data as of 2026-08-20.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.