Iridium Communications IRDM reported earnings per share (EPS) of 32 cents for the fourth quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 94%. The bottom line compared favorably with the prior quarter's figure of 30 cents per share.

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Quarterly revenues were $213 million, up 9% from the year-ago level. The expansion is driven by increasing sales momentum across all its segments – service, subscriber equipment and engineering and support service. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $203.8 million.

Total Service revenues rose 4% year over year to $154 million. The growth in recurring revenues, driven by higher subscriber engagement, drove the performance. Service revenues contributed 72% to total revenues in the fourth quarter. Our estimate for the metric was $152.1 million. Service revenue growth was bolstered by the recovery in equipment demand and the expansion of government contract awards, fueling engineering and support revenues.

Strength in in the commercial Internet of Things (IoT), voice and data, and hosted payload and other data services sectors aided the growth amid the weak commercial broadband sector.

Iridium Communications Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Iridium Communications Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Iridium Communications Inc Quote

Subscriber Equipment revenues soared 38% year over year to $21.6 million, recovering from supply chain challenges. As expected, 2024 marks a return to normal sales levels after two record years. The fourth-quarter growth reflects strong demand for Iridium services. 

Engineering and support revenues surged 20% to $37.4 million, driven by new contracts and growing work with the Space Development Agency. This partnership aligns Iridium with the U.S. government's long-term space goals.

In response to the robust performance across key business segments, shares of IRDM jumped 15.4% in trading on Feb. 13 and closed the session at $31.99. In the past year, shares have risen 5.1% compared with the Zacks Satellite and Communication industry's growth of 38.8%.

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Other Details

Total operating expenses were $160.9 million compared with $148.4 in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to higher selling, general and administrative and research and development costs.

Operational EBITDA (OEBITDA) increased 3% year over year to $117.1 million. Operating income came in at $52.1 million compared with $46.3 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

As of Dec. 31, the company had 2,460,000 billable subscribers, up 8% from 2,279,000 at the prior-year quarter end. The rise was backed by 10% year-over-year growth in commercial IoT subscribers to 1.89 million.

Liquidity

As of Dec. 31, 2024, total cash and cash equivalents were $93.5 million, with $1.7 billion of net debt. Capital expenditures were $24.3 million in the quarter under review.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, IRDM repurchased 4.1 million shares worth $121.9 million. On Sept. 19, 2024, it announced that its board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500 million of the company’s shares through Dec. 31, 2027. As of Dec. 31, 2024, it had shares worth $430.3 million under the buyback program.

2025 Guidance and Long-Term Outlook

Iridium issued its full-year 2025 guidance and reaffirmed its long-term financial strategy. Service revenues are expected to grow between 5% and 7%. OEBITDA is forecasted at $490 million to $500 million, up from $470.6 million in 2024.

IRDM’s Zacks Rank 

Iridium currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Recent Performance of Other Companies

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. GILT reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of 15 cents compared with 11 cents a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.14%.

Shares of GILT have soared 47.6% in the past six months.

Sensata Technologies Holding plc ST reported fourth-quarter 2024 EPS of 76 cents compared with 81 cents a year ago. The bottom line met the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

In the past year, shares of ST have lost 11.9%.

BCE Inc. BCE reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of C$0.79 (56 cents) compared with C$0.76 in the prior-year quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 50 cents.

Shares of BCE have plunged 36.2% in the past year. 

 

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