Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - For full year 2024, Iridium exceeded its operational EBITDA guidance, achieving pro forma free cash flow of $306 million and returning approximately $500 million to investors through share repurchases and dividends [36][59] - In Q4 2024, operational EBITDA rose 3% year-over-year to $117 million, while total revenue grew 9% to $213 million [37] - Service revenue for the commercial business in Q4 was $127.3 million, reflecting a 5% increase from the previous year [38] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Commercial IoT revenue grew 15% in Q4, driven by personal communications, despite a decline of 15,000 IoT subscribers due to a customer changing retail pricing plans [39][41] - Revenue from broadband services in Q4 was $13.4 million, down 9% year-over-year, with a full year decline of 3% [42] - Engineering and support revenue increased 20% year-over-year to $37.4 million in Q4, supported by new government contracts [45] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Iridium reported service revenue growth in the APAC region, where competitors faced outages, highlighting the reliability of Iridium's network [38] - Government service revenue rose to $26.8 million in Q4, reflecting a step-up in a fixed-price contract with the U.S. government [44] Company Strategy and Development Direction - Iridium aims to achieve $1 billion in service revenue by 2030 and generate approximately $3 billion in free cash flow over that period [12] - The company is focusing on safety and mission-critical applications, positioning itself as a complementary service to Starlink in the satellite market [15][19] - Iridium is investing in new technologies and partnerships, including the development of Iridium NTN Direct for direct-to-device services [25][129] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in returning to normal growth trends in 2025, with service revenue growth projected between 5% and 7% [46] - The company anticipates continued strong free cash flow generation and plans to increase dividends in 2025 [59][61] - Management acknowledged challenges from increased competition but emphasized the unique advantages of Iridium's network [15][104] Other Important Information - Iridium retired approximately 4.1 million shares in Q4 2024, totaling nearly 14 million shares for the year, representing about 11% of outstanding shares [11][57] - The company has a cash balance of approximately $94 million as of December 31, 2024, sufficient to support operations and shareholder returns [56] Q&A Session Summary Question: Thoughts on the landscape and D2D developments - Management believes recent developments have not changed their strategy for D2D offerings, which are seen as complementary to other solutions [66][70] Question: Long-term potential for NextGen constellation and CapEx considerations - Management is open to various ideas regarding partnerships for future constellations but emphasizes the importance of owning technology for high margins [72][75] Question: Financial impact and market opportunity for D2D services - D2D services are expected to have a small financial impact in 2026 but will ramp up significantly in subsequent years [81] Question: Prospects for the voice business and growth drivers - The primary growth driver for the voice business remains push-to-talk services, with seasonal variations expected [90][92] Question: Update on Aireon and FAA engagement - Management noted that the FAA has expressed interest in Aireon's technology but is currently focused on other modernization efforts [94][96] Question: Concerns regarding government network security - Management clarified that the network is not encrypted by default, but partners can encrypt traffic, and the recent story is not new or indicative of a fundamental flaw [100][101] Question: Outlook for hosted payload and PNT services - PNT services are expected to be a significant growth driver in 2025, with strong demand anticipated [120][121]

Core Insights - Iridium Communications reported revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter ended December 2024, reflecting a 9.4% increase year-over-year and surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $203.78 million by 4.52% [1] - The company's EPS was $0.31, up from $0.30 in the same quarter last year, and significantly exceeded the consensus EPS estimate of $0.16 by 93.75% [1] Financial Performance Metrics - The average revenue per user (ARPU) for Commercial Voice and Data was $45, slightly above the estimated $44.97 [4] - ARPU for Commercial IoT Data was reported at $7.29, exceeding the average estimate of $7.04 [4] - ARPU for Commercial Broadband was $268, slightly below the estimated $270.57 [4] - Total net billable subscriber additions were -22 thousand, falling short of the average estimate of 45.3 thousand [4] - Revenue from subscriber equipment was $21.60 million, surpassing the average estimate of $18.68 million, marking a year-over-year increase of 37.9% [4] - Service revenue totaled $154.02 million, in line with the average estimate of $154.04 million, representing a 4.1% year-over-year increase [4] - Engineering and support service revenue was $37.38 million, exceeding the average estimate of $30.80 million, with a year-over-year change of 20.3% [4] - Commercial service revenue was $127.27 million, slightly below the average estimate of $127.44 million, reflecting a 4.7% year-over-year increase [4] - Government service revenue was $26.75 million, close to the average estimate of $26.85 million, with a year-over-year change of 0.9% [4] - Hosted payload and other data service revenue was $15.41 million, below the average estimate of $15.84 million, showing a 1.5% year-over-year increase [4] - Government engineering and support service revenue was $34.48 million, exceeding the average estimate of $30.12 million, with a year-over-year change of 17.6% [4] - Commercial engineering and support service revenue was $2.90 million, surpassing the average estimate of $2.12 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 66.3% [4] Stock Performance - Iridium's shares returned +0.7% over the past month, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.9% change [3] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating expected performance in line with the broader market in the near term [3]

Iridium Communications (IRDM) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.16 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.30 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 93.75%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this satellite phone company would post earnings of $0.20 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.21, delivering a surprise of 5%.Over the last four qua ...

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ FORM 10-K _____________________________________________________________________________________________ (Mark One) ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For th ...

FOR RELEASE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Investor Contact: Press Contact: Kenneth Levy Iridium Communications Inc. +1 (703) 287-7570 ken.levy@iridium.com Jordan Hassin Iridium Communications Inc. +1 (703) 287-7421 jordan.hassin@iridium.com Iridium Announces 2024 Results, Issues 2025 Outlook • Returned a record $469 million to shareholders in 2024 MCLEAN, Va. – February 13, 2025 – Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) ("Iridium") today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 a ...

Returned a record $469 million to shareholders in 2024MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) ("Iridium") today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 and issued its full-year 2025 guidance. Net income was $36.3 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2024, as compared to net income of $38.0 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023. Operational EBITDA ("OEBITDA")(1) for the fourth qu ...

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) ("Iridium"), a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, will host a conference call on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) to discuss the Company's fourth-quarter and full year 2024 financial results. In advance of the call on February 13, 2025, Iridium will issue its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings press release, which will be available on the investor relations page of the C ...

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) ("Iridium"), a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, today announced that Company executives would participate at the 27th Annual Needham Growth Conference on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET. A presentation from the conference will be webcast on the Investor Relations section of Iridium's website at http://investor.iridium.com/events. The webcast will be archived at the same location ...

The global demand for seamless connectivity is soaring, fueling a multi-billion dollar boom in the satellite communication sector, which is projected to grow from $220 billion to $630 billion over the next seven years. This unprecedented growth is driven by the need for reliable communication access to even the most remote locations, and it presents a unique opportunity for investors. But with multiple companies employing a diverse range of technologies and strategies, how can investors effectively navigate ...

MIAMI, Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Blynk, the leading Low-Code IoT SaaS platform, has partnered with Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, in support of the new Iridium Certus™ 9704 Development Kit, an end-to-end product evaluation tool for the Iridium Certus 9704 module. This partnership allows engineering teams to jumpstart their projects with Iridium's new hardware using Blynk's powerful IoT platform, creating an ideal environm ...