Iridium(US:IRDM) ZACKS·2025-02-14 13:41Core Viewpoint - Iridium Communications (IRDM) reported strong fourth-quarter earnings for 2024, exceeding expectations in both earnings per share and revenue growth, driven by robust performance across its service, subscriber equipment, and engineering segments [1][2][5]. Financial Performance - Earnings per share (EPS) for Q4 2024 was 32 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 94% and up from 30 cents in the previous quarter [1] - Quarterly revenues reached $213 million, a 9% increase year-over-year, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $203.8 million [2] - Total service revenues grew 4% year-over-year to $154 million, contributing 72% to total revenues [3] - Subscriber equipment revenues surged 38% year-over-year to $21.6 million, recovering from previous supply chain challenges [4] - Engineering and support revenues increased by 20% to $37.4 million, supported by new contracts and collaboration with the Space Development Agency [5] Subscriber Growth - As of December 31, 2024, the company had 2,460,000 billable subscribers, an 8% increase from the previous year, with commercial IoT subscribers growing by 10% to 1.89 million [7] Operating Metrics - Total operating expenses were $160.9 million, up from $148.4 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to increased selling, general and administrative, and research and development costs [6] - Operational EBITDA (OEBITDA) rose 3% year-over-year to $117.1 million, with operating income at $52.1 million compared to $46.3 million in the previous year [6] Liquidity and Share Repurchase - As of December 31, 2024, total cash and cash equivalents were $93.5 million, with net debt of $1.7 billion [10] - In Q4 2024, the company repurchased 4.1 million shares for $121.9 million, with an additional $500 million share repurchase program authorized through December 31, 2027 [10] Future Guidance - For 2025, Iridium expects service revenue growth between 5% and 7%, with OEBITDA projected to be between $490 million and $500 million, up from $470.6 million in 2024 [11]