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Iridium's Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Shares Soar 15% on Higher Revenues
IRDMIridium(IRDM) ZACKS·2025-02-14 13:41

Core 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 213million,a9213 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 154million,contributing72154 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 37.4million,supportedbynewcontractsandcollaborationwiththeSpaceDevelopmentAgency[5]SubscriberGrowth−AsofDecember31,2024,thecompanyhad2,460,000billablesubscribers,an837.4 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 148.4millionintheprior−yearquarter,primarilyduetoincreasedselling,generalandadministrative,andresearchanddevelopmentcosts[6]−OperationalEBITDA(OEBITDA)rose3148.4 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 52.1millioncomparedto52.1 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 93.5million,withnetdebtof93.5 million, with net debt of 1.7 billion [10] - In Q4 2024, the company repurchased 4.1 million shares for 121.9million,withanadditional121.9 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 490millionand490 million and 500 million, up from $470.6 million in 2024 [11]