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Iridium Communications Inc. key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, Iridium Communications Inc. had return on equity of 22.0% and a net margin of 13.1%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2009Dec 20092010Dec 20102011Dec 20112012Dec 20122013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMSept 2026
Net margin−55.6%5.7%10.7%16.9%16.3%18.4%1.7%25.6%52.2%−2.6%−28.9%−9.6%−1.5%1.2%1.9%13.6%13.1%18.1%
Return on equity−6.7%3.1%6.0%8.2%6.9%6.9%0.6%8.6%15.9%−0.8%−10.6%−3.9%−0.7%0.7%1.5%15.4%22.0%31.4%
Return on assets—1.9%3.4%3.9%3.0%2.9%0.2%3.4%6.4%−0.3%−4.2%−1.6%−0.3%0.3%0.5%4.2%4.4%5.8%
Effective tax rate—42.4%37.4%32.0%43.4%35.6%90.3%37.7%—————2.8%—11.2%19.1%26.3%
R&D as % of revenue7.9%5.5%4.9%4.0%2.9%4.3%3.9%3.7%3.4%4.3%2.6%2.1%1.9%2.2%2.6%3.4%2.3%2.4%
SG&A as % of revenue22.4%19.2%17.1%17.6%19.7%19.2%19.8%19.0%18.8%18.7%16.6%15.4%16.4%17.1%18.2%20.2%18.1%25.4%
Dividends ÷ net income—0.0%0.0%2.2%11.2%————————0.0%420.2%57.4%55.0%39.8%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

0 of 2 checks passed · September 30, 2026
What it owns · $3.1bn
Short-term assets $307mLonger-term assets $2.8bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $3.1bn
Short-term liabilities $337mLonger-term liabilities $2.2bnShareholders' equity $577m
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $307m of assets due within a year against $337m of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $307m short-term assets against $2.2bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt Cash or debt not separately reported. Not assessable.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Equity or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Five-year comparison not available. Not assessable.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt Cash flow or debt not reported. Not assessable.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Iridium Communications Inc.'s latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

38 /100

Weak moat

How hard Iridium Communications's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 0 / 20

    Net income has been a median 1.6% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Durability 1 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 6.8%; its worst year was 0.2%.

  • Cash conversion 17 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 7 of 10 years, at a median 31.9% of revenue.

  • Discipline 16 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 20.0% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 5.1% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (43 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: CCOI vs IRDMGSAT vs IRDMIRDM vs UCL

More: Alternative Carriers stocks compared, Communication Services sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Iridium Communications Inc.'s SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 21, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Iridium Communications Inc.