IRDM
Iridium Communications Inc.
IRDM offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over IRDM overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
IRDM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
IRDM's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
IRDM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 24x | $36.38 | -21% |
| Current | 31x | $46.12 | — |
| Fair | 40x | $60.39 | +31% |
| Forward | 68x | $46.12 | — |
| Expensive | 489x | $738 | +1501% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IRDM's PE is in its fair range at 31x. Analysts expect earnings to fall, which would put today's price at 68x next year's earnings.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ has the edge over IRDM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
IRDM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong decline | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect IRDM's revenue to grow, but its earnings and profitability to decline. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
IRDM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.68 | -55% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.51 | +35% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.88 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.99 | -5.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.06 | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.12 | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.98 | +38% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.05 | +425% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.94 | +683% |
IRDM has the edge over VZ on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $3.93 over the past year, against $5.34 in late 2021.
IRDM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $245.7M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $225.2M | +3.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $219.1M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $212.9M | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $226.9M | +6.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $216.9M | +7.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $214.9M | +5.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $213M | +9.4% |
IRDM has the edge over VZ on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | -18 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | -8.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 23% | -5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 26% | +1.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 31% | +5.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +3.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | +0.7 points |
IRDM's operating margin was 13% last quarter, down 18 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IRDM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $68.5M | -14% |
| Q2 2026 | $92.3M | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | $41.7M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $75.1M | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $79.2M | -21% |
| Q2 2025 | $108.9M | +59% |
| Q1 2025 | $36.5M | -36% |
| Q4 2024 | $80.5M | +12% |
IRDM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $278M over the past year, down 9.1% from the year before.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
IRDM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +458K shares |
| 1 year | +2.3% | +2.5M shares |
| 3 years | -13% | -16.3M shares |
| 5 years | -18% | -23.9M shares |
| Available history | -13% | -16.2M shares |
IRDM has 109M diluted shares, up 2.3% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $30,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $50.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $65.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $70.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $123.1M |
IRDM has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
IRDM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.6x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.8x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.7x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.2x | High |
IRDM's net debt is about 5.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.9 years a year ago.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
IRDM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 34.5 | Neutral |
IRDM's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
IRDM PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | IRDM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 16x | 85% above |
| PE % | 33 | 26 | 7 pts above |
IRDM is trading at 31x earnings, a 85% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on valuation relative to its sector.
IRDM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $46.1 | 0.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $47.5 | 2.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $37.3 | 24% above |
| 100 week MA | $31.2 | 48% above |
| 200 week MA | $36.2 | 27% above |
IRDM's trend is mixed: it's above four of its five weekly moving averages, and 27% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over IRDM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IRDM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $25.1 | $39.1 | +55% |
| 2021 | $39.1 | $42.3 | +8.3% |
| 2022 | $42.3 | $50.6 | +20% |
| 2023 | $50.6 | $41.2 | -19% |
| 2024 | $41.2 | $29.1 | -29% |
| 2025 | $29.1 | $17.2 | -41% |
| 2026 YTD | $17.2 | $46.1 | +168% |
IRDM has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.