For the quarter ended March 2026, Iridium Communications (IRDM Quick QuoteIRDM - Free Report) reported revenue of $219.06 million, up 1.9% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.20, compared to $0.27 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $220.18 million, representing a surprise of -0.51%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -26.15%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.27.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Iridium performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• ARPU - Commercial - IoT data: $7.63 versus $7.74 estimated by four analysts on average.
• Total Billable Subscribers: 2.56 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of 2.54 million.
• Billable Subscribers - Total commercial voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service: 2.43 million compared to the 2.42 million average estimate based on four analysts.
• Billable Subscribers - Total government voice and data and IoT data service: 121 thousand versus the four-analyst average estimate of 119.71 thousand.
• Revenue- Subscriber equipment: $20.22 million versus $22.47 million estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -12.6% change.
• Revenue- Service: $158.03 million versus $158.42 million estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.4% change.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service: $40.81 million compared to the $39.17 million average estimate based on six analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8.9% year over year.
• Revenue- Service- Commercial service revenue: $130.4 million versus $131.67 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.2% change.
• Revenue- Service- Government service revenue: $27.63 million compared to the $27.24 million average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.3% year over year.
• Revenue- Service- Commercial service revenue- Hosted payload and other data service: $14.78 million compared to the $15.2 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -0.6% year over year.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service- Government: $39.47 million compared to the $37.17 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10.2% year over year.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service- Commercial: $1.34 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $2.66 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -18%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Iridium here>>>

Shares of Iridium have returned +36.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +9.7% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.