Iridium Communications IRDM is slated to release second-quarter 2024 results on Jul 23.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at 19 cents, unchanged in the past 30 days. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported a loss of 24 cents. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $201.1 million, which indicates an improvement of 4.1% from the year-ago levels.
IRDM’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the trailing four quarters while missing in two quarters. It matched the estimate in the remaining quarter with the average earnings surprise being a negative 33.3%.
Iridium Communications Inc Price and EPS Surprise
Iridium Communications Inc price-eps-surprise | Iridium Communications Inc Quote
Factors at Play
Iridium’s second-quarter performance is likely to have gained momentum in the Service segment’s revenues and increasing subscriber base. Service revenues contributed 73% to total revenues in the first quarter. Our estimate for segmental revenues is pegged at $153.9 million, implying a jump of 6.1% from a year ago.
Service revenues are gaining from strength in commercial service revenues. Commercial service revenues are likely to have been aided by strength in voice and data, IoT data, broadband, hosted payload and other data service business lines.
Hosted payload and other revenue lines business is also expected to have benefited from its Iridium Satellite Time and Location (STL) offering. In commercial IoT, steady demand for personal satellite communications is expected to have driven the top-line performance.
We estimate commercial service revenues to be $127.4 million, indicating a 7.4% climb from the prior-year actuals.
Higher Engineering and Support revenues (due to a rise in activity with the U.S. government, especially the ongoing work on the Space Development Agency contract) bode well. Our estimate for quarterly revenues from the Engineering and Support segment is pegged at $23.8 million, which is up 15.8% from the year-earlier levels.
Management expects demand for satellite handsets and other Iridium hardware to decline to normalized levels going ahead. This is likely to have hurt the Subscriber Equipment segment’s performance. Our estimate for quarterly revenues from the Subscriber Equipment segment is pegged at $21.2 million, indicating a 22.6% decline from a year ago.
Global macroeconomic weakness and inflation remain concerning. Increasing competition in the satellite communications space and highers research and development costs are other headwinds.
Recent Developments
On Jun 20, 2024, Iridium announced an expansion of its STL service, a premium alternative positioning, navigation and timing solution to address the growing commercial demand in Europe and the Asia Pacific. The service is likely to enhance the reliability and resiliency of GNSS systems, including GPS and Galileo, from the risks of spoofing and jamming.
On Jun 4, 2024, Iridium signed a five-year contract with the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office. The multi-faceted contract is for Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services functionalities and security sustainment services, supporting vital applications of the U.S. government. The deal is valued at nearly $94 million with a potential total value of $103 million, highlighted IRDM. The increase in potential total deal value is dependent on the surge of requirements in the future.
What Our Model Says
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Iridium this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, this is not the case here.
Earnings ESP: Iridium has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Iridium currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some stocks you may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.
Philip Morris International Inc. PM has an Earnings ESP of +1.42% and currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. PM is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Jul 23. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PM’s to-be-reported quarter’s EPS and revenues is pegged at $1.55 and $9.13 billion, respectively. Shares of PM have gained 9.6% in the past year.
Badger Meter BMI has an Earnings ESP of +1.18% and presently sports a Zacks Rank #2. BMI is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Jul 19.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMI’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at 98 cents per share and $200.9 million, respectively. Shares of BMI have risen 35.1% in the past year.
Packaging Corporation of America PKG has an Earnings ESP of +0.66% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. PKG is set to report quarterly figures on Jul 23.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PKG’s to-be-reported quarter’s EPS and revenues is pegged at $2.12 and $2.01 billion, respectively. Shares of PKG have surged 41% in the past year.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
