For the quarter ended September 2024, Iridium Communications (IRDM) reported revenue of $212.77 million, up 7.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.21, compared to -$0.01 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.45% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $205.68 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.20, the EPS surprise was +5.00%.

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 - Voice and data: $46 versus the three-analyst average estimate of $46.31.
• ARPU - Commercial - IoT data: $7.79 compared to the $7.56 average estimate based on three analysts.
• ARPU - Commercial - Broadband: $309 versus $280.57 estimated by three analysts on average.
• Total Net billable Subscriber Additions: 69 thousand versus the three-analyst average estimate of 99.82 thousand.
• Revenue- Subscriber equipment: $22.17 million versus $22.54 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +8.6% change.
• Revenue- Service: $159.86 million compared to the $157.10 million average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +5.2% year over year.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service: $30.75 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $25.96 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +21.9%.
• Service Revenue- Commercial: $133.31 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $130.46 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +6.3%.
• Service Revenue- Government: $26.55 million versus $26.51 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +0.2% change.
• Service revenue- Commercial service revenue- Hosted payload and other data service: $16.37 million compared to the $14.67 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +9% year over year.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service- Government: $29.02 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $25.98 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +24.3%.
• Revenue- Engineering and support service- Commercial: $1.73 million versus $1.54 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -8% change.

View all Key Company Metrics for Iridium here>>>

Shares of Iridium have returned +10.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

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