vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) and Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Iridium Communications Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($219.1M vs $54.3M, roughly 4.0× AST SpaceMobile, Inc.). Iridium Communications Inc. runs the higher net margin — 9.9% vs -136.2%, a 146.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (2758.2% vs 1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, AST SpaceMobile, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (942.2% CAGR vs 4.4%).

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. is a publicly traded satellite designer and manufacturer based in Midland, Texas, United States. The company is building the SpaceMobile satellite constellation, a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly to standard, unmodified smartphones. The network is intended to deliver 4G and 5G broadband coverage globally, particularly in remote and underserved regions.

Iridium Communications Inc. is a publicly traded American company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States. Iridium operates the Iridium satellite constellation, a system of 80 satellites: 66 are active satellites and the remaining fourteen function as in-orbit spares. Iridium Satellites are used for worldwide voice and data communication from handheld satellite phones, satellite messenger communication devices and integrated transceivers, as well as for two-way satellite messaging se...

ASTS vs IRDM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
IRDM
IRDM
4.0× larger
IRDM
$219.1M
$54.3M
ASTS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ASTS
ASTS
+2756.2% gap
ASTS
2758.2%
1.9%
IRDM
Higher net margin
IRDM
IRDM
146.1% more per $
IRDM
9.9%
-136.2%
ASTS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ASTS
ASTS
Annualised
ASTS
942.2%
4.4%
IRDM

Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q1 2026

Metric
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Revenue
$54.3M
$219.1M
Net Profit
$-74.0M
$21.6M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-175.0%
23.2%
Net Margin
-136.2%
9.9%
Revenue YoY
2758.2%
1.9%
Net Profit YoY
-106.3%
-29.0%
EPS (diluted)

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
$219.1M
Q4 25
$54.3M
$212.9M
Q3 25
$14.7M
$226.9M
Q2 25
$1.2M
$216.9M
Q1 25
$718.0K
$214.9M
Q4 24
$1.9M
$213.0M
Q3 24
$1.1M
$212.8M
Q2 24
$900.0K
$201.1M
Net Profit
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
$21.6M
Q4 25
$-74.0M
$24.9M
Q3 25
$-122.9M
$37.1M
Q2 25
$-99.4M
$22.0M
Q1 25
$-45.7M
$30.4M
Q4 24
$-35.9M
$36.3M
Q3 24
$-171.9M
$24.4M
Q2 24
$-72.5M
$32.3M
Operating Margin
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
23.2%
Q4 25
-175.0%
25.9%
Q3 25
-1109.0%
30.9%
Q2 25
-11692.1%
23.2%
Q1 25
-8838.4%
28.1%
Q4 24
-2733.6%
24.5%
Q3 24
-27494.0%
25.8%
Q2 24
-14568.8%
21.7%
Net Margin
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
9.9%
Q4 25
-136.2%
11.7%
Q3 25
-833.7%
16.4%
Q2 25
-8598.1%
10.1%
Q1 25
-6365.7%
14.2%
Q4 24
-1887.2%
17.1%
Q3 24
-15631.5%
11.5%
Q2 24
-8061.1%
16.1%
EPS (diluted)
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.24
Q3 25
$0.35
Q2 25
$0.20
Q1 25
$0.27
Q4 24
$0.30
Q3 24
$0.21
Q2 24
$0.27

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$4.3B
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.4B
Total Assets
$5.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$4.3B
$96.5M
Q3 25
$2.4B
$88.5M
Q2 25
$1.7B
$79.3M
Q1 25
$1.7B
$50.9M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$93.5M
Q3 24
$946.7M
$159.6M
Q2 24
$544.5M
$63.5M
Total Debt
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.8B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$1.8B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.4B
$462.6M
Q3 25
$1.6B
$450.5M
Q2 25
$1.2B
$473.6M
Q1 25
$766.7M
$518.4M
Q4 24
$669.1M
$576.6M
Q3 24
$502.8M
$663.8M
Q2 24
$241.9M
$786.7M
Total Assets
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$5.0B
$2.5B
Q3 25
$2.6B
$2.6B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$2.6B
Q1 25
$1.4B
$2.6B
Q4 24
$954.6M
$2.7B
Q3 24
$821.6M
$2.8B
Q2 24
$579.6M
$2.7B
Debt / Equity
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.80×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
3.05×
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$65.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-330.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-609.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
728.7%
13.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-1.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$65.0M
$108.6M
Q3 25
$-64.5M
$100.8M
Q2 25
$-43.5M
$129.6M
Q1 25
$-28.5M
$61.1M
Q4 24
$-28.4M
$104.8M
Q3 24
$-33.4M
$118.6M
Q2 24
$-16.2M
$81.1M
Free Cash Flow
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-330.7M
$75.1M
Q3 25
$-302.9M
$79.2M
Q2 25
$-353.6M
$108.9M
Q1 25
$-149.0M
$36.5M
Q4 24
$-110.5M
$80.5M
Q3 24
$-63.8M
$100.0M
Q2 24
$-38.4M
$68.7M
FCF Margin
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
-609.0%
35.3%
Q3 25
-2055.0%
34.9%
Q2 25
-30592.0%
50.2%
Q1 25
-20752.4%
17.0%
Q4 24
-5814.3%
37.8%
Q3 24
-5795.8%
47.0%
Q2 24
-4261.6%
34.2%
Capex Intensity
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
13.7%
Q4 25
728.7%
15.7%
Q3 25
1617.6%
9.5%
Q2 25
26831.0%
9.5%
Q1 25
16776.6%
11.4%
Q4 24
4317.5%
11.4%
Q3 24
2756.8%
8.7%
Q2 24
2466.9%
6.2%
Cash Conversion
ASTS
ASTS
IRDM
IRDM
Q1 26
Q4 25
4.37×
Q3 25
2.71×
Q2 25
5.90×
Q1 25
2.01×
Q4 24
2.88×
Q3 24
4.85×
Q2 24
2.51×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ASTS
ASTS

Products$44.4M82%
Other$7.8M14%
Sat Co$2.1M4%

IRDM
IRDM

Voice and data$57.4M26%
IoT data (2)$43.9M20%
Government$35.8M16%
Government service revenue (5)$26.8M12%
Subscriber equipment$23.1M11%
Hosted payload and other data service (4)$14.9M7%
Broadband (3)$12.9M6%
Commercial$1.6M1%

Related Comparisons