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Side-by-side financial comparison of Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) and KADANT INC (KAI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

KADANT INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($271.6M vs $219.1M, roughly 1.2× Iridium Communications Inc.). KADANT INC runs the higher net margin — 10.2% vs 9.9%, a 0.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Iridium Communications Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.9% vs -0.0%). Over the past eight quarters, KADANT INC's revenue compounded faster (6.7% CAGR vs 4.4%).

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...

Kadant Inc. is a company that was established in 1991, as a partly privately owned subsidiary of Thermo Electron, and partly publicly traded company, and was fully spun out and renamed Kadant in 2001. The company supports papermaking, paper recycling, wood processing, material handling, and other processing industries. Kadant is a multi-national corporation with operations in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

IRDM vs KAI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
KAI
KAI
1.2× larger
KAI
$271.6M
$219.1M
IRDM
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
IRDM
IRDM
+2.0% gap
IRDM
1.9%
-0.0%
KAI
Higher net margin
KAI
KAI
0.4% more per $
KAI
10.2%
9.9%
IRDM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
KAI
KAI
Annualised
KAI
6.7%
4.4%
IRDM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Revenue
$219.1M
$271.6M
Net Profit
$21.6M
$27.7M
Gross Margin
45.2%
Operating Margin
23.2%
15.7%
Net Margin
9.9%
10.2%
Revenue YoY
1.9%
-0.0%
Net Profit YoY
-12.2%
EPS (diluted)
$2.35

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
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
$219.1M
Q4 25
$212.9M
Q3 25
$226.9M
$271.6M
Q2 25
$216.9M
$255.3M
Q1 25
$214.9M
$239.2M
Q4 24
$213.0M
$258.0M
Q3 24
$212.8M
$271.6M
Q2 24
$201.1M
$274.8M
Net Profit
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
$21.6M
Q4 25
$24.9M
Q3 25
$37.1M
$27.7M
Q2 25
$22.0M
$26.2M
Q1 25
$30.4M
$24.1M
Q4 24
$36.3M
$24.0M
Q3 24
$24.4M
$31.6M
Q2 24
$32.3M
$31.3M
Gross Margin
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
45.2%
Q2 25
45.9%
Q1 25
46.1%
Q4 24
43.4%
Q3 24
44.7%
Q2 24
44.4%
Operating Margin
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
23.2%
Q4 25
25.9%
Q3 25
30.9%
15.7%
Q2 25
23.2%
15.4%
Q1 25
28.1%
14.9%
Q4 24
24.5%
14.3%
Q3 24
25.8%
18.0%
Q2 24
21.7%
17.6%
Net Margin
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
9.9%
Q4 25
11.7%
Q3 25
16.4%
10.2%
Q2 25
10.1%
10.2%
Q1 25
14.2%
10.1%
Q4 24
17.1%
9.3%
Q3 24
11.5%
11.6%
Q2 24
16.1%
11.4%
EPS (diluted)
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.24
Q3 25
$0.35
$2.35
Q2 25
$0.20
$2.22
Q1 25
$0.27
$2.04
Q4 24
$0.30
$2.04
Q3 24
$0.21
$2.68
Q2 24
$0.27
$2.66

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$124.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$254.6M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$949.8M
Total Assets
$1.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.27×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$96.5M
Q3 25
$88.5M
$124.5M
Q2 25
$79.3M
$95.3M
Q1 25
$50.9M
$91.7M
Q4 24
$93.5M
$94.7M
Q3 24
$159.6M
$88.4M
Q2 24
$63.5M
$73.8M
Total Debt
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.8B
Q3 25
$254.6M
Q2 25
$245.7M
Q1 25
$273.5M
Q4 24
$1.8B
$285.2M
Q3 24
$323.2M
Q2 24
$342.0M
Stockholders' Equity
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$462.6M
Q3 25
$450.5M
$949.8M
Q2 25
$473.6M
$926.0M
Q1 25
$518.4M
$876.0M
Q4 24
$576.6M
$847.1M
Q3 24
$663.8M
$851.7M
Q2 24
$786.7M
$807.7M
Total Assets
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.5B
Q3 25
$2.6B
$1.5B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$1.5B
Q1 25
$2.6B
$1.4B
Q4 24
$2.7B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$2.8B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$1.5B
Debt / Equity
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.80×
Q3 25
0.27×
Q2 25
0.27×
Q1 25
0.31×
Q4 24
3.05×
0.34×
Q3 24
0.38×
Q2 24
0.42×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$47.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$44.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
13.7%
1.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.70×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$145.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$108.6M
Q3 25
$100.8M
$47.3M
Q2 25
$129.6M
$40.5M
Q1 25
$61.1M
$22.8M
Q4 24
$104.8M
$51.9M
Q3 24
$118.6M
$52.5M
Q2 24
$81.1M
$28.1M
Free Cash Flow
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
$75.1M
Q3 25
$79.2M
$44.1M
Q2 25
$108.9M
$36.5M
Q1 25
$36.5M
$19.0M
Q4 24
$80.5M
$46.3M
Q3 24
$100.0M
$48.3M
Q2 24
$68.7M
$23.1M
FCF Margin
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
35.3%
Q3 25
34.9%
16.2%
Q2 25
50.2%
14.3%
Q1 25
17.0%
7.9%
Q4 24
37.8%
17.9%
Q3 24
47.0%
17.8%
Q2 24
34.2%
8.4%
Capex Intensity
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
13.7%
Q4 25
15.7%
Q3 25
9.5%
1.2%
Q2 25
9.5%
1.6%
Q1 25
11.4%
1.6%
Q4 24
11.4%
2.2%
Q3 24
8.7%
1.5%
Q2 24
6.2%
1.8%
Cash Conversion
IRDM
IRDM
KAI
KAI
Q1 26
Q4 25
4.37×
Q3 25
2.71×
1.70×
Q2 25
5.90×
1.55×
Q1 25
2.01×
0.95×
Q4 24
2.88×
2.16×
Q3 24
4.85×
1.66×
Q2 24
2.51×
0.90×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

IRDM
IRDM

Voice and data$57.4M26%
IoT data (2)$46.0M21%
Government$39.5M18%
Government service revenue (5)$27.6M13%
Subscriber equipment$20.2M9%
Hosted payload and other data service (4)$14.8M7%
Broadband (3)$12.2M6%
Commercial$1.3M1%

KAI
KAI

Flow Control$94.8M35%
Capital$83.2M31%
Material Handling Systems$70.3M26%
Transferred Over Time$17.1M6%
Other$6.1M2%

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