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

NOVANTA INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($258.3M vs $219.1M, roughly 1.2× Iridium Communications Inc.). Iridium Communications Inc. runs the higher net margin — 9.9% vs 6.8%, a 3.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, NOVANTA INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.5% vs 1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, NOVANTA INC's revenue compounded faster (5.8% 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...

Novanta Inc is a global technology supplier delivering high-precision photonics, motion control, and machine vision solutions. It serves core segments including medical equipment manufacturing, advanced industrial automation, robotics, and life sciences, helping customers boost product performance and drive innovation worldwide.

IRDM vs NOVT — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
NOVT
NOVT
1.2× larger
NOVT
$258.3M
$219.1M
IRDM
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
NOVT
NOVT
+6.6% gap
NOVT
8.5%
1.9%
IRDM
Higher net margin
IRDM
IRDM
3.1% more per $
IRDM
9.9%
6.8%
NOVT
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
NOVT
NOVT
Annualised
NOVT
5.8%
4.4%
IRDM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Revenue
$219.1M
$258.3M
Net Profit
$21.6M
$17.5M
Gross Margin
43.8%
Operating Margin
23.2%
9.6%
Net Margin
9.9%
6.8%
Revenue YoY
1.9%
8.5%
Net Profit YoY
6.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.46

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
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
$219.1M
Q4 25
$212.9M
$258.3M
Q3 25
$226.9M
$247.8M
Q2 25
$216.9M
$241.0M
Q1 25
$214.9M
$233.4M
Q4 24
$213.0M
$238.1M
Q3 24
$212.8M
$244.4M
Q2 24
$201.1M
$235.9M
Net Profit
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
$21.6M
Q4 25
$24.9M
$17.5M
Q3 25
$37.1M
$10.7M
Q2 25
$22.0M
$4.5M
Q1 25
$30.4M
$21.2M
Q4 24
$36.3M
$16.5M
Q3 24
$24.4M
$19.2M
Q2 24
$32.3M
$13.8M
Gross Margin
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
43.8%
Q3 25
44.8%
Q2 25
44.3%
Q1 25
44.7%
Q4 24
45.5%
Q3 24
44.7%
Q2 24
44.0%
Operating Margin
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
23.2%
Q4 25
25.9%
9.6%
Q3 25
30.9%
8.8%
Q2 25
23.2%
6.2%
Q1 25
28.1%
13.9%
Q4 24
24.5%
11.2%
Q3 24
25.8%
13.3%
Q2 24
21.7%
10.9%
Net Margin
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
9.9%
Q4 25
11.7%
6.8%
Q3 25
16.4%
4.3%
Q2 25
10.1%
1.9%
Q1 25
14.2%
9.1%
Q4 24
17.1%
6.9%
Q3 24
11.5%
7.9%
Q2 24
16.1%
5.8%
EPS (diluted)
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$0.24
$0.46
Q3 25
$0.35
$0.30
Q2 25
$0.20
$0.12
Q1 25
$0.27
$0.59
Q4 24
$0.30
$0.45
Q3 24
$0.21
$0.53
Q2 24
$0.27
$0.38

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$380.9M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.3B
Total Assets
$1.8B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$96.5M
$380.9M
Q3 25
$88.5M
$89.2M
Q2 25
$79.3M
$109.9M
Q1 25
$50.9M
$106.0M
Q4 24
$93.5M
$114.0M
Q3 24
$159.6M
$92.7M
Q2 24
$63.5M
$98.5M
Total Debt
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.8B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$1.8B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$462.6M
$1.3B
Q3 25
$450.5M
$801.5M
Q2 25
$473.6M
$801.4M
Q1 25
$518.4M
$769.8M
Q4 24
$576.6M
$745.7M
Q3 24
$663.8M
$742.2M
Q2 24
$786.7M
$702.0M
Total Assets
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$2.5B
$1.8B
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
$1.4B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$1.4B
Debt / Equity
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
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
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$8.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$5.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
2.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
13.7%
1.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.50×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$48.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$108.6M
$8.8M
Q3 25
$100.8M
$8.5M
Q2 25
$129.6M
$15.1M
Q1 25
$61.1M
$31.7M
Q4 24
$104.8M
$61.6M
Q3 24
$118.6M
$23.0M
Q2 24
$81.1M
$41.1M
Free Cash Flow
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
$75.1M
$5.1M
Q3 25
$79.2M
$4.2M
Q2 25
$108.9M
$11.7M
Q1 25
$36.5M
$27.4M
Q4 24
$80.5M
$59.3M
Q3 24
$100.0M
$19.5M
Q2 24
$68.7M
$36.2M
FCF Margin
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
35.3%
2.0%
Q3 25
34.9%
1.7%
Q2 25
50.2%
4.8%
Q1 25
17.0%
11.7%
Q4 24
37.8%
24.9%
Q3 24
47.0%
8.0%
Q2 24
34.2%
15.3%
Capex Intensity
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
13.7%
Q4 25
15.7%
1.4%
Q3 25
9.5%
1.7%
Q2 25
9.5%
1.4%
Q1 25
11.4%
1.8%
Q4 24
11.4%
0.9%
Q3 24
8.7%
1.5%
Q2 24
6.2%
2.1%
Cash Conversion
IRDM
IRDM
NOVT
NOVT
Q1 26
Q4 25
4.37×
0.50×
Q3 25
2.71×
0.80×
Q2 25
5.90×
3.35×
Q1 25
2.01×
1.49×
Q4 24
2.88×
3.74×
Q3 24
4.85×
1.20×
Q2 24
2.51×
2.99×

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%

NOVT
NOVT

Segment breakdown not available.

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