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Side-by-side financial comparison of Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) and Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Iridium Communications Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($219.1M vs $179.7M, roughly 1.2× Rocket Lab Corp). Iridium Communications Inc. runs the higher net margin — 9.9% vs -29.5%, a 39.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Rocket Lab Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (35.7% vs 1.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Rocket Lab Corp's revenue compounded faster (39.2% 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...
Rocket Lab Corporation is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. Its Electron orbital rocket launches small satellites and has successfully completed over 75 missions as of January 2026, making it the most prolific small-lift launch vehicle in operation globally. A suborbital variant of Electron, called HASTE, was developed as a testbed to advance hypersonic technology development, while the next-generation reusable Neutron medium-lift launch vehicle is in devel...
IRDM vs RKLB — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $219.1M | $179.7M |
| Net Profit | $21.6M | $-52.9M |
| Gross Margin | — | 38.0% |
| Operating Margin | 23.2% | -28.4% |
| Net Margin | 9.9% | -29.5% |
| Revenue YoY | 1.9% | 35.7% |
| Net Profit YoY | -29.0% | -1.1% |
| EPS (diluted) | — | $-0.09 |
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.
| Q1 26 | $219.1M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $212.9M | $179.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $226.9M | $155.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $216.9M | $144.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $214.9M | $122.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $213.0M | $132.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $212.8M | $104.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $201.1M | $106.3M |
| Q1 26 | $21.6M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $24.9M | $-52.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $37.1M | $-18.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $22.0M | $-66.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $30.4M | $-60.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $36.3M | $-52.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $24.4M | $-51.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $32.3M | $-41.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | 38.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 37.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 32.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 28.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 27.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 26.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 25.6% |
| Q1 26 | 23.2% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 25.9% | -28.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 30.9% | -38.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 23.2% | -41.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 28.1% | -48.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 24.5% | -38.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 25.8% | -49.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.7% | -40.7% |
| Q1 26 | 9.9% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 11.7% | -29.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 16.4% | -11.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 10.1% | -46.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.2% | -49.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 17.1% | -39.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.5% | -49.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 16.1% | -39.2% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.24 | $-0.09 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.35 | $-0.03 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.20 | $-0.13 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.27 | $-0.12 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.30 | $-0.11 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.21 | $-0.10 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.27 | $-0.08 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | — | $1.0B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $152.4M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | — | $1.7B |
| Total Assets | — | $2.3B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.09× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $96.5M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $88.5M | $976.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $79.3M | $688.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $50.9M | $428.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.5M | $419.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $159.6M | $442.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $63.5M | $496.8M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.8B | $152.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $347.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $346.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $345.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $345.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $61.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $64.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $462.6M | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $450.5M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $473.6M | $688.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $518.4M | $431.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $576.6M | $382.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $663.8M | $419.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $786.7M | $455.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.5B | $2.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.6B | $1.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.6B | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.7B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.8B | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.7B | $1.2B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 3.80× | 0.09× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.50× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 0.80× | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.05× | 0.90× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.15× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.14× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $-64.5M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $-114.2M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | -63.6% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 13.7% | 27.6% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $-321.8M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $108.6M | $-64.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $100.8M | $-23.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $129.6M | $-23.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $61.1M | $-54.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $104.8M | $-2.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $118.6M | $-30.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $81.1M | $-13.0M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $75.1M | $-114.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $79.2M | $-69.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $108.9M | $-55.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $36.5M | $-82.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $80.5M | $-23.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $100.0M | $-41.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $68.7M | $-28.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 35.3% | -63.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 34.9% | -44.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 50.2% | -38.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 17.0% | -67.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 37.8% | -18.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 47.0% | -40.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 34.2% | -26.7% |
| Q1 26 | 13.7% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 15.7% | 27.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 9.5% | 29.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 9.5% | 22.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 11.4% | 23.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 11.4% | 16.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 8.7% | 10.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 6.2% | 14.4% |
| 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
IRDM
| Voice and data | $57.4M | 26% |
| IoT data (2) | $43.9M | 20% |
| Government | $35.8M | 16% |
| Government service revenue (5) | $26.8M | 12% |
| Subscriber equipment | $23.1M | 11% |
| Hosted payload and other data service (4) | $14.9M | 7% |
| Broadband (3) | $12.9M | 6% |
| Commercial | $1.6M | 1% |
RKLB
| Products | $94.0M | 52% |
| Transferred Over Time | $87.3M | 49% |
