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Side-by-side financial comparison of Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Strategic Education, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($305.9M vs $219.1M, roughly 1.4× Iridium Communications Inc.). Strategic Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 10.7% vs 9.9%, a 0.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Iridium Communications Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.9% vs 0.8%). Over the past eight quarters, Iridium Communications Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (4.4% CAGR vs -1.0%).
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...
Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.
IRDM vs STRA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $219.1M | $305.9M |
| Net Profit | $21.6M | $32.8M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 23.2% | 13.4% |
| Net Margin | 9.9% | 10.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 1.9% | 0.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | — | 10.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | — | $1.48 |
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 | $305.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $212.9M | $323.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $226.9M | $319.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $216.9M | $321.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $214.9M | $303.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $213.0M | $311.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $212.8M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $201.1M | $312.3M |
| Q1 26 | $21.6M | $32.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $24.9M | $37.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $37.1M | $26.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $22.0M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $30.4M | $29.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $36.3M | $25.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $24.4M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $32.3M | $29.9M |
| Q1 26 | 23.2% | 13.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 25.9% | 16.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 30.9% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 23.2% | 14.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 28.1% | 13.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 24.5% | 11.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 25.8% | 11.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.7% | 13.4% |
| Q1 26 | 9.9% | 10.7% | ||
| Q4 25 | 11.7% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 16.4% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 10.1% | 10.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.2% | 9.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 17.1% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.5% | 9.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 16.1% | 9.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.48 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.24 | $1.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.35 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.20 | $1.37 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.27 | $1.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.30 | $1.05 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.21 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.27 | $1.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | — | $150.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | — | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | — | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $150.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $96.5M | $148.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $88.5M | $172.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $79.3M | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $50.9M | $182.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $93.5M | $184.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $159.6M | $222.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $63.5M | $256.2M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.8B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $462.6M | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $450.5M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $473.6M | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $518.4M | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $576.6M | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $663.8M | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $786.7M | $1.7B |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.5B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.6B | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.6B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.7B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.8B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.7B | $2.2B |
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $87.4M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $77.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 25.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 13.7% | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 2.66× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $173.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $87.4M | ||
| Q4 25 | $108.6M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $100.8M | $60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $129.6M | $31.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $61.1M | $67.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $104.8M | $15.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $118.6M | $51.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $81.1M | $24.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $77.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $75.1M | $27.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $79.2M | $49.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $108.9M | $20.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $36.5M | $57.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $80.5M | $4.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $100.0M | $42.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $68.7M | $13.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | 25.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 35.3% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 34.9% | 15.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 50.2% | 6.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 17.0% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 37.8% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 47.0% | 13.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 34.2% | 4.3% |
| Q1 26 | 13.7% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 15.7% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 9.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 9.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 11.4% | 3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 11.4% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 8.7% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 6.2% | 3.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.66× | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.37× | 1.03× | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.71× | 2.26× | ||
| Q2 25 | 5.90× | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.01× | 2.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.88× | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.85× | 1.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.51× | 0.81× |
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) | $46.0M | 21% |
| Government | $39.5M | 18% |
| Government service revenue (5) | $27.6M | 13% |
| Subscriber equipment | $20.2M | 9% |
| Hosted payload and other data service (4) | $14.8M | 7% |
| Broadband (3) | $12.2M | 6% |
| Commercial | $1.3M | 1% |
STRA
| U.S. Higher Education | $212.6M | 69% |
| Australia/New Zealand | $51.8M | 17% |
| Education Technology Services | $41.5M | 14% |
