Iridium Communications reported a 7 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to $226.9 million for the third quarter of 2025, reflecting continued growth in recurring service revenue and strong operational execution across its government and commercial businesses.
In its earnings release published Thursday, the McLean, Virginia-based satellite communications company said Q3 operational EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, reached $136.6 million, up 10 percent from the prior-year period.
Iridium recorded $165.2 million in service revenue, representing 73 percent of total revenue and a 3 percent increase from Q3 2024.
The company said it ended the quarter with 2.54 million total billable subscribers, up 2 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by growth in commercial Internet of Things services.
“We continue to execute with discipline, focusing efforts on growth markets where our unique network delivers a competitive advantage, specifically in government, regulated industries, and critical infrastructure,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. “We expect our investments in support of services for these strategic areas to drive resilient financial results as we continue to innovate and focus on long-term value creation.”
On Sept. 30, Iridium paid its Q3 dividend of $0.15 per common share, representing a full-year dividend increase of 5 percent.
“Our continued strong cash flow supported the increase in our quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 5% increase for the full year. Going forward, we plan to continue growing our annual dividend and bolstering our cash position to enhance strategic flexibility,” Desch added.
Iridium US Government Segment’s Q3 2025 Results
Iridium’s U.S. government service revenue grew 1 percent to $26.9 million, reflecting contractual rate increases under the company’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services, or EMSS, contract with the U.S. Space Force.
The EMSS agreement, valued at $738.5 million over seven years, provides fixed-price satellite airtime for the Department of Defense and other federal government users. Under the terms of the contract, Iridium’s fixed-price rate increased to $110.5 million for the contract year beginning Sept. 15.
“We continue to discuss our EMSS contract renewal with the U.S. government and expect a positive and productive outcome in the next year as the government continues to rely more heavily on commercial satellite services like ours,” Desch told analysts during an earnings call Thursday.
The company ended the third quarter with 124,000 government subscribers, compared to 141,000 during the same period in 2024. Government IoT data users represented 64 percent of that total as of Sept. 30.
Desch on Iridium’s Position to Support Golden Dome Through SDA Work
During the call, Desch said Iridium’s work with the Space Development Agency is an important connection with the U.S. government. He noted that building the ground entry points and operations centers for SDA’s new network has given the company strong visibility into the Golden Dome next-generation missile defense shield initiative and credibility to support future government needs.
“We are well positioned to expand the scope of our work with the government going forward as they invest heavily in Golden Dome. These are just a few areas for which we believe disciplined capital deployment can provide continued strong revenue and bottom line growth and we look forward to being able to share additional details as we execute on our vision,” the chief executive added.
