IRDM vs ECHO vs ASTS Stock Comparison

Iridium Communications, EchoStar and AST SpaceMobile Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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IRDM Iridium Communications Inc.
$44.51 -8.7% 1M +145.4% 1Y
Market cap
$4.91B
P/E
30.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$902.97M
Div. yield
0.01%
Satellite Communications Communication Services
4 wins
ECHO EchoStar CORP
$89.26 -0.9% 1M +20.4% 1Y
Market cap
$26.23B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$14.65B
Div. yield
–
Satellite Communications Communication Services
4 wins
ASTS AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
$39.45 -36.2% 1M -46.5% 1Y
Market cap
$12.54B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$115.30M
Div. yield
–
Satellite Communications Communication Services
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

EchoStar leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (EchoStar 4, Iridium Communications 4, AST SpaceMobile 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIRDMECHOASTSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.91B $26.23B $12.54B ECHO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.1x -4.6x -20.3x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 39.0x 3.8x — ECHO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.6% -5.2% +2,256.9% ASTS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.1% -38.7% -536.7% IRDM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.1% -35.4% -12.2% IRDM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -1.1x -1.1x ASTS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +145.4% +20.4% -46.5% IRDM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr +31.1%/yr +29.6%/yr ECHO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.0% 54.2% 108.0% ECHO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 22/100 24/100 IRDM

Percentile Scorecard

IRDMECHOASTS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisIRDMECHOASTS
Valuation 27 #36 of 49 15 #42 of 49 2 #48 of 49
Growth 75 #12 of 45 11 #40 of 45 32 #31 of 45
Profitability 66 #16 of 45 14 #39 of 45 0 #45 of 45
Financial Health 31 #34 of 49 50 #25 of 49 79 #11 of 49
Shareholder Returns 36 #24 of 37 – 6 #35 of 37
Overall 47 22 24
  • IRDM ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • ECHO ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • ASTS ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodIRDMECHOASTSSPY
1 month -8.7%-0.9%-36.2% -0.8%
3 months -3.2%+3.0%-32.3% +3.5%
6 months +19.0%-26.6%-48.9% +7.0%
Year to date +156.1%-17.9%-45.7% +12.2%
1 year +145.4%+20.4%-46.5% +13.0%
3 years +23.5%+572.6%+1,193.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +7.3%+88.9%+134.9% +23.1%
5 years +11.4%+286.7%+265.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.2%+31.1%+29.6% +11.0%
10 years +456.4%+135.9%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +18.7%+9.0%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIRDMECHOASTSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.0%54.2%108.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.8%52.8%107.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.381.593.78 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.460.38-0.43 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.4%-68.0%-85.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.1%-37.1%-70.4% -1.8%
52-week high $55.72$141.80$133.09 $779.14
52-week low $15.84$66.93$38.77 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleIRDMECHOASTS
P/E now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 11.8x -4.6xmedian 11.8x -19.1xmedian 11.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 1.1x 1.8xmedian 1.1x 133.1xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 6.8x -2.8xmedian 6.8x -26.9xmedian 6.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 5.7x -35.7xmedian 5.7x -9.4xmedian 5.7x
P/B now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 1.3x 1.8xmedian 1.3x 6.4xmedian 1.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 0.24 0.12median 0.24 0.44median 0.24

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsIRDMECHOASTS
Revenue $902.97M $14.65B $115.30M
Gross profit $645.23M $6.18B $45.16M
Operating income $171.59M -$16.52B -$669.08M
Net income $163.03M -$5.68B -$810.98M
Free cash flow $277.57M -$725.18M -$1.64B
R&D $21.63M – $29.48M
EPS (diluted) $1.50 $-16.13 $-2.07
Cash & equivalents $97.85M $439.99M $2.29B
Total debt $2.14B $24.26B $2.97B
Shares (diluted) 108.93M 351.62M 299.06M
Enterprise value $4.42B $17.32B $3.69B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricIRDMECHOASTS
P/E 29.3x -4.6x -19.1x
P/FCF 17.0x -35.7x -9.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.1x -303.6x -106.1x
P/S 5.2x 1.8x 133.1x
P/B 8.2x 1.8x 6.4x
P/Tangible book 22.0x 4.7x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x -2.8x -26.9x
EV/EBIT 39.4x -2.6x -24.0x
EV/Revenue 7.5x 2.9x 139.1x
EV/FCF 24.4x -59.1x -9.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.3x -502.1x -110.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 0.12 0.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIRDMECHOASTS
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.6% -5.2% 2,257%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.6% -6.4% 202.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.8% 12.5% 823.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 23.0% 201.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -26.3% -3,046% -157.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 46.9% -135.0% -51.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 29.5% -1,685% -46.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 107.7% -69.9% -74.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.6% -1,371% -41.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 115.5% -39.5% -43.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.5% -115.9% -8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.1% -26.4% 2.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -9.1% -4.6% -142.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% -60.1% -100.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIRDMECHOASTS
Gross margin 71.5% 42.1% 39.2%
EBITDA margin 43.9% -106.3% -517.1%
Operating margin 19.0% -112.7% -580.3%
Pretax margin 9.3% -58.8% -698.8%
Net margin 18.1% -38.7% -536.7%
FCF margin 30.7% -4.9% -1,421%
Operating cash flow margin 43.2% -0.6% -125.5%
Return on equity 11.8% -57.2% -32.1%
Return on assets 2.2% -14.1% -13.6%
Return on invested capital 5.1% -35.4% -12.2%
Return on capital employed 6.9% -45.1% -11.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 0.0x 0.2x
Stock comp / revenue 6.3% 0.1% 128.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIRDMECHOASTS
Debt / assets 69.4% 44.2% 50.8%
Debt / equity 3.7x 1.2x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.1x -1.1x -1.1x
Debt / FCF 7.7x -24.0x -1.8x
Liabilities / assets 81.3% 64.0% 59.0%
Equity / assets 18.7% 36.0% 41.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.9x 5.2x 13.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.4x 12.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 12.0x
Altman Z-score 1.47 0.29 2.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIRDMECHOASTS
Dividend yield 1.3% – –
Net buyback yield 0.0% – -6.0%
Shareholder yield 1.3% – -6.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 39.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 23.4% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.9% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.0% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusIRDMECHOASTS
Forward P/E 39.0xFY2026 3.8xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.14FY2026 $23.27FY2026 $-2.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.5%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +12.3% -86.5% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $990.74MFY2026 $13.35BFY2026 $148.74MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.7%FY2026 -11.0%FY2026 +109.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.2% -4.6% +299.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIRDMECHOASTS
Held by institutions 85.3% 0.0% 44.3%
Institutions holding 479 1 754
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.2% – +5.0%
Institutions buying 305 1 543
Institutions selling 124 0 139
Buyers to sellers 2.46 – 3.91

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

IRDMECHOASTS
IRDM 1.00 0.41 0.49
ECHO 0.41 1.00 0.42
ASTS 0.49 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IRDM, ECHO and ASTS?

EchoStar (ECHO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Iridium Communications (IRDM) $4.91B, EchoStar (ECHO) $26.23B, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) $12.54B.

Which company is growing faster?

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Iridium Communications (IRDM) +3.6%, EchoStar (ECHO) -5.2%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) +2,256.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iridium Communications (IRDM) has the highest net margin (Iridium Communications (IRDM) 18.1%, EchoStar (ECHO) -38.7%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) -536.7%). On return on invested capital, Iridium Communications (IRDM) leads (Iridium Communications (IRDM) 5.1%, EchoStar (ECHO) -35.4%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) -12.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Iridium Communications (IRDM) returned the most: Iridium Communications (IRDM) +145.4%, EchoStar (ECHO) +20.4%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) -46.5%. Over five years, EchoStar (ECHO) compounded fastest (Iridium Communications (IRDM) +2.2%/yr, EchoStar (ECHO) +31.1%/yr, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) +29.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Iridium Communications (IRDM) 0.01%, EchoStar (ECHO) 0.00%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) 0.00%. EchoStar (ECHO) and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, EchoStar (ECHO) has been the steadiest (Iridium Communications (IRDM) 59.0%, EchoStar (ECHO) 54.2%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) 108.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IRDM, ECHO and ASTS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, EchoStar (ECHO) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.