VSAT vs ECHO vs IRDM Stock Comparison

Viasat, EchoStar and Iridium Communications Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
VSAT Viasat Inc
$70.30 -3.7% 1M +79.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.68B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.63B
Div. yield
–
Satellite Communications Communication Services
2 wins
ECHO EchoStar CORP
$90.39 +0.3% 1M +21.5% 1Y
Market cap
$26.23B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$14.65B
Div. yield
–
Satellite Communications Communication Services
4 wins
IRDM Iridium Communications Inc.
$45.65 -6.4% 1M +154.3% 1Y
Market cap
$4.85B
P/E
30.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$902.97M
Div. yield
1.31%
Satellite Communications Communication Services
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionVSATECHOIRDMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.68B $26.23B $4.85B ECHO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -328.0x -4.6x 30.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 3.9x 40.0x ECHO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.3% -5.2% +3.6% IRDM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.6% -38.7% 18.1% IRDM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% -35.4% 5.1% IRDM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.3x -1.1x 5.1x VSAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 1.31% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +79.7% +21.5% +154.3% IRDM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr +31.1%/yr +2.6%/yr ECHO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 79.0% 54.1% 58.9% ECHO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 22/100 47/100 VSAT

Percentile Scorecard

VSATECHOIRDM

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

AxisVSATECHOIRDM
Valuation 48 #26 of 49 15 #42 of 49 27 #36 of 49
Growth 89 #6 of 45 11 #40 of 45 75 #12 of 45
Profitability 41 #27 of 45 14 #39 of 45 66 #16 of 45
Financial Health 77 #12 of 49 50 #25 of 49 31 #34 of 49
Shareholder Returns 14 #32 of 37 – 36 #24 of 37
Overall 54 22 47
  • VSAT ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • ECHO ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • IRDM ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodVSATECHOIRDMSPY
1 month -3.7%+0.3%-6.4% -0.2%
3 months -5.2%+5.2%+0.5% +3.9%
6 months +21.1%-26.9%+22.2% +8.2%
Year to date +104.0%-16.8%+162.7% +12.9%
1 year +79.7%+21.5%+154.3% +12.3%
3 years +288.2%+581.2%+26.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +57.2%+89.6%+8.2% +23.3%
5 years +22.7%+287.1%+13.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.2%+31.1%+2.6% +10.9%
10 years -0.6%+140.5%+470.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year -0.1%+9.2%+19.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureVSATECHOIRDMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 79.0%54.1%58.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.8%52.8%44.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.301.591.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.010.402.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.8%-68.0%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.7%-36.3%-18.1% -1.2%
52-week high $89.81$141.80$55.72 $779.14
52-week low $30.35$66.93$15.84 $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.

MultipleVSATECHOIRDM
P/E now vs peer median -328.0xmedian 11.8x -4.6xmedian 11.8x 30.1xmedian 11.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.1x 1.8xmedian 1.1x 5.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 6.8x -2.8xmedian 6.8x 17.4xmedian 6.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 5.9x -36.2xmedian 5.9x 17.5xmedian 5.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x 8.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 12.42median 0.24 0.12median 0.24 0.26median 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 monthsVSATECHOIRDM
Revenue $4.63B $14.65B $902.97M
Gross profit $1.54B $6.18B $645.23M
Operating income $108.76M -$16.52B $171.59M
Net income $8.86M -$5.68B $163.03M
Free cash flow $1.59B -$725.18M $277.57M
R&D $176.21M – $21.63M
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $-16.13 $1.50
Cash & equivalents $1.74B $439.99M $97.85M
Total debt $806.11M $24.26B $2.14B
Shares (diluted) 137.12M 351.62M 108.93M
Enterprise value $3.70B $17.36B $4.36B

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
MetricVSATECHOIRDM
P/E -328.0x -4.6x 30.1x
P/FCF 6.1x -36.2x 17.5x
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x -307.4x 12.4x
P/S 2.1x 1.8x 5.4x
P/B 2.1x 1.8x 8.4x
P/Tangible book 3.5x 4.7x 22.5x
EV/EBITDA 18.8x -2.8x 17.4x
EV/EBIT 79.2x -2.6x 40.1x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 2.9x 7.6x
EV/FCF 5.4x -59.5x 24.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.4x -505.9x 17.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.42 0.12 0.26

Growth

14 metrics
MetricVSATECHOIRDM
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.3% -5.2% 3.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.8% -6.4% 4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.6% 12.5% 3.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 24.4% 23.0% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 198.4% -3,046% -26.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 40.5% -135.0% 46.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 101.6% -1,685% 29.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -79.5% -69.9% 107.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 95.3% -1,371% 26.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -26.4% -39.5% 115.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 56.8% -115.9% -1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 54.5% -26.4% 7.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.8% -4.6% -9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 60.4% -60.1% 5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricVSATECHOIRDM
Gross margin 33.2% 42.1% 71.5%
EBITDA margin 9.9% -106.3% 43.9%
Operating margin 2.4% -112.7% 19.0%
Pretax margin 2.8% -58.8% 9.3%
Net margin -0.6% -38.7% 18.1%
FCF margin 34.4% -4.9% 30.7%
Operating cash flow margin 34.4% -0.6% 43.2%
Return on equity 0.2% -57.2% 11.8%
Return on assets 0.1% -14.1% 2.2%
Return on invested capital 0.0% -35.4% 5.1%
Return on capital employed 0.8% -45.1% 6.9%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 179.8x 0.0x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.0% 0.1% 6.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricVSATECHOIRDM
Debt / assets 4.4% 44.2% 69.4%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.2x 3.7x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.3x -1.1x 5.1x
Debt / FCF 0.4x -24.0x 7.7x
Liabilities / assets 68.8% 64.0% 81.3%
Equity / assets 31.2% 36.0% 18.7%
Interest coverage 0.3x – –
Current ratio 1.7x 5.2x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.3x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.95 0.29 1.50

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricVSATECHOIRDM
Dividend yield – – 1.3%
Net buyback yield -0.2% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield -0.2% – 1.3%
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.

ConsensusVSATECHOIRDM
Forward P/E – 3.9xFY2026 40.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.32FY2026 $23.27FY2026 $1.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +7.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – -86.5% +12.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.59BFY2026 $13.35BFY2026 $990.74MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2026 -11.0%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.9% -4.6% +2.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersVSATECHOIRDM
Held by institutions 100.0% 0.0% 85.3%
Institutions holding 485 1 479
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.1% – +2.2%
Institutions buying 306 1 305
Institutions selling 136 0 124
Buyers to sellers 2.25 – 2.46

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.

VSATECHOIRDM
VSAT 1.00 0.44 0.60
ECHO 0.44 1.00 0.41
IRDM 0.60 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, VSAT, ECHO and IRDM?

EchoStar (ECHO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Viasat (VSAT) $9.68B, EchoStar (ECHO) $26.23B, Iridium Communications (IRDM) $4.85B.

Which company is growing faster?

Iridium Communications (IRDM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Viasat (VSAT) +1.3%, EchoStar (ECHO) -5.2%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +3.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Iridium Communications (IRDM) has the highest net margin (Viasat (VSAT) -0.6%, EchoStar (ECHO) -38.7%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 18.1%). On return on invested capital, Iridium Communications (IRDM) leads (Viasat (VSAT) 0.0%, EchoStar (ECHO) -35.4%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Iridium Communications (IRDM) returned the most: Viasat (VSAT) +79.7%, EchoStar (ECHO) +21.5%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +154.3%. Over five years, EchoStar (ECHO) compounded fastest (Viasat (VSAT) +4.2%/yr, EchoStar (ECHO) +31.1%/yr, Iridium Communications (IRDM) +2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Iridium Communications (IRDM) 1.31%. Viasat (VSAT) and EchoStar (ECHO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, EchoStar (ECHO) has been the steadiest (Viasat (VSAT) 79.0%, EchoStar (ECHO) 54.1%, Iridium Communications (IRDM) 58.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.