Iridium Q3 results beat expectations
October 22, 2026

By Chris Forrester



Satellite operator Iridium Communications, itself in the process of being acquired by Rocket Lab, reported better than expected results for its Q3 trading.

Iridium reported Q3 total revenue of $245.7 million (€218.7m), an 8 per cent increase versus the comparable period of 2025. Service revenue grew 13 per cent from the year-ago period, primarily due to the acquisition of Aireon, and was 76 per cent of total revenue for Q3 2026.


The Company ended the third quarter with 2,696,000 total billable subscribers, up from 2,542,000 for the year-ago period and 2,627,000 for the quarter ended June 30th 2026. Total billable subscribers grew 6 per cent year-over-year, led by growth in commercial Internet of Things (IoT).

Commercial service remained the largest part of Iridium’s business, representing 65 per cent of the Company’s total revenue during the third quarter. Commercial service revenue was $159.9 million, up 16 per cent from the comparable period last year, primarily due to the acquisition of Aireon. Hosted payload and other data service revenue increased $22.7 million, or 121 per cent, in Q3, primarily due to the acquisition of Aireon.

Government service revenue grew 2 percent to $27.6 million in the third quarter, reflecting contractual rate increases in the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract (the EMSS Contract) over the prior year. The US government continues to be Iridium’s largest single customer, representing 15 per cent of service revenue and nearly all of the Company’s engineering services and support business.