Iridium Communications
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 55.0% | whyThe figure most screeners publish. |
| Operating cash flow | 15.7% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 21.0% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 39.3 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 56 / 100 — Tight. ? Peer standing 34/50Direction 18/30Stability 4/20
Free cash flow payout, last 4 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 21.0% |
| 2024-12-31 | 21.2% |
| 2023-12-31 | 26.8% |
| 2022-12-31 | 6.1% |
68% of the 25 communications here pay out more.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.583 ÷ diluted EPS $1.06
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $62.9m ÷ operating cash flow $400m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $62.9m ÷ (operating cash flow $400m − capex $100m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-12 · accession 0001418819-26-000009
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take our word for any of it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS derived from dividends paid ($0.58); no per-share tag filed
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell us — that is more useful to us than agreement.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Who else looks like this
Every figure above is computed from Iridium Communications’s own filing, and every company here is measured the same way. Screen all of them on any of these twelve measures, or on the rules two investors published — free, and nothing you screen leaves your browser.