Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) & Satellogic (NASDAQ:SATL) Critical Contrast

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) and Satellogic (NASDAQ:SATL) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Iridium Communications and Satellogic’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iridium Communications	14.68%	19.41%	4.60%
Satellogic	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.4% of Iridium Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.6% of Satellogic shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Iridium Communications shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 63.7% of Satellogic shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Iridium Communications and Satellogic, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iridium Communications	0	1	4	0	2.80
Satellogic	0	0	0	0	0.00

Iridium Communications presently has a consensus target price of $34.25, suggesting a potential upside of 20.47%. Given Iridium Communications’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Iridium Communications is more favorable than Satellogic.

Risk & Volatility

Iridium Communications has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Satellogic has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Iridium Communications and Satellogic”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iridium Communications	$830.68 million	3.70	$112.78 million	$1.06	26.82
Satellogic	$12.87 million	28.72	-$116.27 million	N/A	N/A

Iridium Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Satellogic.

Summary

Iridium Communications beats Satellogic on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc. provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services. It also provides hosted payload and other data services, such as satellite time and location services; and inbound connections from the public switched telephone network, short message, subscriber identity module, activation, customer reactivation, and other peripheral services. In addition, the company offers voice and data solutions comprising personnel tracking devices; asset tracking devices for equipment, vehicles, and aircrafts; beyond-line-of-sight aircraft communications applications; maritime communications applications; specialized communications solutions for high-value individuals; mobile communications and data devices for the military and other government agencies, such as secure satellite handsets, as well as netted voice, messaging, and paging services; and maintenance services for the United States government's dedicated gateway. Further, it provides satellite handsets, voice and data modems, broadband data devices, and IoT data devices; various accessories for its devices that include batteries, holsters, earbud headphones, portable auxiliary antennas, antenna adaptors, USB data cables, charging units, and others; and engineering and support services. Iridium Communications Inc. sells its products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network that include service providers, and value-added resellers and manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Iridium Holdings LLC and changed its name to Iridium Communications Inc. in September 2009. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About Satellogic

Satellogic Inc. operates as an integrated geospatial company in the Asia Pacific, North America, and internationally. It engages in tasking satellites with monitoring assets and keeping up with their changing reality for government and commercial customers; control satellites on top of specific areas of interest for governments; and sale and support satellites. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.