Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Key Takeaways SU posted record Q1 upstream production of 875,200 bbls/d and refined product sales of 680,900 bbls/d.Suncor's downstream earnings surged on higher crack spreads, refinery output and export demand.SU raised planned 2026 share repurchases to nearly C$4 billion and updated refining capacity guidance. Suncor Energy Inc. (SU - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted operating earnings of $1.41 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45 by 3%. This underperformance can be attributed to a 16.5% increase in total expenses and higher commodity input costs during the quarter. However, the bottom line increased from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 91 cents due to stronger downstream margins, higher upstream price realizations and increased sales volumes.

Calgary-based integrated oil and gas company’s operating revenues of $10.7 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.9 billion by 19.53%. The top line increased approximately 23.2% year over year, aided by record refined product sales, higher refinery production and stronger benchmark crack spreads.

Suncor delivered a strong operating quarter, with record first-quarter upstream production of 875,200 barrels per day (bbls/d), up from 853,200 bbls/d in the year-ago quarter. Refining throughput also reached a first-quarter record of 497,800 bbls/d, compared with 482,700 bbls/d a year earlier, while refined product sales rose to a quarterly record of 680,900 bbls/d from 604,900 bbls/d in the prior-year period.

Management highlighted that the quarter reflected continued momentum from 2025, supported by record first-quarter upstream output, strong refinery performance and expanded product sales through domestic retail growth and global export opportunities.

Q1 Segmental PerformanceUpstream: Suncor delivered a strong operating quarter, with record first-quarter upstream production of 875,200 bbls/d, up from 853,200 bbls/d in the year-ago quarter. Moreover, the figure beat the consensus estimate of 868,000 bbls/d.

Total Oil Sands production was 798,800 bbls/d, up from 790,900 bbls/d in the year-ago quarter. Total Oil Sands bitumen production was 933,900 bbls/d, broadly comparable with 937,300 bbls/d in the prior-year period, and featured record quarterly production at Fort Hills. However, Syncrude maintenance and a third-party natural gas input pipeline curtailment weighed on production.

Net synthetic crude oil and diesel production declined to 519,300 bbls/d from 536,600 bbls/d a year earlier due to lower Syncrude upgrader availability. Non-upgraded bitumen production increased to 279,500 bbls/d from 254,300 bbls/d, primarily due to decreased upgrader availability.

Oil Sands adjusted operating earnings were C$1.57 billion, down from C$1.62 billion in the prior-year quarter, as higher operating expenses, share-based compensation, commodity input costs and asset advancement expenses more than offset improved price realizations and sales volumes.

Exploration and Production (E&P) production rose to 76,400 bbls/d from 62,300 bbls/d in the year-ago period, driven by strong production across assets. Adjusted operating earnings in the segment increased to C$382 million from C$158 million, primarily due to higher sales volumes and stronger price realizations.

Downstream: The segment was the key driver of the quarter’s strength. Adjusted operating earnings surged to C$1.68 billion from C$667 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to a significant FIFO inventory valuation gain, higher benchmark crack spreads and increased refinery production. Refinery utilization was 97%, up from 94% in the prior-year quarter, reflecting Suncor’s increased refining network nameplate capacity of 511,000 bbls/d.

Refined product sales climbed to 680,900 bbls/d, a 12.6% increase from 604,900 bbls/d in the prior-year quarter, supported by global export opportunities, retail growth and strategic partnerships. Moreover, the figure beat the consensus estimate of 594,000 bbls/d. On the earnings call, management noted that Suncor used its export capabilities and trading relationships to capture attractive margins in markets such as the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

SU’s Financial PositionTotal expenses increased 16.5% to C$118 billion from the prior-year quarter. Cost of purchases of crude oil and products increased to C$5.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with C$4.3 billion in the prior-year quarter. Cost and operating, selling and general increased 14.6% to C$3.8 billion from the prior-year quarter.

Suncor generated C$4.03 billion in adjusted funds from operations, up from C$3.05 billion in the prior-year quarter. Free funds flow increased to C$2.91 billion from C$1.90 billion. The company returned more than C$1.5 billion to its shareholders, including C$825 million in share repurchases and over C$700 million in dividends.

Capital expenditures totaled C$1.08 billion, broadly flat with the year-ago quarter. As of March 31, 2026, Suncor had cash and cash equivalents of C$3.27 billion and long-term debt of C$10.1 billion. Its debt-to-capitalization was 18.1%.

SU’s Guidance and Shareholder ReturnsSuncor updated its 2026 corporate guidance to reflect the 10% increase in refining network nameplate capacity to 511,000 bbls/d. Refinery throughput guidance has remained unchanged at 460,000-475,000 bbls/d, while refinery utilization guidance has been revised to 90-93% due to the larger capacity base.

This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has also increased its planned monthly share repurchases from C$275 million to C$350 million, implying nearly C$4 billion in total 2026 buybacks, more than 30% up from 2025 repurchases. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company expects 2026 corporate guidance to reflect strong operational performance across its integrated energy portfolio. Total upstream production is projected between 840,000 bbls/d and 870,000 bbls/d, supported by Oil Sands output of 785,000-810,000 bbls/d and E&P production of 55,000-60,000 bbls/d.

Refinery throughput is anticipated to range from 460,000 bbls/d to 475,000 bbls/d, with utilization between 90% and 93%, and refined product sales of 600,000-620,000 bbls/d.

Cash operating costs are forecasted to remain competitive, with Oil Sands Operations at $26-$29 per barrel, Fort Hills at $33-$36 and Syncrude at $34-$37, reflecting continued efficiency improvements and disciplined cost management.

The company expects total capital expenditures in 2026 to be between $5.6 billion and $5.8 billion. Of this, approximately $2.6-$2.7 billion will be directed toward economic investment capital, funding projects that enhance efficiency, flexibility and resilience. Key allocations include $425-$475 million for Exploration & Production, $430-$460 million for new In Situ well pads and $1.74-$1.76 billion for other economic investments.

In addition, $3-$3.1 billion will be dedicated to asset sustainment and maintenance capital, supporting the base business and regular upkeep. This includes $2.1-$2.15 billion for Oil Sands, $875-$925 million for Downstream operations and $25 million for Corporate. Notable projects within this budget include West White Rose, Firebag and MacKay River well pads, Fort Hills North Pit, Petro-Canada retail growth and Mildred Lake East.

Important Earnings at a GlanceWhile we have discussed SU’s first-quarter results in detail, let us take a look at three other key reports in this space.

Halliburton Company (HAL - Free Report) , a Houston, TX-based oil and gas equipment and services provider, posted first-quarter 2026 adjusted net income per share of 55 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents. The outperformance primarily reflects successful cost reduction initiatives. However, the bottom line fell from the year-ago adjusted profit of 60 cents.

Halliburton reported first-quarter capital expenditure of $192 million. As of March 31, 2026, this oil and gas equipment and services company had approximately $2 billion in cash/cash equivalents and $7.1 billion in long-term debt, representing a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 39.6.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI - Free Report) , a Houston, TX-based oil and gas storage and transportation company,posted first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of 48 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents. The bottom line increased year over year from 34 cents. The strong quarterly results can be primarily attributed to contributions from the Natural Gas Pipelines business segment.

As of March 31, 2026, KMI reported $72 million in cash and cash equivalents. At the quarter's end, its long-term debt amounted to $29.72 billion. KMI’s project backlog was reported at $10.1 billion by the end of the first quarter. The midstream energy major added that natural gas projects comprise approximately 92% of its project backlog, with nearly 60% dedicated to supporting local distribution companies and power generation.

Range Resources Corporation (RRC - Free Report) , a Fort Worth, TX-based oil and gas exploration and production company, posted first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.52 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33. The bottom line also improved from the prior-year level of 96 cents. Strong quarterly results can be attributed to higher gas-equivalent production and increased natural gas price realization.

Drilling and completion expenditure totaled $130 million. An additional $5 million was spent on acreage and $4 million on infrastructure and other investments. At the end of the first quarter, Range Resources reported a total debt of $819.3 million, net of deferred financing costs.

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Income investors in the Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF (NYSEARCA:LVHI) get paid well to sit through a quieter ride than most equity funds. LVHI screens developed-market ex-US stocks for above-average dividend yield and below-average price and earnings volatility, then weights them to dampen single-country and single-stock risk. The fund is having a strong year, with shares around $41 after a 32% total move over the past year. The question is whether the cash flows funding those distributions are as durable as the “low volatility” label implies.

How LVHI Produces Income LVHI is a passive index fund, so its distributions are a pass-through of dividends paid by roughly 100 international stocks, net of expenses and foreign withholding. There are no options premiums, leverage, or synthetic exposure. The index tilts toward Europe, Canada, the UK, and Australia, with heavy representation from energy, materials, financials, and utilities. The dividend is only as safe as the underlying payers, and four names matter most: Shell, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor, and Rio Tinto.

Currency risk runs through everything. LVHI distributes in US dollars, but holdings pay in pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars. With the Canadian dollar trading near 73 cents, a stronger US dollar would compress reported yields even if underlying payouts grow in local terms.

Energy Holdings Driving the Payout Shell (NYSE:SHEL | SHEL Price Prediction) raised its Q1 2026 dividend to $0.3906 per share after adjusted earnings more than doubled to $6.92 billion versus Q4. Free cash flow of $2.93 billion covers the dividend, but net debt climbed to $52.6 billion and the pending $13.6 billion ARC Resources deal may force Shell to pause the newly announced $3 billion buyback. The base dividend looks safe, while buyback flexibility is the variable that may flex.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) is the cleanest income story. Management lifted the quarterly payout 6% to C$0.625, extending a 26-year streak of annual increases with a 20% historical CAGR. Q1 free cash flow fell sharply to $875 million, but adjusted earnings of $2.45 billion were flat year-over-year and oil sands operating costs of US$17 per barrel are the lowest in the industry. CEO Scott Stauth’s capital allocation policy, with 60% of free cash flow going to buybacks at current debt levels, means the base dividend is the last line item to be cut.

Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) hiked its dividend 5% to $0.60 per share alongside record upstream production of 909,000 barrels per day. Free cash flow fell 51% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, which is the watch item, but WTI trading near $110 and in the 98th percentile of its 12-month range gives Suncor room to fund the higher payout while executing a $3.3 billion buyback this year.

The Variable Payer Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) is the holding LVHI investors should understand differently. Rio targets a 40%-60% payout ratio and sits at the top of that range for the tenth straight year, meaning the dividend tracks earnings directly. FY2025 underlying earnings of $10.9 billion funded a $4.02 full-year payout, but the H2 2025 final dropped to $1.48 from $1.77 the year prior. Net debt tripled to $14.4 billion after the $7.6 billion Arcadium lithium deal, and a 50% US aluminium tariff plus the Mongolian tax dispute at Oyu Tolgoi are real overhangs. The dividend will be paid, but the size will float with commodity prices.

Total Return and the Verdict The income case for LVHI rests on high dividends paired with capital appreciation: a 111% five-year price return alongside ongoing distributions, and a 11% year-to-date gain that shows the “low volatility” label is earning its keep. Three of the four energy and mining anchors carry clearly sustainable base dividends backed by genuine free cash flow. Rio is the asterisk: holders should expect the distribution to vary 15% to 25% in either direction based on commodity prices. For a developed-markets income sleeve, that is an honest tradeoff. Investors who need a level monthly check should pair LVHI with a bond fund; those who want international yield with built-in volatility dampening are getting exactly what the index promises.

It doesn't matter your age or experience: taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for all investors. Luckily, Zacks Premium offers several different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

Zacks Premium also includes the Zacks Style Scores.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.7% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) Founded in 1917, Alberta-based Suncor Energy, Inc. is Canada's premier integrated energy company. The company's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore crude oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing. Suncor is one of the largest owners of oil sands in the world. The company has gained new oil sands properties to supplement its existing operations in northern Alberta, making it the dominant producer in the region where reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia.

SU is a #1 (Strong Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Oils-Energy stock. SU has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 4.7% over the past four weeks.

Three analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $3.89 to $6.79 per share. SU boasts an average earnings surprise of +6.9%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, SU should be on investors' short list.

Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) . SU is currently holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A.

We should also highlight that SU has a P/B ratio of 1.57. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 2.61. Over the past 12 months, SU's P/B has been as high as 1.63 and as low as 1.25, with a median of 1.47.

Finally, investors should note that SU has a P/CF ratio of 5.57. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. This company's current P/CF looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 8.76. SU's P/CF has been as high as 5.77 and as low as 4.06, with a median of 4.85, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Suncor Energy is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, SU sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

Key Takeaways Suncor posted record Q1 production, refining throughput and product sales volumes across operations.SU generated C$2.9B free funds flow and returned C$1.5B via dividends and buybacks.Suncor targets higher production, lower breakeven costs and stronger annual free funds flow. Suncor Energy Inc. (SU - Free Report) has posted an impressive performance over the past six months, with its shares rising 42.7%. This gain outperformed the sub-industry and the broader energy sector’s growth of 41.7% and 20.7%, respectively.

When compared with peers like Imperial Oil Limited (IMO - Free Report) and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE - Free Report) , Suncor outperformed Imperial Oil’s 25.6% growth. However, it lagged behind Cenovus Energy’s rally of 55%. Suncor’s stronger upward momentum reflects greater investor confidence and more consistent resilience.

Stock Price Change Over the Past Six Months
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

As one of Canada’s top integrated energy players, Suncor maintains a diversified portfolio that covers oil sands development, offshore and conventional production, refining operations and fuel marketing. Its substantial oil sands presence in Alberta positions the company in a region with reserves rivaling those of Saudi Arabia. Suncor’s operations span three main divisions: Oil Sands, Exploration & Production, and Refining & Marketing, each contributing to a highly interconnected business model that captures value across the entire energy chain.

This integration — stretching from extraction through to retail — allows the company to remain competitive even in volatile market environments. With rising performance indicators, it’s worth exploring the factors behind Suncor’s recent strength and what they mean for its near-term outlook.

Key Drivers Behind SU's Recent SurgeRecord Operational Performance Across the Business: Suncor delivered its highest-ever first-quarter upstream production of 875,000 barrels per day and achieved record refining throughput and product sales volumes. Management highlighted that these gains were achieved without major acquisitions or expensive new projects, reflecting genuine operational improvements. Production has increased by 133,000 barrels per day over the past three years, while refining throughput rose by 130,000 barrels per day during the same period. Such consistent operational execution demonstrates management’s ability to extract more value from existing assets, creating a stronger earnings base and improving long-term shareholder returns. Both its competitors, Imperial Oil and Cenovus Energy, have also delivered resilient operational performance by reporting higher upstream production at lower costs.

Strong Cash Generation and Shareholder Returns: The company generated C$4 billion in adjusted funds from operations and C$2.9 billion in free funds flow during the first quarter of 2026, representing year-over-year increases of 32% and 53%, respectively. Suncor returned C$1.5 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while also increasing its buyback rate. The company’s strategy emphasizes consistent dividend growth and regular buybacks rather than sporadic capital returns. This approach offers investors a predictable mechanism for receiving cash while benefiting from share count reduction and long-term compounding effects.Peer comparison further highlights strength as Suncor provides a robust dividend yield of 2.82%, higher than the peer companies like Imperial Oil (2.15%) and Cenovus Energy (2.13%).

Significant Long-Term Growth Pipeline: At its Investor Day, Suncor outlined an ambitious three-year plan targeting another 100,000 barrels per day of upstream production growth, an additional C$5 per-barrel reduction in corporate breakeven costs and C$2 billion in incremental annual free funds flow. Beyond that, the company possesses 7 billion barrels of proved and probable reserves, 30 billion barrels of contingent resources and approximately a century of development opportunities. The scale and longevity of this resource base provide exceptional visibility into future production growth and cash generation potential.

Suncor’s Estimate Revision Trend

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SU’s 2026 earnings has been revised 1.4% upward in the past 30 days, indicating a positive trajectory for the company.

Estimate Revision
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Risks That May Limit UpsideEarnings Remain Highly Dependent on Commodity Prices: Despite operational improvements, Suncor's profitability remains heavily tied to oil and refined product prices. Management acknowledged that market conditions changed dramatically during the quarter and emphasized how commodity price movements influenced results. While lower breakeven levels improve resilience, a prolonged downturn in oil prices would still negatively impact cash flows, earnings and shareholder distributions. Investors must recognize that the company's fortunes remain closely linked to volatile global energy markets beyond management's control.

Operational Disruptions Continue to Affect Production: Even during a record quarter, management stated that results could have been better. Production was reduced by approximately 14,000-15,000 barrels per day because of a third-party natural gas outage, while Syncrude experienced an unplanned coker shutdown due to equipment issues. These incidents highlight the operational complexity of oil sands production and refining. Large-scale industrial assets remain vulnerable to weather events, equipment failures, maintenance challenges and third-party infrastructure disruptions that can impact production volumes and profitability.

Large Exposure to Oil Sands Assets: Suncor's asset base is concentrated in Canada's oil sands, which are capital-intensive and face higher environmental scrutiny than many conventional oil operations. While the company views its reserves as a major strength, future regulatory changes, carbon pricing mechanisms, emissions requirements, or shifting investor preferences toward lower-carbon energy sources could increase costs and reduce long-term asset attractiveness. Such risks may pressure valuation multiples even if operational performance remains strong.

Exposure to Geopolitical and Global Market Uncertainty: Management discussed heightened geopolitical tensions, changing trade flows and global energy market volatility. Although Suncor's integrated model provides some protection, geopolitical developments can affect crude prices, refining margins, export demand, transportation economics and capital allocation decisions. The company's increasing participation in international markets also creates greater exposure to global economic conditions. Investors seeking stable and predictable earnings may find this macroeconomic sensitivity a notable risk factor.

Suncor: The Final WordThe Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company presents a mixed investment case where the positives and challenges offset each other. On the one hand, the company is delivering record production, strong refining performance, robust free cash flow generation, and consistent shareholder returns through dividends and buybacks as compared with peers like Imperial Oil and Cenovus Energy. Its integrated business model and extensive long-term resource base provide stability and growth visibility. However, these strengths are offset by significant exposure to volatile commodity prices, operational disruptions, oil sands-related environmental and regulatory risks, and broader geopolitical uncertainties.

In this context, investors should consider adopting a hold strategy for now to monitor Suncor’s operational performance, carbon-intensive operations and capital return policy while avoiding a premature exit before these initiatives potentially translate into shareholder value.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It doesn't matter your age or experience: taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for all investors. Luckily, Zacks Premium offers several different ways to do both.

The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.

VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.7% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) Founded in 1917, Alberta-based Suncor Energy, Inc. is Canada's premier integrated energy company. The company's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore crude oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing. Suncor is one of the largest owners of oil sands in the world. The company has gained new oil sands properties to supplement its existing operations in northern Alberta, making it the dominant producer in the region where reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia.

SU is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Oils-Energy stock. SU has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 2.7% over the past four weeks.

One analyst revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $1.64 to $7.07 per share. SU boasts an average earnings surprise of +6.9%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, SU should be on investors' short list.

In its upcoming report, Iridium Communications (IRDM - Free Report) is predicted by Wall Street analysts to post quarterly earnings of $0.27 per share, reflecting no change compared to the same period last year. Revenues are forecasted to be $220.18 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 2.5%.

Over the past 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged. This demonstrates the covering analysts' collective reassessment of their initial projections during this period.

Prior to a company's earnings release, it is of utmost importance to factor in any revisions made to the earnings projections. These revisions serve as a critical gauge for predicting potential investor behaviors with respect to the stock. Empirical studies consistently reveal a strong link between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as a yardstick to evaluate the company's quarterly performance, scrutinizing analysts' projections for some of the company's key metrics can offer a more comprehensive perspective.

In light of this perspective, let's dive into the average estimates of certain Iridium metrics that are commonly tracked and forecasted by Wall Street analysts.

The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Revenue- Subscriber equipment' will likely reach $22.47 million. The estimate points to a change of -2.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Revenue- Service' should arrive at $158.42 million. The estimate suggests a change of +2.7% year over year.

Analysts expect 'Revenue- Engineering and support service' to come in at $39.17 million. The estimate points to a change of +4.6% from the year-ago quarter.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Revenue- Service- Commercial service revenue' of $131.67 million. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +3.2%.

According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Billable Subscribers - Total commercial voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service' should come in at 2.42 million. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 2.31 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

The consensus among analysts is that 'Total Billable Subscribers' will reach 2.54 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 2.44 million.

The consensus estimate for 'ARPU - Commercial - IoT data' stands at $7.74 . The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $7.75 .

The average prediction of analysts places 'Billable Subscribers - Total government voice and data and IoT data service' at 119.71 thousand. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 133.00 thousand.

Analysts predict that the 'ARPU - Commercial - Voice and data' will reach $48.20 . The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $45.00 .

Analysts forecast 'ARPU - Commercial - Broadband' to reach $245.00 . The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $261.00 .

Analysts' assessment points toward 'Billable Subscribers - Commercial Service - Broadband' reaching 16.07 thousand. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 16.30 thousand in the same quarter of the previous year.

It is projected by analysts that the 'Billable Subscribers - Commercial Service - IoT data' will reach 2.00 million. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 1.89 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for Iridium here>>>

Over the past month, shares of Iridium have returned +60% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +8.6% change. Currently, IRDM carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), suggesting that it may underperform the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

, /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) ("Iridium" or the "Company"), a leading provider of global voice, data, and PNT satellite services, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2026 and reiterated its full-year 2026 outlook.

Iridium reported first quarter total revenue of $219.1 million, which consisted of $158.0 million of service revenue and $61.0 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support projects. Total revenue increased 2% versus the comparable period of 2025. Service revenue, which primarily represents recurring revenue from Iridium's growing subscriber base, grew 2% from the year-ago period and was 72% of total revenue for the first quarter of 2026.

"2026 is off to a solid start, as we continue to grow service revenue and introduce new products, like our next-generation IoT platform," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "We continue to invest in key areas of differentiation, which offer attractive opportunities for growth, including IoT, PNT, national security missions and aviation safety services."

Income from Operations

Net income was $21.6 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2026, as compared to net income of $30.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2025. Operational EBITDA ("OEBITDA")(1) for the first quarter was $116.3 million, as compared to $122.1 million for the prior-year period. The year-over-year OEBITDA decline was driven by a $4.2 million increase in accrued expenses related to a change in practice to pay annual incentive compensation entirely in cash rather than a mix of equity and cash, which the Company previewed on its fourth quarter earnings call.

Subscribers

The Company ended the first quarter with 2,555,000 total billable subscribers, up from 2,443,000 for the year-ago period and 2,537,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. Total billable subscribers grew 5% year-over-year, led by growth in commercial IoT.

Business Highlights

Service – Commercial

Commercial service remained the largest part of Iridium's business, representing 60% of the Company's total revenue during the first quarter. The Company's commercial customer base is diverse and includes the aviation, construction, emergency services, forestry, maritime, mining, oil and gas, recreation, and transportation markets, among others. Iridium's products and services are critical to these customers' daily operations and integral to their communications and business infrastructure.

Commercial service revenue was $130.4 million, up 2% from the comparable period last year. Commercial voice and data: Revenue was $57.4 million, up 3% from the year-ago period. Subscribers fell 2% from the year-ago period to 399,000. Average revenue per user ("ARPU") increased to $48 during the first quarter, compared to $45 in last year's comparable period, driven primarily by price actions implemented during the third quarter of 2025. Commercial IoT data: Revenue was $46.0 million, up 5% from the year-ago period. Subscribers grew 7% from the year-ago period to 2,019,000. ARPU was $7.63 in the first quarter, compared to $7.75 in last year's comparable period. Commercial broadband: Revenue was $12.2 million, down 5% from the year-ago period. Subscribers declined 1% from the year-ago period to 16,100. ARPU was $254 during the first quarter, compared to $261 in last year's comparable period, reflecting the increased prevalence of Iridium's use in lower-priced companion plans. Hosted payload and other data service: Revenue was $14.8 million, down 1% from the year-ago period. Iridium's commercial business ended the quarter with 2,434,000 billable subscribers, which is up from 2,310,000 for the prior-year quarter and compares to 2,416,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. IoT data subscribers represented 83% of billable commercial subscribers at the end of the first quarter, an increase from 82% at the end of the prior-year period. Service – U.S. Government

Iridium's voice and data solutions improve situational awareness for military personnel and track critical assets in tough environments around the globe, providing a unique value proposition. Under Iridium's Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract (the "EMSS Contract"), a seven-year, $738.5 million fixed-price airtime contract with the U.S. Space Force signed in September 2019, Iridium provides specified satellite airtime services for an unlimited number of Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) and other federal government subscribers. Iridium also provides maintenance and support work for the U.S. government's dedicated Iridium® gateway under two other contracts with the U.S. Space Force, the revenue of which is included in engineering and support services revenue. Iridium Certus® airtime services are not included under these contracts and may be procured separately for an additional fee.

Government service revenue grew 3% to $27.6 million in the first quarter, reflecting contractual rate increases in the EMSS Contract over the prior year. Under the terms of the multi-year EMSS Contract, Iridium's fixed-price rate increased to $110.5 million for the contract year beginning September 15, 2025. Iridium's U.S. government business ended the quarter with 121,000 subscribers, which compares to 133,000 for the prior-year quarter and 121,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. Government voice and data subscribers declined 20% from the year-ago period to 43,000 as of March 31, 2026. Government IoT data subscribers remained relatively flat year-over-year and represented 64% of government subscribers at the end of the first quarter. Equipment

Equipment revenue was $20.2 million in the first quarter, down 13% compared to $23.1 million in the prior-year quarter. For the full-year 2026, the Company expects equipment sales will be in line with 2025. Engineering & Support

Engineering and support revenue was $40.8 million during the first quarter, up 9% compared to $37.5 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to increasing activity with the U.S. government. For the full-year 2026, the Company expects engineering and support revenue to increase from 2025. Capital Allocation

Capital expenditures were $30.0 million for the first quarter, including $1.4 million in capitalized interest. The Company ended the first quarter with gross debt of $1.8 billion, and a cash and cash equivalents balance of $111.6 million, for a net debt balance of $1.7 billion. The Company ended the first quarter with net leverage of 3.4 times trailing twelve months OEBITDA.

Iridium paid its first quarter dividend of $0.15 per share of common stock on March 31, 2026, resulting in a total payment of $16.5 million to stockholders. The Company's Board of Directors has increased the dividend paid per share each year since initiating a dividend in 2023.

2026 and Longer-Term Outlook

The Company reiterated its full-year 2026 outlook and reaffirmed its long-term guidance on cash taxes and net leverage:

Total service revenue projected to be flat to 2% for full-year 2026. Total service revenue for 2025 was $634.0 million. Net income for 2025 was $114.4 million and OEBITDA for 2025 was $495.3 million. In 2026, the Company determined to pay annual incentive compensation entirely in cash, rather than a mix of equity and cash as has been the Company's prior practice. This change is projected to have a $17 million impact to OEBITDA, resulting in expected full-year 2026 OEBITDA of $480 million to $490 million. Without this change, OEBITDA would have been projected to be in a range of $497 million to $507 million. Cash taxes of less than $10 million per year through 2027. The Company's longer-term cash tax rate is expected to move closer to the statutory rate in 2029. Net leverage at or below 3.0 times OEBITDA by the end of 2026 and falling below 2.0 times OEBITDA by the end of the decade. Net leverage was 3.4 times OEBITDA at December 31, 2025. (1) Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company reports OEBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as a supplemental measure to help investors evaluate the Company's fundamental operational performance. OEBITDA represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, gain (loss) on equity method investments, transaction related expenses, and share-based compensation expenses. The Company considers the loss on early extinguishment of debt to be financing-related costs associated with interest expense or amortization of financing fees, which by definition are excluded from OEBITDA. Management believes such charges are incidental to, but not reflective of, the Company's day-to-day operating performance. OEBITDA does not represent, and should not be considered, an alternative to U.S. GAAP measurements such as net income or loss. In addition, there is no standardized measurement of OEBITDA, and the Company's calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company believes OEBITDA is a useful measure across time in evaluating its fundamental core operating performance. Management also uses OEBITDA to manage the business, including in preparing its annual operating budget, debt covenant compliance, financial projections and compensation plans. The Company believes that OEBITDA is also useful to investors because similar measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies in similar industries. As indicated, OEBITDA does not include interest expense on borrowed money, the payment of income taxes, amortization of the Company's definite-lived intangible assets, or depreciation expense on the Company's capital assets, which are necessary elements of the Company's operations. Since OEBITDA does not account for these and other expenses, its utility as a measure of the Company's operating performance has material limitations. Due to these limitations, the Company's management does not view OEBITDA in isolation, but also uses other measurements, such as net income, revenues and operating profit, to measure operating performance. Please refer to the schedule below for a reconciliation of consolidated GAAP net income to OEBITDA and Iridium's Investor Relations webpage at www.iridium.comfor a discussion and reconciliation of this and other non-GAAP financial measures. The Company does not provide a forward-looking reconciliation of expected full year 2026 OEBITDA guidance as the amount and significance of certain items such as share-based compensation, transaction related expenses and gain/loss on equity method investments, that are required to develop meaningful comparable GAAP financial measures cannot be estimated at this time without unreasonable efforts.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Operational EBITDA

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31,

Year Ended December 31,

2026

2025

2025

GAAP net income

$        21,594

$        30,412

$              114,372

Interest expense, net

19,366

21,824

88,252

Income tax expense

8,827

5,819

27,618

Depreciation and amortization

53,741

51,667

210,207

Share-based compensation

11,382

11,748

51,579

Transaction related expenses(1)

699

—

479

Loss on equity method investments

732

648

2,823

Operational EBITDA

$       116,341

$       122,118

$              495,330

(1)

Represents direct costs incurred in connection with the evaluation, negotiation, consummation, financing and integration of strategic transactions, including, acquisitions, divestitures and investments, whether or not actually completed. These costs generally include legal and advisory fees, severance and other related costs.

Conference Call Information

As previously announced, the Company will host a conference call to discuss its results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Callers should dial 1-412-902-6740 to access the call. The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast on Iridium's Investor Relations webpage at www.iridium.com. An archive of the webcast will be available following the live conference call.

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) operates the world's only truly global mobile satellite network, delivering reliable voice, data, and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services anywhere on Earth. Iridium supports safety- and mission-critical operations for diverse markets such as aviation, maritime, government, emergency services, critical infrastructure, autonomous systems, and remote monitoring applications, where connectivity is essential.

Headquartered in McLean, Va., Iridium provides its products and services through an ecosystem of 500-plus partner companies around the world. For more information, visit www.iridium.com. 

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Iridium's strategy and growth opportunities; expectations with respect to total service revenue growth, subscribers, OEBITDA, cash taxes and net leverage for 2026; cash taxes and net leverage over the long term; anticipated equipment sales and engineering and support service revenue for 2026; the payment of dividends, and expected revenue from the EMSS Contract with the U.S. government. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding customer demand for Iridium's products and services, including demand from the U.S. government; Iridium's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation; the development of and market for Iridium's products and services; increased competition; changes in trade policy, including tariff rates, as well as general industry and economic conditions; and legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 12, 2026, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements are based on information available to it as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Revenue

Service revenue

Commercial

$          130,404

$          127,542

Government

27,625

26,750

Total service revenue

158,029

154,292

Subscriber equipment

20,219

23,121

Engineering and support service

40,809

37,465

Total revenue

219,057

214,878

Operating expenses

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

49,636

48,787

Cost of subscriber equipment sales

13,014

12,867

Research and development

6,174

5,417

Selling, general and administrative

45,779

35,752

Depreciation and amortization

53,741

51,667

Total operating expenses

168,344

154,490

Operating income

50,713

60,388

Other expense, net

Interest expense, net

(19,366)

(21,824)

Other expense, net

(194)

(1,685)

Total other expense, net

(19,560)

(23,509)

Income before income taxes and loss on equity method investments

31,153

36,879

Income tax expense

(8,827)

(5,819)

Loss on equity method investments

(732)

(648)

Net income

$            21,594

$            30,412

Operational EBITDA

$          116,341

$          122,118

Iridium Communications Inc.

Summary Revenue and OEBITDA Highlights

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

% Change

Revenue

Service revenue(1)

Commercial service revenue

Voice and data

$       57,433

$      55,942

3 %

IoT data(2)

45,966

43,856

5 %

Broadband(3)

12,222

12,876

-5 %

Hosted payload and other data service(4)

14,783

14,868

-1 %

Total commercial service revenue

130,404

127,542

2 %

Government service revenue(5)

27,625

26,750

3 %

Total service revenue

158,029

154,292

2 %

Subscriber equipment

20,219

23,121

-13 %

Engineering and support(6)

Commercial

1,344

1,638

-18 %

Government

39,465

35,827

10 %

Total engineering and support

40,809

37,465

9 %

Total revenue

$     219,057

$    214,878

2 %

Operational EBITDA

Operational EBITDA

$     116,341

$    122,118

-5 %

Other

Capital expenditures(7)

$       29,955

$      24,546

Net debt(8)

$  1,663,077

$ 1,772,281

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities

$     111,644

$      50,899

Revolving Credit Facility

$              —

$      20,000

Term Loan, gross

$  1,774,721

$ 1,803,180

Deferred financing costs

(13,537)

(16,213)

Term Loan, net

$  1,761,184

$ 1,786,967

(1)

Service revenue consists of primarily subscription-based services which often generate a long-term recurring revenue stream from subscribers.

(2)

IoT data service provides a two-way short burst data transmission between Iridium's network and a telemetry unit, which may be located, for example, on a container in transit or a buoy monitoring oceanographic conditions.

(3)

Broadband is comprised of Iridium OpenPort® and Iridium Certus.

(4)

Hosted payload and other services consist primarily of services that do not have traditional billable subscribers. Hosted payload services consist of hosting and data services to our payload customers, Aireon LLC and L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Other services include primarily Iridium's one-way satellite timing, location, and authentication services (STL) which provides position, navigation and timing technology.

(5)

Government service revenue consists of voice and IoT data subscription-based services provided to agencies of the U.S. government through prime contracts.

(6)

Engineering and support includes engineering services for the Space Development Agency contract and to assist commercial customers in developing new technologies for use on Iridium's satellite system, as well as maintenance services to the U.S. government's dedicated gateway.

(7)

Capital expenditures based on cash spent in the respective period.

(8)

Net debt is calculated by taking the gross Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility amounts, less cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Subscriber Highlights

(In thousands, except ARPU)

As of March 31,

2026

2025

% Change

Billable Subscribers (1) (2)

Commercial

Voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service

Voice and data

399

409

-2 %

IoT data

2,019

1,885

7 %

Broadband (3)

16.1

16.3

-1 %

Total commercial voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service

2,434

2,310

5 %

Government

Voice and data and IoT data service

Voice and data

43

54

-20 %

IoT data

78

79

-1 %

Total government voice and data and IoT data service

121

133

-9 %

Total billable subscribers

2,555

2,443

5 %

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Net Billable Subscriber Additions

Commercial

Voice and data. IoT data and Broadband service

Voice and data

(3)

(6)

IoT data

21

(2)

Broadband

—

(0.3)

Total commercial voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service

18

(8)

Government

Voice and data and IoT data service

Voice and data

—

(8)

IoT data

—

—

Total government voice and data and IoT data service

—

(8)

Total net billable subscriber additions

18

(16)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

% Change

 ARPU (2) (4)

Commercial

Voice and data

$           48

$           45

7 %

IoT data

$        7.63

$        7.75

-2 %

Broadband

$         254

$         261

-3 %

(1)

Subscribers as of the end of the respective period.

(2)

Billable subscriber and average monthly revenue per unit ("ARPU") data is not applicable for Hosted payload and other data service revenue items and is excluded from presentation above.

(3)

Broadband is comprised of Iridium OpenPort® and Iridium Certus.

(4)

ARPU is calculated by dividing revenue in the respective period by the average of the number of billable subscribers at the beginning of the period and the number of billable subscribers at the end of the period and then dividing the result by the number of months in the period.

Investor Contact:

Press Contact: 

Kenneth Levy

Jordan Hassin

Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc.

+1 (703) 287-7570

+1 (703) 287-7421

[email protected]

[email protected] 

SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.

For the quarter ended March 2026, Iridium Communications (IRDM - Free Report) reported revenue of $219.06 million, up 1.9% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.20, compared to $0.27 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $220.18 million, representing a surprise of -0.51%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -26.15%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.27.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Iridium performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

ARPU - Commercial - IoT data: $7.63 versus $7.74 estimated by four analysts on average.Total Billable Subscribers: 2.56 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of 2.54 million.Billable Subscribers - Total commercial voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service: 2.43 million compared to the 2.42 million average estimate based on four analysts.Billable Subscribers - Total government voice and data and IoT data service: 121 thousand versus the four-analyst average estimate of 119.71 thousand.Revenue- Subscriber equipment: $20.22 million versus $22.47 million estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -12.6% change.Revenue- Service: $158.03 million versus $158.42 million estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.4% change.Revenue- Engineering and support service: $40.81 million compared to the $39.17 million average estimate based on six analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8.9% year over year.Revenue- Service- Commercial service revenue: $130.4 million versus $131.67 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.2% change.Revenue- Service- Government service revenue: $27.63 million compared to the $27.24 million average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.3% year over year.Revenue- Service- Commercial service revenue- Hosted payload and other data service: $14.78 million compared to the $15.2 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -0.6% year over year.Revenue- Engineering and support service- Government: $39.47 million compared to the $37.17 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +10.2% year over year.Revenue- Engineering and support service- Commercial: $1.34 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $2.66 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -18%.View all Key Company Metrics for Iridium here>>>

Shares of Iridium have returned +36.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +9.7% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

Key Takeaways Iridium reported Q1 EPS of 20 cents, missing estimates and declining year over year.IRDM revenue rose 2% to $219.1M, driven by service growth and strong commercial IoT demand.IRDM maintained 2026 outlook, projecting flat to 2% service revenue growth and steady cash flow. Iridium Communications (IRDM - Free Report) reported earnings per share (EPS) of 20 cents for the first quarter of 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25.9%. The bottom line also compared unfavorably with the prior-year quarter's figure of 27 cents.

Quarterly revenues reached $219.1 million, representing a 2% increase from the previous year, driven by rising demand for Iridium’s mission-critical services. Management emphasized that the company is investing in next-generation IoT platforms, PNT, aviation safety and national security—all high-value segments with long growth runways. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $220.2 million.

The standout element remains Service revenue, which contributed $158 million (72% of total revenue), a strong indicator of the company’s recurring revenue model. This recurring nature is critical. Satellite communications businesses benefit from long-term contracts and the use of embedded infrastructure, making their revenue streams more predictable. Iridium’s consistent service growth highlights resilience in a competitive and capital-intensive industry.

The commercial segment remains Iridium’s main source of revenue, accounting for 60%. Commercial service revenue increased 2% to $130.4 million, meeting IRDM’s forecast, driven by growth in commercial IoT along with voice and data services during the quarter. Government service revenue increased slightly in the first quarter to $27.6 million, primarily due to the final phase of the EMSS contract, which was implemented last September.

Commercial broadband declined 5% year over year, reflecting ongoing customer migration to backup services. Revenue from hosting and other data services decreased about 1% to $14.8 million, primarily because of the timing of payments from an existing non-PNT customer. Our estimates for total commercial and government service revenues were $129.9 million and $26.4 million, respectively.

Subscriber equipment sales totaled $20.2 million in the first quarter, broadly in line with expectations, down 12.6% year over year. The drop in equipment sales reflects cyclical demand, which management expects to normalize over the full year. We projected the figure to be $21.5 million.

Engineering and support revenues surged 9% to $40.8 million, led by Iridium’s expanding work with the Space Development Agency, reinforcing its emphasis on growth driven by national security programs. Our estimate was $42.4 million.

In the past year, shares have gained 77.7% compared with the Zacks Satellite and Communication industry's growth of 347%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other DetailsTotal operating expenses were $168.3 million compared with $154.5 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to higher depreciation and amortization costs and selling, general and administrative expenses.

Operational EBITDA (OEBITDA) decreased 5% year over year to $116.3 million. The decline was largely due to a change in compensation structure, shifting to fully cash-based incentives. This added about $4.2 million in expenses for the quarter. 

Operating income came in at $50.7 million compared with $60.4 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Iridium ended the first quarter with 2,555,000 billable subscribers, up 5% year over year, driven primarily by commercial IoT growth. Commercial IoT now represents 83% of commercial subscribers, reinforcing Iridium’s strategy of serving industrial, maritime, aviation, oil & gas, mining and asset-tracking markets.

LiquidityAs of March 31, 2026, total cash and cash equivalents were $111.6 million, with $1.7 billion of net debt. Capital expenditures were $30 million in the quarter under review.

On March 31, 2026, Iridium paid a 15-cent dividend per share, continuing its track record of annual dividend increases since 2023, a positive signal for income-focused investors.

2026 Outlook: Stability With Strategic InvestmentsIridium reiterated its full-year guidance. For 2026, service revenue is expected to be flat to up 2%, reflecting continued IoT growth offset by moderation elsewhere, following 2025 service revenue of $634 million.

Iridium expects 2026 OEBITDA of $480–$490 million compared with $495.3 million reported in 2025. The guidance includes a roughly $17 million hit from paying incentive compensation fully in cash rather than a mix of cash and equity. Excluding this accounting change, 2026 OEBITDA is likely to be $497–$507 million, indicating no underlying operational deterioration.

IRDM projects a pro forma free cash flow of about $318 million for 2026.

IRDM’s Zacks RankIridium currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Recent Performance of Other CompaniesBadger Meter, Inc. (BMI - Free Report) reported EPS of 93 cents for first-quarter 2026, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.5%. The bottom line compared unfavorably with the year-ago quarter’s EPS of $1.30. Quarterly net sales were $202.3 million, down 9% from $222.2 million in the year-ago quarter due to delayed project deployments and weaker-than-expected short-cycle order activity. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $230.1 million.

Simulations Plus, Inc. (SLP - Free Report)  reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 29%. The bottom line also compared favorably with the prior-year quarter’s 31 cents. Simulations Plus reported quarterly revenue of $24.3 million, marking an 8% year-over-year increase. This growth reflects continued demand for its core offerings, especially in drug discovery and development.

BlackBerry Limited (BB - Free Report)  reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of 6 cents. The figure beat the company’s estimate of 3-5 cents. In the year-ago quarter, it reported a non-GAAP EPS of 3 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 5 cents per share. BlackBerry reported quarterly revenue of $156 million, surpassing the top end of its guidance ($138-$148 million), driven by stronger-than-expected sales across both its QNX and Secure Communications divisions. Revenue also increased 10% year over year.

Iridium Communications is upgraded to Hold as catalysts emerge, despite a 135% stock rally since the prior Sell rating. Q1 2026 results were weak: revenue up 2%, OEBITDA down 4.8%, and EPS down 26%, with commercial IoT as the primary growth driver. IRDM stock surge was driven by insider buying, institutional accumulation, and the SITH contract extension, not fundamental outperformance.

The Procure Space ETF (NYSEARCA:UFO) was built to give investors a single ticket to a fragmented industry: rocket builders, satellite operators, ground-segment vendors, and direct-to-device communications upstarts that rarely fit cleanly into a sector ETF. The prospectus is direct about the design, requiring at least 80% of index weight in companies that derive a majority... UFO ETF Faces a Critical Test: Can Pre-Profit Space Stocks Deliver on $1.85B Backlog

© Vladi333 / Shutterstock.com

The Procure Space ETF (NYSEARCA:UFO) was built to give investors a single ticket to a fragmented industry: rocket builders, satellite operators, ground-segment vendors, and direct-to-device communications upstarts that rarely fit cleanly into a sector ETF. The prospectus is direct about the design, requiring at least 80% of index weight in companies that derive a majority of revenues from space-related industries tracked against the S-Network Space Index.

Performance lately has rewarded that thesis. UFO trades around $50, up 29% year to date and 123% over the past year, although the fund slipped 7% in the past week. Bulls cite the defense backlog forming behind names like Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB | RKLB Price Prediction) and AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS). Skeptics point to a 0.75% expense ratio and modest $174.6M in net assets, which leaves UFO small relative to broader thematic peers.

The Macro Factor: U.S. National Security Space Spending The single biggest force pushing UFO holdings is the federal procurement cycle for proliferated low-earth-orbit constellations. Rocket Lab booked an $816 million Space Development Agency contract for 18 satellites in the Tracking Layer Tranche 3 program, the largest deal in its history, lifting backlog to $1.85 billion (+73% YoY). AST SpaceMobile holds prime contractor status on the $30 million Space Development Agency HALO Europa Track 2 award, and Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT) sits inside the $150 billion MDA SHIELD IDIQ vehicle. Roughly 51% of UFO is industrials and 37% media and communications, sectors where defense satellite work translates directly into revenue.

What to watch: the Department of Defense FY2027 budget request, expected this summer, and recurring SDA contract awards. The 10-year Treasury near 4.4% sets the cost-of-capital backdrop for these capex-heavy programs. If Congress trims SDA Tranche 3 funding or delays Golden Dome, UFO’s industrial weight loses its strongest tailwind. Bookmark the SDA contracts page and the GAO’s annual defense acquisition report.

The Micro Factor: Execution Risk Inside a Concentrated Pre-Profit Book UFO’s top 10 holdings represent 48% of net assets, and several are still burning cash. Rocket Lab posted a FY2025 net loss of $198 million with free cash flow of negative $322 million. AST SpaceMobile lost $342 million for the year against full-year revenue of just $71 million. That structure means specific milestones move the NAV.

Three milestones dominate the next 12 months. Rocket Lab’s Neutron debut was pushed to Q4 2026 after a stage-1 tank test failure. ViaSat-3 F2 is expected to enter service May 2026, doubling fleet bandwidth. AST SpaceMobile is targeting 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by year-end 2026, with launches every one to two months. Each slip has cascading effects: a Neutron delay constrains the SDA delivery schedule, while ViaSat-3 F3 timing affects the strategic review committee evaluating separation of government and commercial businesses.

Reddit traders are tracking these catalysts in real time. A widely upvoted r/wallstreetbets post titled "$RKLB CEO Peter Beck reduces his salary to 1$ and cancels all his stock plans" drove sentiment scores to 88 (very bullish) in mid-April, the kind of retail conviction that amplifies both upside and drawdowns in a thinly held thematic fund.

Where to look: the issuer fact sheet at procureetfs.com, RKLB and ASTS 8-K filings for launch updates, and Viasat’s quarterly capex disclosure. The next index reconstitution will reveal whether weight shifts away from launchers toward operators with recurring revenue, like Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM), which generated $219 million in Q1 2026 revenue with 2.6 million subscribers.

What Will Decide UFO’s Next Leg If U.S. defense space awards keep flowing through Q3 2026, UFO’s industrial-heavy book stays bid; watch Rocket Lab’s Neutron debut window and AST SpaceMobile’s monthly BlueBird launch cadence, because any slip in either will pull the fund’s most-owned growth names lower regardless of how the SDA budget prints.

The transaction unifies the world's only space-based air traffic surveillance system with the satellite network it was built on and extends commercial partnerships with NAV CANADA and NATS through 2035 and beyond.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice, data, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite services, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aireon LLC, operator of the world's only space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) air traffic surveillance system. The acquisition of Aireon is a defining step in Iridium's strategy to provide the foundational architecture for global aviation safety, bringing space-based surveillance, safety communications, PNT, and operational data together on a single network.

Iridium has announced it is acquiring Aireon as a key step in its strategy to lead the future of aviation safety. "Aireon has always been part of Iridium's aviation safety strategy. We founded it in partnership with the world's leading Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), because we believed space-based aviation safety was a generational opportunity," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "The aviation industry is now entering an era of growing air traffic, denser airspace, autonomous aircraft, and greater expectations for safety and resiliency. Bringing Aireon fully inside Iridium better positions us to build what's needed to support the future of aviation, including more innovations like the future introduction of space-based VHF communications."

A Combined Platform for Aviation Safety
The acquisition unites Aireon's surveillance and data services, including GPS jamming and spoofing detection, with Iridium's global satcom network and PNT services that help keep GPS-dependent systems working in contested environments. This combination creates one company providing four critical aviation industry capabilities: knowing where every aircraft is, communicating with the pilots flying them, providing the navigation and timing integrity those aircraft rely on, and translating that information into operational insights that make airspace safer and more efficient. No other satellite operator delivers this combination of capabilities on a global scale.

Today, the Aireon system, which is certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), flies as a payload on the Iridium satellite constellation and tracks an average of 190,000 flights per day. Commercial aircraft broadcast information such as an aircraft's identity, location, altitude, speed, and heading. Aireon's space-based ADS-B payload captures this information in real time, with 100% global coverage. ANSPs covering more than 50% of the global airspace rely on Aireon data to create safer and more efficient airspace.

The world's leading ANSPs and investors in Aireon, including NAV CANADA and NATS (United Kingdom), AirNav Ireland, ENAV (Italy), and Naviair (Denmark), each played a vital role in launching the Aireon service, proving its reliability, and establishing it as a critical part of the global air traffic control infrastructure. NAV CANADA and NATS, which together manage the most heavily trafficked oceanic airspace in the world – the North Atlantic Tracks between Europe and North America, were the first to go live with the service. In connection with the acquisition, both ANSPs will sign extended data services agreements through 2035 and beyond, with provisions for continued cooperative development of space-based VHF communications and other new capabilities.

"Aireon and Iridium have been partners since day one, and that partnership is the reason we have been able to build the world's only space-based air traffic surveillance system and a fast-growing aviation data services business alongside it," said Don Thoma, CEO of Aireon. "Becoming part of Iridium is a natural next step for our team, our customers, and our roadmap, particularly as our data products expand into new areas like turbulence detection and aviation data analytics. Together, we are building the foundation for the future of global aviation."

"NAV CANADA is proud of our foundational role in establishing Aireon's world-first technology," said Mark Cooper, President and CEO, NAV CANADA. "This sale sharpens our focus on our core expertise: keeping Canada's skies safe. As a fellow founding partner, Iridium is the ideal owner to guide Aireon's continued commercial growth. We wish the entire team continued success and look forward to our ongoing relationship as a customer."

"We have been proud to be a part of Aireon's successes, most notably making real-time aircraft surveillance over the Atlantic a reality for the first time in history, enabling even safer operations across the North Atlantic," said Martin Rolfe, CEO, NATS. "As a shareholder for the past eight years, it is now the right time for us to divest. We are confident Aireon is well positioned for the future and wish the team every success in the next stage of its development."

The Next Transition: Space-Based VHF
Space-based VHF communications represent a major opportunity in air traffic management, extending pilot-to-controller VHF services into oceanic and remote airspace where ground infrastructure cannot reach, without the need for additional aircraft equipment. The model is similar to how aircraft already carry ADS-B transceivers, which enables Aireon to deliver space-based ADS-B surveillance without requiring fleet retrofits.

Aireon's Growing Data Services Business
Beyond surveillance for ANSPs, Aireon operates a fast-expanding aviation data services business that sells real-time and historical aviation data to airlines, airports, OEMs, governments, and aerospace operators. Product lines already available or launching this year include turbulence detection, GPS jamming and spoofing detection, and safety and efficiency analytics. Additional applications are also in development to support the rapidly evolving airspace environment.

Aireon's data business is one of its highest-growth areas today and is expected to be a meaningful contributor to the combined company's aviation growth.

Terms of the Transaction and Financial Insights
Iridium is an existing owner of Aireon and will acquire the remaining 61% of equity interests of Aireon in the transaction for a purchase price of approximately $366.7 million from the other owners, NAV CANADA, AirNav Ireland, ENAV, NATS and Naviair. The purchase price will be paid 50% at closing and 50% on the one-year anniversary. Iridium will also assume Aireon's outstanding debt, expected to be approximately $155 million at closing.

The acquisition of Aireon is accretive to Iridium's growth outlook; over the past three years, Aireon's total revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%. Iridium expects the acquisition will result in at least an additional consolidated $100 million of service revenue and $30 million of OEBITDA on an annualized basis.

Iridium expects to pay the purchase price with current liquidity, including borrowings under its revolving credit facility, and future cash from operations. After closing the transaction, Iridium expects net leverage to increase to approximately 4.0 times OEBITDA during Q3 2026, with net leverage planned to return to the current levels over the subsequent twelve months. Iridium's long-term net leverage guide of 2.0 times OEBITDA by the end of the decade remains unchanged and assumes no change in its paused share buyback program.

Aireon will continue business-as-usual operations in the near term, with no planned changes to business strategy. The transaction is targeted to close in early July.

Evercore served as financial advisor and Cooley and Milbank served as legal counsel to Iridium. PJT Partners served as financial advisor and Hogan Lovells served as legal counsel to Aireon.

Note for Media:
A briefing for reporters will be held today, at 9 a.m. EDT. Reporters interested in attending should email the designated contacts for this release to receive an access link.

For more information about Iridium, visit: www.iridium.com

For more information about Aireon, visit: www.aireon.com

Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Iridium reports OEBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as a supplemental measure to help investors evaluate Iridium's fundamental operational performance. OEBITDA represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, gain (loss) on equity method investments, transaction related expenses, and share-based compensation expenses. Iridium considers the loss on early extinguishment of debt to be financing-related costs associated with interest expense or amortization of financing fees, which by definition are excluded from OEBITDA. Management believes such charges are incidental to, but not reflective of, Iridium's day-to-day operating performance. OEBITDA does not represent, and should not be considered, an alternative to U.S. GAAP measurements such as net income or loss. In addition, there is no standardized measurement of OEBITDA, and Iridium's calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Iridium believes OEBITDA is a useful measure across time in evaluating its fundamental core operating performance. Management also uses OEBITDA to manage the business, including in preparing its annual operating budget, debt covenant compliance, financial projections and compensation plans. Iridium believes that OEBITDA is also useful to investors because similar measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies in similar industries. As indicated, OEBITDA does not include interest expense on borrowed money, the payment of income taxes, amortization of Iridium's definite-lived intangible assets, or depreciation expense on Iridium's capital assets, which are necessary elements of Iridium's operations. Since OEBITDA does not account for these and other expenses, its utility as a measure of Iridium's operating performance has material limitations. Due to these limitations, Iridium's management does not view OEBITDA in isolation, but also uses other measurements, such as net income, revenues and operating profit, to measure operating performance. Iridium does not provide a forward-looking reconciliation of Aireon's expected contribution to OEBITDA as the amount and significance of certain items such as share-based compensation, transaction-related expenses and gain/loss on equity method investments, that are required to develop meaningful comparable GAAP financial measures cannot be estimated at this time without unreasonable efforts.

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) operates the world's only truly global mobile satellite network, delivering reliable voice, data, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services anywhere on Earth. Iridium supports safety- and mission-critical operations for diverse markets such as aviation, maritime, government, emergency services, critical infrastructure, autonomous systems, and remote monitoring applications, where connectivity is essential.

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Iridium provides its products and services through an ecosystem of 500-plus partner companies around the world. For more information, visit www.iridium.com.

About Aireon LLC

Aireon has deployed a space-based air traffic surveillance system for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft throughout the entire globe. Aireon is harnessing next-generation aviation surveillance technologies that were formerly ground-based and, for the first time ever, is extending their reach globally to significantly improve efficiency, enhance safety, reduce emissions, and provide cost savings benefits to all stakeholders. Space-based ADS-B surveillance covers oceanic, polar, and remote regions, and augments existing ground-based systems that are limited to terrestrial airspace. In partnership with leading ANSPs from around the world, like NAV CANADA, AirNav Ireland, ENAV, NATS and Naviair, as well as Iridium Communications, Aireon is providing a global, real-time, space-based air traffic surveillance system, available to all aviation stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.aireon.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Iridium has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, the closing and financing of the acquisition of Aireon, including the timing thereof; the future capabilities of, benefits of, availability of, and market demand for the Aireon system and Aireon's services; the benefits of Aireon's acquisition to Iridium, including its expected contribution to Iridium's revenue and OEBITDA, its ability to foster innovation at Iridium, and its future growth; and future indebtedness and net leverage. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "plans," "projects," "targets," "positions," "will," "to be," "future," "forward," "roadmap," "wish,"  and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events, trends or prospects.

These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding the timing and completion of the acquisition; the development, availability and market acceptance of Aireon system and services; and general industry and economic conditions, as well as competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Iridium's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 12, 2026, as well as in other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time.

There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Press Contact: 

Investor Contact:

Jordan Hassin 

Kenneth Levy

Iridium Communications Inc. 

Iridium Communications Inc.

[email protected]

[email protected]

+1 (703) 287-7421 

+1 (703) 287-7570

SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.

On May 22, 2026, Iridium Communications Inc IRDM shares rose 6.9% today, bringing the current price to $48.84. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $15.65 and a high of $48.94.

GF Value™ verdict indicates that the current price is $48.84, which is 34.5% above the GF Value™ of $36.32.GF Score™ stands at 71/100, suggesting the company is above average in terms of its overall performance metrics.Insiders have sold $0.2 million worth of shares in the last three months, indicating a lack of buying activity. Is IRDM Overvalued or Undervalued? According to the GF Value™, Iridium Communications Inc is currently overvalued. The stock price of $48.84 is significantly above the GF Value™ of $36.32, representing a 34.5% margin of overvaluation. This classification as "Significantly Overvalued" indicates that the current market price may not be justified by the company's fundamentals, potentially exposing investors to downside risk. GF Value™ is GuruFocus' proprietary measure of intrinsic value, calculated from historical trading multiples, past business growth, and future performance estimates.

The substantial gap between the current price and GF Value™ suggests that the stock could be vulnerable to price corrections. Investors may want to exercise caution, as purchasing at these elevated levels could lead to diminished returns if the market adjusts to align with intrinsic values.

How Does IRDM's Valuation Compare to Its History? Metric Current Historical P/E (TTM) 49.5x 35.9x Forward P/E 44.0x - The current P/E ratio of 49.5x is 38% above its 5-year median P/E of 35.9x, indicating that the stock is trading well above its historical valuation. This analysis aligns with the GF Value™ verdict, reinforcing the conclusion that IRDM is overvalued at its current price levels.

What Does IRDM's GF Score™ Tell Us? Metric Rating GF Score™ 71 Financial Strength 4/10 Profitability 7/10 Growth 6/10 Valuation 5/10 Momentum 3/10 The GF Score™ of 71/100 indicates that while Iridium Communications has strengths in profitability (7/10) and growth (6/10), it exhibits weaknesses in financial strength (4/10) and momentum (3/10). The varying scores suggest that while the company may be performing well in generating profits, its overall financial health and momentum may not be as robust, contributing to the concerns surrounding its current valuation.

What Are Insiders Doing with IRDM Stock? Recent insider activity shows that insiders have sold $0.2 million worth of shares in the last three months, with no reported buying activity. This pattern suggests a lack of confidence from those within the company regarding its current valuation or future prospects. Insiders typically have valuable insights into their company's performance, and their selling could indicate they believe the stock is overvalued at current levels.

What This Means for Investors Based on the GF Value™, Iridium Communications Inc is currently overvalued. The significant discrepancy between the stock's market price and its intrinsic value suggests that caution may be warranted for potential investors considering entering at this price point.

For the complete analysis, visit the Iridium Communications Inc IRDM stock page. You can also explore the GF Value™ page for detailed valuation methodology, or use the GuruFocus Stock Screener to find similar opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions What is IRDM's GF Score™?

IRDM's GF Score™ is 71/100, indicating above-average performance across various metrics that can lead to higher long-term returns.

Is IRDM overvalued or undervalued?

IRDM is currently overvalued, with a GF Value™ of $36.32 compared to its market price of $48.84, suggesting a significant overvaluation.

What is IRDM's P/E ratio?

IRDM's P/E ratio is 49.5x, which is 38% higher than its 5-year median P/E of 35.9x, indicating that the stock is trading above its historical valuation levels.

This stock alert was generated using automated technology and GuruFocus financial data to provide readers with timely and accurate market reporting. This content was reviewed by GuruFocus editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

HP Inc. HPQ delivered a stronger-than-expected fiscal second quarter, but the bigger investor story is what comes next. The company guided current-quarter adjusted profit to 61 cents to 71 cents a share, with the 66-cent midpoint above the average estimate but still below some projections that reached 73 cents. That gap matters because HP is still navigating a sharp rise in memory and storage costs, a pressure point that could keep squeezing margins even as demand for PCs improves.

HP reported adjusted profit of 86 cents a share on revenue of $14.4 billion, ahead of estimates for 71 cents a share on $14 billion in sales. Personal Systems revenue climbed 13% to $10.2 billion, driven by a 14% increase in business PC sales, while adjusted operating margin came in at 7.5%, above the 6.6% average estimate. The company also benefited from customers replacing equipment and investing in new systems tied to AI demand, though that same AI cycle has helped create a memory-chip shortage that is pushing input costs higher.

Interim CEO Bruce Broussard said memory and storage costs rose during the quarter and are expected to keep increasing in the second half of the year. HP has responded by raising prices, adding suppliers, and adjusting some products to use less memory, but the company still narrowed the top end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast to $3.10 from $3.20. Shares initially rose as much as 15% in extended trading before giving back nearly all of those gains, suggesting investors may be weighing strong near-term execution against the possibility that higher component costs and pulled-forward PC demand could pressure results later in the year.

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

For 30 years, one architecture has ruled the Windows PC: x86.

Intel (INTC) built it. AMD (AMD) adopted it. Microsoft (MSFT) optimized for it, and the entire Windows software ecosystem was written around it. It became so entrenched that challenging it seemed almost pointless.

Apple (AAPL) proved it could be done. In 2020, Apple Silicon made the switch from x86 to Arm. MacBooks got faster, cooler, and longer-lasting.

But Apple only moved Apple. The Windows world remained locked in to x86.

Until yesterday, when Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s reveal at Computex 2026 blew up 30 years of PC orthodoxy…

What Is the Nvidia RTX Spark Superchip? Nvidia, the company that owns AI in the data center, has just announced its PC play: the RTX Spark Superchip — a processor designed to turn Windows into an agentic AI OS.

A few years ago, this kind of AI horsepower required a server room. The RTX Spark puts it in a laptop — 1 petaflop of AI compute, 6,144 CUDA cores, 128 GB of unified memory, all inside a thin chassis. Translation: your next laptop won’t just run AI apps. It will run AI.

The CPU and GPU are connected via NVLink C2C — an ultra-high-speed interconnect that Nvidia normally uses to link chips inside massive AI data center servers. It has essentially miniaturized data-center-grade chip communication and stuffed it into a laptop. Co-developed with Microsoft and MediaTek, this is as much a feat of engineering as it is a business strategy — Nvidia is binding its software ecosystem to every premium Windows device from day one. 

Qualcomm (QCOM) has been trying to make Arm-based Windows chips work for years. The Snapdragon X Elite had competitive hardware. But competing with Nvidia on Arm isn’t just a hardware race — and that’s the problem we’ll come back to.

Nvidia’s first-ever PC processor will eventually power over 30 laptops and 10 compact desktops from Dell (DELL), HP (HPQ), Lenovo, Asus, MSI, and Microsoft’s own Surface line, with the first products arriving this fall. 

The Real Weapon Isn’t the Chip — It’s CUDA  The hardware is impressive. But the real story here is about CUDA: Nvidia’s proprietary software platform.

CUDA lets developers write code that runs on Nvidia GPUs. Over the past 15 years, virtually every major AI model, every AI framework, every serious GPU-accelerated application has been built on CUDA. It’s been the industry’s deepest software moat. And until now, it has lived entirely in the cloud and in high-end workstations.

RTX Spark is the first Windows laptop chip to run the full CUDA software stack natively. That means the entire ecosystem will now run on your laptop, right out of the box, no compromises.

This is why Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite has struggled to gain real traction: good hardware, no software gravity. Nvidia brings 30 years of software ecosystem with it from day one.

The Agentic PC: Intelligence Moves From the Cloud to Your Device Nvidia is selling more than a faster chip. It’s selling a vision: one where the intelligence lives on your device, not in someone else’s data center. 

Today, powerful AI requires the cloud — which means it requires trust. Trust that your documents and personal information are handled responsibly by servers you don’t own, running software you can’t inspect, operated by companies whose incentives don’t always align with yours.

RTX Spark changes the equation. With 128 GB of memory and 1 petaflop of AI compute, these machines run 120-billion-parameter models entirely on-device. No upload, subscription, or third-party server required. Nvidia and Microsoft are building OpenShell to turn Windows into a full agentic OS — persistent AI agents, running locally, working on your behalf around the clock.

Jensen Huang calls it an AI supercomputer for your home. Given what’s under the hood, that’s not hyperbole.

Winners and Losers: How to Position Around the RTX Spark Launch  Great product. Better trade. 

Nvidia is the obvious winner. RTX Spark opens an entirely new revenue stream — consumer PC silicon — layered on top of its already-dominant data center AI business. Jensen Huang has suggested the CPU market is exploding toward $200 billion. If Nvidia captures even a modest slice of the premium PC segment, that translates to tens of billions in incremental annual revenue over the next decade. The stock has already priced in AI dominance, but the market hasn’t fully priced in Nvidia as a full-stack, every-device, everywhere AI platform company. That repricing takes time — but it’s coming.

The cleanest, most underappreciated winner, however, is Arm Holdings (ARM). It collects a royalty on every single RTX Spark chip sold. The RTX Spark’s CPU cores are based on Arm architecture. And MediaTek — which co-designed the CPU — is itself a major Arm licensee. Arm bears zero execution risk, zero supply chain complexity, zero OEM relationship headaches. It just clips a coupon on every premium PC sold, in the highest-ASP segment of the market, as x86 displacement accelerates industry-wide. This is the purest expression of the trade. Apple Silicon proved Arm could beat x86 in laptops. Nvidia’s RTX Spark may prove it can dominate them.

Intel (INTC) faces the most acute long-term threat here. It’s being squeezed from above by Apple Silicon on the premium end and now Nvidia on the AI-performance end, while AMD attacks the middle. That said, Intel’s stock is currently trading on its data center AI turnaround thesis (Gaudi roadmap, foundry strategy), not on PC market share. RTX Spark is a real fundamental negative for Intel’s client computing business — but it’s not what moves the stock near-term. Similarly, AMD and Qualcomm face incremental PC headwinds, but their market narratives are tied to data center AI momentum, which RTX Spark doesn’t reach.

The Bottom Line: The PC Market Just Changed — and the Royalty Collector Wins The AI era is rewriting the rules of every market it touches.

Most investors are watching it happen in semiconductors, data centers, PCs, and robotics. They’re asking the same question in every category: who wins the AI race?

But there’s one market where that question hasn’t been asked yet — and it’s the largest market in the world.

Money itself.

The $480 trillion global financial system runs on infrastructure that hasn’t meaningfully changed in decades. The rails that move your paycheck, your Social Security payment, your tax bill — they were built for a different era. And for the first time in a generation, someone is rebuilding them from scratch.

I think it could be the most consequential infrastructure story of the decade. 

Here’s what I’m watching.

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) announced its latest devices and solutions, designed to enable developers of all types to create new experiences using AI.

HP is previewing PCs powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark™, bringing a reinvention of personal computing, combining personal agents, advanced content creation, and high-performance gaming in a new platform engineered from the ground up for the next wave of Windows PC experiences.

                                     “Developers are moving from experimenting with AI to shipping agentic applications, and they need PCs that are as open, fast, and flexible as their workflows,” said Samuel Chang, Senior Vice President and Division President, Consumer Personal Systems at HP Inc. “Our expanded portfolio pairs compact, powerful hardware with pre-configured environments and open-source toolchains to eliminate setup friction and accelerate the path from idea to execution. Whether it is a device optimized for hybrid Windows workflows, creators, gamers, or AI practitioners or powerful workstations for edge development, we’re giving builders a clear, practical path to run local agents and scale hybrid AI with confidence.”

“Over 70% of enterprise PCs run Windows, and our customers have asked for AI supercomputing power that can seamlessly integrate into their existing environments,” said Jim Nottingham, Senior Vice President and Division President, Advanced Compute and Solutions, HP Inc. “We plan to add support for Windows in the HP ZGX Fury GB300 and remain committed to expanding our portfolio to meet evolving customer needs through strong collaboration with our partners.” 

New solutions include:

The latest notebooks and desktops powered by NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform. RTX Spark is designed for creators, gamers, and AI developers, bringing NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform and suite of RTX technologies to slim laptops with all-day battery life. Beginning later this year, HP will bring RTX Spark to its HP OmniBook Ultra 16 and HP OmniBook X 14 laptops, and will be the world’s thinnest RTX Spark, built for powerful performance.iThe company is also planning to expand its RTX Spark offerings with a compact desktop, bringing new choice to creators, AI enthusiasts, and developers.  Ultimate deskside AI supercomputer with NVIDIA GB300. HP deskside and rackable high-performance compute powered by the NVIDIA GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip will be coming to Windows later this year, empowering enterprise teams to build, run, and connect always-on, frontier AI agents to Windows applications and workflows.ZGX Nano for regulated environments, for secure, local AI processing. A new HP ZGX Nano configuration combines tightly integrated hardware and software to minimize attack surfaces by physically restricting wireless access and external interfaces. Built on Zero Trust principles, the HP ZGX Nano enables the deployment of secure and reliable AI in classified and remote environments, setting a new benchmark for AI development in the most demanding real-world conditions. Intelligent Edge Platforms Powering AI Innovation

HP is also unveiling a new class of developer PCs for the agentic AI era: systems designed not just to use AI, but to help developers build it. The company’s portfolio now ranges from IT-managed, high-performance workstations to self-managed, off-the-shelf devices available at retail. These PCs are designed to support practical AI development and creation across Windows and Linux, with systems tuned for local agents, hybrid AI workflows, open-source tooling, and fast setup.

By pairing compact, powerful hardware with pre-packaged developer environments, command-line workflows, OpenClaw-based starter kits, and support for agent frameworks such as Hermes, HP will make it easier for developers to move from idea to working agent without stitching the stack together from scratch.

Full-sized PC performance in a compact design. The new HP OmniDesk Mini Desktop PC is the world’s first Mini AI PC with Thunderbolt™ Share.ii Powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors and built-in AI capabilities, it replaces bulky towers with a sleek footprint and enables seamless workflows with support for controlling two PCs with a single keyboard and mouse, plus fast file transfers between projects. Build the ideal desk setup that allows you to do your best work with versatile ports, including two Thunderbolt™ 4 connections,iii and support up to four 4K displays.ivWorkstation capabilities, off-the-shelf and ready to perform out of the box. HP is also expanding its advanced compute offering by bringing the latest AMD Ryzen™ AI PRO 400 series processors to the HP Z2 Mini G1a and integrating the validated AMD Ryzen™ AI Halo developer software stack, featuring the Ryzen™ AI Developer Center, AMD ROCm™, pre-installed AI frameworks, models and guided playbooks, so developers can start building and running advanced AI workloads instantly. Expected to be available in select retail channels later this year, this powerful workstation will provide everyday developers with powerful, accessible tools. This partnership underscores HP’s commitment to delivering advanced AI capabilities and workstation-class performance, empowering developers to accelerate their workflows with innovative, flexible systems. Pricing and Availabilityv

The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 and HP OmniBook X 14 powered by RTX Spark are expected to be available later this year. Additional device details and pricing will be shared closer to availability.The HP OmniDesk Mini Desktop PC with Intel Core Ultra is expected to be available in August 2026. Pricing will be shared closer to availability. About HP
HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a global technology leader redefining the Future of Work. Operating in more than 180 countries, HP delivers innovative and AI-powered devices, software, services and subscriptions that drive business growth and professional fulfillment. For more information, please visit: HP.com.

i Based on publicly available information and HP’s internal analysis of 14-inch and 16-inch display consumer notebooks from major manufacturers with Windows on Arm and a thermal design power of greater than 45W as of June 2026. Slimness is determined by the notebook’s rear height of 15.73 millimeters on HP OmniBook Ultra 16 inch Laptop Next Gen AI PC and 13.53mm on HP OmniBook X 14 inch Laptop Next Gen AI PC. Rear height measurement is near the back edge where the chassis bottom cover taper ends, excluding transition area to rubber feet and hinge cap.
ii HP internal analysis based on all mini PCs in the market as of May 2026. Mini PCs are defined herein as desktop PCs with a volume of less than 5 liters. Thunderbolt™ Share enables connection, control, and file transfer between two PCs using a single Thunderbolt™ cable. Both PCs must run Windows 11 or later, feature Thunderbolt™ 4 or Thunderbolt™ 5 ports, and have the Thunderbolt™ Share application installed. A valid Thunderbolt™ Share license is required on at least one device.
iii Actual throughput may vary. USB Type-C® and USB-C® are trademarks of USB Implementers Forum.
iv External displays, cables, and adapters required for multi-display support are sold separately.
v Pricing and availability subject to change without notice.

Stocks futures are slightly higher to kick off the week as announcements from AI chipmaker Nvidia spark big moves in a number of tech sector shares; Nvidia stock gaining after CEO Jensen Huang delivered a keynote address at a conference in Taiwan; Huang unveiled a new line of AI agent-focused laptops Nvidia is building in partnership with a group of companies, news that sent IBM soaring and Intel sliding; Berkshire Hathaway is acquiring Taylor Morrison Home Corp. in the firm's first big acquisition under CEO Greg Abel; investors are preparing for a busy week of earnings reports and economic data. Here's what you need to know today.

Have you evaluated the performance of HP's (HPQ - Free Report) international operations for the quarter ending April 2026? Given the extensive global presence of this personal computer and printer maker, analyzing the patterns in international revenues is crucial for understanding its financial strength and potential for growth.

In the modern, closely-knit global economic landscape, the capacity of a business to access foreign markets is often a key determinant of its financial well-being and growth path. Investors now place great importance on grasping the extent of a company's dependence on international markets, as it sheds light on the firm's earnings stability, its skill in leveraging various economic cycles and its broad growth potential.

International market involvement serves as insurance against economic downturns at home and enables engagement with economies that are growing more quickly. Still, this move toward diversification is not without its challenges, as it involves navigating through the fluctuations of currencies, geopolitical threats, and the distinctive nature of various markets.

While analyzing HPQ's performance for the last quarter, we found some intriguing trends in revenues from its overseas segments that Wall Street analysts commonly model and monitor.

The company's total revenue for the quarter amounted to $14.41 billion, marking an increase of 9% from the year-ago quarter. We will next turn our attention to dissecting HPQ's international revenue to get a clearer picture of how significant its operations are outside its main base.

Exploring HPQ's International Revenue PatternsOf the total revenue, $3.58 billion came from Asia-Pacific and Japan during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 24.9%. This represented a surprise of +3.21% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $3.47 billion to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $3.64 billion, or 25.2%, and $3.03 billion, or 23%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

Europe, Middle East and Africa generated $4.97 billion in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 34.5% of the total. This represented a surprise of +3.3% compared to the $4.81 billion projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, Europe, Middle East and Africa accounted for $5.23 billion (36.2%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $4.39 billion (33.2%) to the total revenue.

International Revenue PredictionsWall Street analysts expect HP to report a total revenue of $14.07 billion in the current fiscal quarter, which suggests an increase of 1% from the prior-year quarter. Revenue shares from Asia-Pacific and Japan and Europe, Middle East and Africa are predicted to be 24.5%, and 34.1%, corresponding to amounts of $3.45 billion, and $4.79 billion, respectively.

Analysts expect the company to report a total annual revenue of $56.76 billion for the full year, marking an increase of 2.6% compared to last year. The expected revenue contributions from Asia-Pacific and Japan and Europe, Middle East and Africa are projected to be 24.6% ($13.96 billion), and 34.1% ($19.36 billion) of the total revenue, in that order.

Key TakeawaysHP's leaning on foreign markets for its revenue stream presents a mix of chances and challenges. Therefore, a vigilant watch on its international revenue movements can greatly aid in projecting the company's future direction.

With the increasing intricacies of global interdependence and geopolitical strife, Wall Street analysts meticulously observe these patterns, especially for companies with an international footprint, to tweak their forecasts of earnings. Importantly, several additional factors, such as a company's domestic market status, also impact these earnings forecasts.

At Zacks, a company's changing earnings outlook is given considerable attention due to its proven, strong influence on a stock's price performance in the near term. The connection here is straightforward and positive: when earnings estimates are revised upward, the stock price generally follows suit, increasing as well.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool - the Zacks Rank - harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions and serves as an effective indicator of a stock's near-term price performance.

HP currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

A Review of HP's Recent Stock Market PerformanceThe stock has witnessed an increase of 29.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's an increase of 6.3%. In the same interval, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector, to which HP belongs, has registered an increase of 12.4%. Over the past three months, the company's shares saw an increase of 39%, while the S&P 500 increased by 10.5%. In comparison, the sector experienced an increase of 24.3% during this timeframe.

Nvidia opened Taipei’s enormous Computex trade show on Sunday with a spark, literally. The chipmaker unveiled a new PC CPU called the RTX Spark, which it dubbed a “superchip,” and named a who’s who list of PC makers that will soon deliver AI PCs powered by it.

The super-fast, 1-petaflop chip is designed to run AI agents like OpenClaw or Hermes Agent securely, according to Nvidia. Such RTX Spark Windows PCs will be available this fall from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft Surface, and MSI, with models from Acer and Gigabyte to follow.

In addition to being equipped with secure sandboxes (jointly developed with Microsoft) to run agents securely, the PCs will also have enough CPU, GPU, RAM, and underlying Nvidia CUDA software to run local versions of large language models.

Nvidia said that its RTX technology will deliver faster performance for AI, better image quality, and support for AI features in more than 1,000 games and applications.

The chipmaker is marketing this as an alternative for creators making AI content, as well as providing a significant upgrade to its traditional market of gamers. Nvidia said more than 100 Windows software makers have signed on to support the new chip, including Adobe, Blender, ComfyUI, Riot Games, and Xbox.

But Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s vision for these new PCs is far larger. He wants to end the days of launching apps, pointing, clicking, and typing.

“With RTX Spark and Microsoft Windows, you ask — and the PC does the work,” he said in the press release. “Frontier models. Creative workflows. RTX games. All on a laptop.”

Last month, after delivering another record quarter, Huang promised investors he had found a new $200 billion market for Nvidia in selling CPUs for AI, not just GPUs. He made specific mention of the high-end server CPU released earlier this year called Vera — of which Nvidia says it has already sold $20 billion worth.

He also hinted at his bigger ambitions. “We’ll have billions of agents, and those billions of agents will all use tools. And those tools are going to be like PCs, just like us humans using PCs today,” he said on the earnings call in May. “We’re going to need a lot more CPUs.”

Nvidia ARM-based Windows devices have been tried before — and failed. Back in 2013, Microsoft famously had to write off $900 million on its Nvidia ARM-based Surface RT, with partners like Dell also bailing on the product.

But at this point, after delivering record after record of quarterly revenue, it’s hard to bet against Huang as he pursues his PC dreams once again.

And this chip is an entirely different beast. It’s more powerful, not less. Microsoft is positioning its own RTX Spark PC as so mighty that it named it the Surface Laptop Ultra, and is calling it “the most powerful Surface Laptop ever built.”

Still, PC manufacturers have not released a lot of specifics about each of their offerings, including pricing. These systems appear to be full-fledged Windows versions of the DGX Spark mini-computer that Nvidia already sells to developers for about $4,800.

We’ll have to wait and see if these PCs will compete on price with the affordable Mac Mini that has become a popular choice for running OpenClaw. Or perhaps they will sit at the high end of the PC market, like Nvidia’s own agent-running mini computer.

Either way, if Nvidia has cracked the code on bringing AI agents easily, safely, and usefully to the masses, it could — and should — be big.

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Key Takeaways Breakdown in Iran-U.S. talks sent oil prices soaring on Monday, boosting energy ETFs like BNO. Rising crude may fuel inflation, favoring commodity, income and dollar-focused ETFs. Despite geopolitical tensions, AI-driven growth keeps semiconductor ETFs like SMH attractive. There were reports on Monday that Iran suspended communications with U.S. negotiators amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon, raising doubts about a potential ceasefire agreement that President Trump had suggested was nearing completion. President Donald Trump told CNBC, “I don’t care” if peace negotiations with Iran are over, as quoted on CNBC.

However, shortly after, he posted on social media that negotiations with Iran were still underway and told ABC News he expected an agreement within the next week that would extend the ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as quoted on The Hindu.

Against this backdrop, the following ETF strategies could help investors navigate the tough geopolitical scenario, especially if ceasefire talks take longer than expected to materialize.

Bet on Oil Brent crude jumped as much as 7.1% to above $97.50 per barrel on June 1, 2026, while WTI crude gained up to 8.3% to trade above $94.50, at the time of writing. The rally followed reports from Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency, indicating a breakdown in negotiations, with Tehran linking any ceasefire or diplomatic progress to an end to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel continues operations against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. United States Brent Oil Fund LP (BNO - Free Report) added about 3.8% on June 1, 2026.

Inflation to Shoot Up: Bet on Commodities With oil prices soaring, inflation is likely to shoot up. Commodities are often known as inflation-beating products. Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC - Free Report) can thus prove to be a great bet currently. The fund DBC is up 33.7% so far this year.

Rely on Solid Current IncomeHigh Inflation often results in higher bond yields. The Fed is also likely to act in a less-dovish or hawkish way if high inflation remains persistent. Against this backdrop, it is intriguing for investors to play high-income providing ETFs.

 Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV - Free Report) is one such example. The fund yields as high as 9.08% annually and charges 58 bps in fees. Note that solid current income goes a long way in protecting the capital losses, if there are any. The fund is up 4% this year.

Greenback to Gain?Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP - Free Report) is up 2.4% this year and has added about 1.2% over the past month. If the crisis persists, the U.S. dollar — apparently one of the safe-haven assets — is likely to stay strong.

War or No War: AI Is the Winning Theme  War remains a cause of market uncertainty, particularly through its impact on oil prices, inflation and global growth. However, the AI boom continues to be backed by massive investments in data centers, semiconductors and enterprise adoption, making it a powerful structural growth theme. Hyperscalers are pivoting to an "AI-First" structure (read: Top Cloud ETFs to Buy as Hyperscalers Pivot to AI-First Platforms).

Most recently, NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) unveiled a PC superchip at its GTC Taipei event that rivals chips from Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD), Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley reported. The processor, which includes a Blackwell GPU and Grace CPU, will power laptops from manufacturers including ASUS, Dell (DELL), HP (HPQ), and Microsoft (MSFT) when it lands this fall.

NVIDIA has committed at least $6.5 billion over the past three months to companies developing photonics technology, highlighting the growing importance of energy-efficient AI infrastructure. Hence, NVDA-heavy ETFs like VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) should stay steady, even if Iran talks fall apart.

MONACO, June 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) introduced the HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari AI PC ahead of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. The exclusive device blends Ferrari’s legendary design and racing heritage with HP’s commitment to cutting-edge innovation and engineering.

Rooted in the histories of two iconic brands, this collaboration brings together the pioneering legacy of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard’s Palo Alto garage and the daring automotive spirit of Maranello. Those origins gave rise to two global brands that revolutionized their industries and set new benchmarks for quality, performance, and design.

The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari PC reflects a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

A Fusion of Heritage and Innovation

The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari is the result of nearly two years of symbiotic collaboration, merging Ferrari's bold design philosophy with HP's own design mastery and precision engineering. Ferrari Design Studio, accustomed to designing new masterpieces every year, teamed up with HP's industrial designers and engineers, who have spent decades perfecting the art of making powerful technology feel effortless and beautiful. The result is a device that embodies the essence of both brands' elegance, power, and craftsmanship.

“This notebook is a true reflection of how Ferrari and HP set a cutting-edge manufacturing technology, where advanced material engineering and craftsmanship converge into a unique, uncompromising expression of performance, precision, innovation and refined design,” said Flavio Manzoni, Chief Design Officer, Ferrari.

“We are excited to work with Ferrari to create a product that transcends traditional boundaries of PC design,” added Stacy Wolff, Senior Vice President of Design and Sustainability, HP Inc. “The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari is a testament to what can be achieved when two industry leaders combine their expertise—delivering an extraordinary user experience that is as capable as it is beautiful. This is HP at its best: built for your best work, in style.”

HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari

A Celebration of Craftsmanship

From the moment the HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari is unboxed, users are treated to an experience steeped in luxury and exclusivity. Custom packaging is designed to physically elevate the device towards the user, setting the stage for an extraordinary journey for those who lead with style, precision, and sophistication. Each unit is meticulously numbered and serialized, with only 4,999 units available, reflecting Ferrari’s philosophy to sell one less car than the market demands and reinforcing the device’s status as a true collector's item.

The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari is a masterclass in design and engineering, guided by a single principle: every element originates from a technical necessity. The result is a device where performance, technical clarity, and visual identity converge:

The bottom surface of the device marries carbon fiber and Corning® Gorilla® Glass construction—a nod to Ferrari's philosophy of functional transparency, turning the PC’s own architecture into a design statement much like a Ferrari engine bay.Functionality meets visual brilliance with a full glass palm rest and haptic touchpad boundary that illuminates on contact, where interaction is defined by precision and immediacy—a direct extension of Ferrari’s “eyes on the road, hands on the wheel” philosophy.The CNC precision-milled chassis features a zirconium bead-blasted surface in Rosso Magma, Ferrari’s iconic finish that evokes the primal energy of molten lava with metallic particles creating three-dimensional depth across every curve and line of the device.A CNC three-dimensional louvered vent design, developed using parametric design technology to precisely control geometry and spacing for optimized airflow and thermal performance, draws from a Ferrari signature born to manage heat and pressure—refined through decades of aerodynamic innovation into one of the brand’s most distinctive design elements: a form appearing in motion even at rest. Performance Meets Precision
As the future of work is increasingly defined by AI, HP and Ferrari recognized the need for a device that could handle intensive computing tasks without compromising on elegance and efficiency. The collaboration between HP and Ferrari delivers a product that excels in performance and style, featuring:

Stunning Visuals: Featuring a 3K Tandem OLED+ touch display, the HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari delivers ultra-bright visuals for a cinematic viewing experience, including exclusive Ferrari wallpapers when powering on the device. The keyboard is equipped with LED backlighting for each individual key, allowing four customizable lighting animations and any color selection with RGB, creating a personalized user experience.Optimized Airflow: Over 2,000 calibrated micro-perforations in the technical glass surface are derived from fluid dynamics criteria, working in synergy with the fans to maximize air intake and cooling efficiency—ensuring the device remains cool under pressure without compromising on design aesthetics. The cooling system is intentionally left visible as a direct nod to Ferrari’s exposed engine bay design.Breakthrough Power: Engineered to handle everything from advanced AI applications to high-intensity gaming, this PC is equipped with an Intel® Core™ Ultra X7 processor 358H with Intel Arc B390 graphicsi ii that delivers up to 180 TOPS for fast, responsive performance.Exclusive Accessories: Accompanied by a Poltrona Frau leather sleeve, crafted from the same Italian leather used in Ferrari car interiors, the device is as stylish in transit as it is in use.Ultimate Protection: The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari demands uncompromising security. HP Wolf Security for Businessiii provides a hardware-enforced, resilient defense against cyber threats, ensuring the device is safeguarded at every level. Pricing and Availabilityiv

The HP Limited Edition Scuderia Ferrari AI PC will be available on HP.com in the United States on June 12, 2026, for $5,599 MSRP. It will also be available for purchase in the following countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

About HP
HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a global technology leader redefining the Future of Work. Operating in more than 180 countries, HP delivers innovative and AI-powered devices, software, services and subscriptions that drive business growth and professional fulfillment. For more information, please visit: HP.com.

_______________________________________

i Multicore is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology. Performance and clock frequency will vary depending on application workload and your hardware and software configurations. Intel’s numbering, branding and/or naming is not a measurement of higher performance.
ii Features and software that require an NPU may require software purchase, subscription or enablement by a software or platform provider, and third-party software may have specific configuration or compatibility requirements. Performance varies by use, configuration, and other factors.
iii HP Wolf Security for Business requires Windows 11 Pro and higher, includes various HP security features and is available on HP Pro, Elite, RPOS and Workstation products. See product details for included security features.
iv Pricing and availability subject to change without notice.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/688b4566-9661-4c64-9845-3e006caa9b85

Selected as the lead organization for a major government-backed initiative to accelerate commercialization of bio-based 3-HP through pilot-scale investments. Establishing an integrated R&D value chain spanning feedstock development, production, and downstream applications through collaboration across industry, academia, and research institutions. Advancing the transition from research-stage innovation to full-scale industrial biotechnology commercialization. , /PRNewswire/ -- NOROO Holdings Co., Ltd. (HQ: Seoul, South Korea), a comprehensive chemical group, announced that it has been selected as the lead executing organization for a major national project titled "Development of Feedstock Production and Value-Added Product Technologies to Promote the Bio-Based Polymer Market." This flagship initiative is supported by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

The 3-HP reaction facility at NOROO Group's research center (Image courtesy of NOROO Holdings) This milestone underscores NOROO Group's strategic commitment to advancing its presence in the global industrial biotechnology sector through the development of 3‑hydroxypropionic acid (3‑HP), a next-generation bio-based platform chemical. Recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as one of the "Top 12 Bio-based Platform Chemicals," 3‑HP serves as a highly versatile intermediate capable of conversion into a broad spectrum of high-value applications, including cosmetics, industrial coatings, and environmentally sustainable plastics. As a viable alternative to petroleum-derived feedstocks, the chemical is positioned as a cornerstone material in the transition toward carbon-neutral industrial systems.

Under this government-supported initiative, NOROO Holdings will spearhead the core program focused on the "Large-Scale Demonstration of 3-HP Production from Waste Biomass." The company will oversee the entire value chain—from sustainable feedstock procurement and process optimization to pilot-scale production and commercialization readiness.

Key project objectives include:

Developing bio-based, acrylic acid–derived polymer materials Scaling up and demonstrating the mass production of 3‑HP utilizing agricultural and industrial waste biomass Demonstrating bio-acrylic acid synthesis via the catalytic transformation of 3‑HP A defining feature of this project is the establishment of a robust Industry–Academia–Research consortium, bringing together leading research institutions and industrial partners to enable a seamless innovation pipeline spanning fundamental research, advanced process engineering, and downstream commercialization.

The initiative is also expected to drive powerful synergies across NOROO Group's core businesses, particularly through its flagship coatings subsidiary, NOROO Paint Co., Ltd. (long recognized for its advanced paint and chemical technology). Charged with the "Demonstration of bio-acrylic acid synthesis via catalytic transformation of 3-HP," NOROO Paint will spearhead the process of converting the intermediate into industrial raw materials. This will allow the company to actively research replacing acrylic acid—which has traditionally relied entirely on petrochemical processes—with sustainable, bio-based alternatives.

By incorporating 3‑HP-derived materials into automotive coatings, industrial paints, and architectural finishes, NOROO aims to strengthen its competitiveness in the rapidly expanding market for sustainable, premium, eco-friendly, and high-performance materials.

"This national project represents a pivotal inflection point for our industrial biotechnology division," said a spokesperson for NOROO Holdings. "It marks our transition from a long-term 'Research (R)' phase to full-scale 'Development (D)' and commercialization phase, supported by significant investments in pilot plant infrastructure."

The company further highlighted its alignment with national policy goals, stating, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's proactive backing of these development-oriented projects clearly reflects a strong national commitment to expanding the industrial bio-material infrastructure. NOROO Holdings is proud to lead this green transition, proving both the environmental sustainability and economic viability of next-generation chemical alternatives."

NOROO Group's dedicated research arm, the NOROO Bio Fusion Research Institute, has spent over a decade advancing microbial strain engineering and biosynthesis technologies for 3‑HP production. The institute has successfully established a 5‑ton-scale facility, demonstrated its stable production, secured EU REACH registration for 3-HP derivatives, and verified a 99% biodegradation rate of these derivatives within 28 days. These proven achievements provide a rock-solid foundation for rapid commercialization and global market entry.

SOURCE NOROO Holdings Co., Ltd.

Public Storage is rated Hold, reflecting balanced risk-reward as macro headwinds and Iran-driven risks weigh on near-term valuation. PSA maintains strong financials and is acquiring National Storage in a $10.5B all-stock deal to drive long-term synergies. Guidance anticipates flat to slightly negative Core FFO and NOI in 2026, with higher interest expenses and ongoing macroeconomic pressures impacting near-term results.