Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. IRDM scored 45.4, TMUS scored 71.9 — TMUS leads.
Compare another set
IRDM
Iridium Communications Inc.
Telecom Services · Quality-Growth
45.4
$47.47 · $5.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
26.5
TMUS leads
TMUS
T-Mobile US, Inc.
Telecom Services · Quality-Growth
71.9
$148.58 · $159.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestTMUS17.9x
Fastest growthTMUS+9.7%
Strongest balance sheetTMUS2.14
Highest qualityTMUS74 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueTMUS-49%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
IRDM
stronger →← stronger
TMUS
64
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
74
68
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
71
22
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
71
TMUS is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
IRDM
TMUS
$288mC
FCF
$18.4bA-
+4.9%C+
Rev
+9.7%B
3.79C
D/E
2.14C
53.9xC
P/E
17.9xB
1.86C+
PEG
0.61A-
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
IRDM
TMUS
7% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
49% below
~5%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-9%/yr
+1%
1-yr DCF upside
+81%
+7%
5-yr DCF upside
+95%
+17%
10-yr DCF upside
+118%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
IRDM
Why this score
Raising its dividend
TMUS
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
The companies
IRDMIridium Communications Inc.
Telecom Services · $47.47 · beta 0.85
Why now
Telecom Services · market cap $5.0b. 17% off the 52-week high of $57.18. 5 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $42.00 (implying -12% upside).
Moat
ROE 20% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of depreciation and amortization ($213m) — non-cash charges that hold down reported earnings while cash generation stays strong.
Risk
D/E 3.79 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Trailing P/E 53.9x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating.
TMUST-Mobile US, Inc.
Telecom Services · $148.58 · beta 0.32
Why now
Telecom Services · market cap $159.4b. Down 36% from 52-week high of $230.65 — deep drawdown territory. PEG 0.61 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $241.24 (implying +62% upside).
Moat
ROE 19% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 174% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash. $159.4b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
D/E 2.14 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Down 36% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where IRDM and TMUS diverge
On the headline score the gap is 26.5 points in favor of TMUS. The widest single difference is Value, where TMUS leads by 49.5 points.
ValueIRDM 21.5 · TMUS 71.0TMUS +49.5
QualityIRDM 64.3 · TMUS 73.9TMUS +9.6
GrowthIRDM 67.6 · TMUS 71.0TMUS +3.4
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is TMUS or IRDM the better stock?
TMUS scores higher: TMUS 71.9, IRDM 45.4 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do TMUS and IRDM differ most?
The widest gap is value, where TMUS leads by 50 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. TMUS leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are TMUS and IRDM scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.