EchoStar Corp., the Englewood-based parent of Boost Mobile and Dish Network, released a fourth-quarter report Thursday morning showing earnings had bounced back despite a failed sale of its paid television services to DirecTV and a rockier than-expected rollout of its retail wireless service.
“This past year marked the beginning of a transformation for Echostar,” Hamid Akhavan, the company’s president and CEO, told analysts on a call.
The company’s stock, ticker SATS, is up 32.8% this year, including a 4.8% gain on Thursday following the earnings report. That contrasts with a 1.9% decline in the larger Nasdaq Composite this year.
EchoStar reported revenues of $15.8 billion last year, down from $17 billion in 2023, a decline linked mostly to pay television subscribers continuing to jump ship. But the revenue decline was in line with analysts’ expectations, and the company’s wireless operations, represented by Boost Mobile, appear to be gaining some momentum.
The company outperformed expectations on its bottom line, reporting net income of $335 million in the fourth quarter compared to a $2 billion loss in the same period of 2023. For the whole year, the company lost $119.5 million in 2024, a lot less than the $1.7 billion loss recorded in 2023. Helping out was a noncash gain of $689 million related to a debt exchange offer that freed the company of some looming debt payments it wasn’t in a position to make.
Dish continues to lose paid television subscribers, dropping 253,000 in the fourth quarter and ending the year with 5.69 million Dish TV subscribers and 2.09 million Sling TV subscribers. However, the company saw fewer disconnects last year than in prior years and executives said the company is attracting a higher-quality customer.
The number of wireless customers at Boost Mobile is on the upswing, with 105,000 added in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to nearly 7 million. Boost Mobile is seeing less churn or turnover and more customers are coming directly onto the company’s network, a trend accelerated by having more compatible devices to offer, said John Swieringa, the company’s chief operating officer.
The company is on track to meet extended Federal Communications Commission deadlines for building out its wireless network, which uses state-of-the-art technology that is software-focused and more flexible than the hardware-focused networks of rivals, Swieringa said.
After restructuring its debt and raising new capital, the company has a $5.7 billion war chest to help it reach the coverage targets the FCC has set. And the company is working to integrate more artificial intelligence features and provide more video services from the Dish and Sling slide to its wireless customers, executives said.
Akhavan also highlighted that the Boost Mobile network was recognized as the top cellular network in New York City, an accolade the company is working to repeat in other large cities.
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