EchoStar (ECHO) FY2025 results: revenue $15.0 billion, down 5.2% on the year

EchoStar is a holding company organised in October 2007 under the laws of Nevada, with its Class A common stock traded on NASDAQ under the symbol SATS and its offices in Englewood, Colorado. It reports four segments: Pay-TV, Wireless, Broadband and Satellite Services, and Other. The year was dominated by a Federal Communications Commission review of its compliance with the build-out milestones and other obligations attached to its federal spectrum licences, which led to the sale of a large part of that spectrum.

The regulator and the sales

The commission wrote in May 2025 to open a review of compliance with obligations to provide 5G broadband service and of the build-out extension granted the previous September, and the company replied with filings that month and in June. The filing states that the review raised the possibility of reversing earlier grants of authority, that the commission viewed the spectrum as underutilised and continued ownership as against the public interest, and that the company had to sell a material amount of licences or face wide-ranging revocation. In August 2025 it agreed to sell all its 3.45 to 3.55 GHz and 600 MHz licences to AT&T Mobility, with a 99-year extension of leases giving AT&T exclusive use of certain licences in Hawaii. In September 2025 it agreed to sell SpaceX the rights and licences covering 50 MHz of spectrum in four frequency ranges, along with related international authorisations and assets.

Pay-TV

The segment sells video under the DISH TV brand, with access to hundreds of channels depending on the package, standard packages carrying national cable networks and others adding local broadcast networks, specialty sports channels, premium movie channels and Latino and international programming. SLING TV is aimed at people who do not take traditional satellite or cable service, in versions including SLING Orange, SLING Blue, Select, International, Latino and Freestream, with add-ons, pay-per-view events and a cloud recorder. A meaningful share of new DISH TV subscribers comes through independent third parties such as small retailers, direct marketing groups, electronics stores, nationwide retailers and telecommunications companies, paid a mix of upfront and monthly incentives. The filing states that competition has intensified as the industry matured, so providers increasingly take subscribers from each other rather than from first-time buyers.

Wireless

The segment sells nationwide wireless service under the Boost Mobile and Gen Mobile brands, on consumer plans with no annual contract and monthly service including high-speed data and unlimited talk and text, alongside device payment and protection plans, international calling plans and device financing for qualified subscribers. Until 15 November 2025 it ran mainly as a mobile virtual network operator on network services bought from others; after the AT&T agreement it moved to a hybrid model, keeping its own 5G core while using AT&T's network, and finished migrating all customer traffic off its own network by that date. Distribution runs through third-party Boost-branded stores, multi-branded stores, national retailers such as Target, Best Buy and Walmart, convenience and grocery stores, and a direct online channel. Competitors include Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, all significantly larger, along with Metro PCS, Cricket Wireless, Visible, Tracfone, Mint Mobile and virtual operators such as Consumer Cellular and Xfinity Mobile.

Broadband and Satellite Services

The segment sells broadband satellite technology and internet service to homes and smaller businesses, and network technology, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications systems to government and enterprise customers. The EchoStar XXIV satellite carries service to unserved and underserved consumer markets in the Americas and to enterprise, aeronautical and government markets. It also designs, supplies and installs gateway and terminal equipment for other satellite systems, builds telecommunication networks of satellite ground segment systems and terminals for mobile system operators and enterprises, and supplies systems for in-flight connectivity on commercial and business aviation. Enterprise customers include retailers, financial institutions, aircraft connectivity providers, lottery agencies, companies with multi-branch networks and the government, most on long-term contracts. Its main satellite competitors in the North American consumer market are ViaSat and SpaceX.

Other

The Other segment holds the legacy 5G network and the deployment operations left outside the hybrid wireless business, where deployment has stopped. In August 2025, after meeting interim and final build-out requirements set by the commission, the company ended deployment of that network and began abandoning and decommissioning the parts of it left outside the wireless business. Since 15 November 2025 there has been no customer traffic on that network.

From EchoStar's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. The filing

Written from the 10-K filed 2 March 2026: read the full 10-K.