EchoStar Corporation SATS reported a second-quarter 2024 non-GAAP loss of 76 cents per share against earnings of 69 cents in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 37 cents by 105.4%.
Revenues in the quarter totaled $3.96 billion, down 9% year over year. The top line missed the consensus mark by 0.6%. Net subscriber losses in Pay-TV, Retail Wireless and Broadband and satellite services led to the downfall.
EchoStar Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise 
EchoStar Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | EchoStar Corporation Quote
Segmental Details
In the reported quarter, revenues from the Pay-TV segment were down 10% year over year to $2.67 billion. At the close of the quarter, net Pay-TV subscribers were roughly 8.07 million, including 6.07 million DISH TV and 2 million SLING TV subscribers. The reduction in net subscriber losses was attributed to lowered gross new DISH TV activations, partially offset by an increase in SLING TV subscribers and a fall in churn rate for DISH TV.
Retail Wireless category ended the quarter with 7.28 million subscribers and reported $891.5 million net sales, down 4% year over year. The segment saw a net decrease of nearly 16,000 subscribers in the second quarter compared to a decline of 188,000 in the year-ago period.
The lower net subscriber losses were due to a reduction in churn rates, although gross new activations were also lower. Notably, the segment was adversely impacted by net losses from government-subsidized subscribers, particularly due to the closure of the Affordable Connectivity Program funding on Jun 1, 2024. Excluding these losses, the company added approximately 32,000 Retail Wireless subscribers during the quarter.
Revenues from Broadband and Satellite Services were $394 million compared with $453.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Subscriber losses during the quarter were nearly 23,000, an improvement from the 55,000 net loss in the year-ago quarter. The quarter ended with 955,000 satellite broadband users. The net loss reduction was largely driven by the successful launch of the EchoStar XXIV satellite service and increased demand for new satellite service plans.
Net sales from 5G Network Deployment increased to $35.5 million from $19 million a year ago.
Other Details
Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was $442.16 million in the second quarter compared with $622.87 million in the year-ago quarter.
OIBDA for PayTV was $753 million, down 8% year over year.
OIBDA for Broadband and Satellite Services was $82.4 million, down 45% year over year.
OIBDA loss for Retail Wireless was $66 million compared with a loss of $59.3 million in the prior-year period.
OIBDA loss for 5G Network Deployment was $313 million compared with a loss of $278.5 million a year ago.
Balance Sheet
As of Jun 30, 2024, SATS had total cash and cash equivalents of $419.2 million compared with $613.7 million as of Mar 31, 2024.
For the six months ended Jun 2024, SATS generated $931 million of cash from operating activities compared with $1.54 billion in the year-ago period.
Zacks Rank
Currently, EchoStar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Companies
BlackBerry’s BB first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted loss per share of 3 cents was narrower than the company’s estimate of a loss of 4-6 cents. In the year-ago quarter, it reported non-GAAP earnings of 6 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a loss of 4 cents per share.
Shares of BB have lost 52.9% in the past year.
Badger Meter, Inc BMI reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12 for second-quarter 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.3%. Also, the bottom line compared favorably with the year-ago quarter’s EPS of 76 cents.
Shares of BMI have gained 12.9% in the past year.
SAP SE SAP reported second-quarter 2024 non-IFRS earnings of €1.10 ($1.18) per share, climbing 59% from the year-ago quarter’s levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $1.01.
In the past year, shares of SAP have gained 50.1%.
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