EchoStar Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates Despite Lower Revenues, Stock Up

EchoStar Corporation SATS reported fourth-quarter 2024 non-GAAP earnings of $1.23 per share compared with $1.21 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 296%.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.Revenues in the quarter totaled $4 billion, down 5% year over year. The top line met the consensus mark. Weak demand trends across Pay-TV, Wireless and Broadband and satellite services led to the contraction. Subscriber losses across Pay-TV and Hughes acted as a headwind. For 2024, total revenues came in at $15.83 billion, down from $17.02 billion in 2023.Following the announcement, SATS’ shares gained 4.8%, and the trading session closed at $30.41 on Feb. 27. The stock also went up 1% in pre-market on Feb. 28. In the past year, shares have soared 132% compared with the Zacks Satellite and Communication industry's growth of 49.5%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSegmental DetailsEffective from the fourth quarter, SATS has integrated its Retail Wireless and 5G network deployment segments into a single unit called Wireless.In the reported quarter, revenues from the Pay-TV segment were down 5.3% year over year to $2.7 billion. DISH TV and Sling TV experienced a net subscriber loss of 253,000 in the quarter. This was a notable improvement from the 314,000 net subscriber loss reported in the prior-year quarter. The company ended 2024 with 7.78 million total Pay-TV subscribers (DISH TV 5.69 million + Sling TV 2.09 million).The reduction in net subscriber losses was due to lower churn rates and premium customer acquisition with enhanced service offerings.EchoStar Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise EchoStar Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | EchoStar Corporation Quote The Wireless category ended the quarter with 6.9 million subscribers and 105,000 new Wireless subscribers (excluding ACP). It reported $902.9 million in net sales, down 0.5% year over year. Wireless net subscribers grew roughly 90,000 in the fourth quarter on an unadjusted basis, in contrast to a net loss of 123,000 a year ago. This increase was driven by a lower Wireless churn rate and a higher number of new Wireless subscriber activations compared to the previous year.Revenues from Broadband and Satellite Services were $412.5 million compared with $449.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Subscribers declined 29,000 in the fourth quarter, an improvement from the 59,000 loss reported in the prior-year period. There were 883,000 total Broadband Satellite subscribers at year-end. A key factor behind the lower subscriber disconnect rate was the launch of the EchoStar XXIV (Jupiter 3) satellite. The new satellite provided improved service capabilities, helping to retain more customers and attract new ones.Going ahead, the company expects Jupiter 3 to stabilize its Broadband Satellite business and drive growth.Other DetailsOperating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was $397 million, up $9 million year over year when adjusted for the 2023 non-cash asset impairment. The upside resulted from efficient Boost Mobile marketing, partly offset by lower Pay TV OIBDA due to fewer subscribers.OIBDA for PayTV was $800.8 million compared with $809.5 million a year ago.OIBDA for Broadband and Satellite Services was $102.7 million.OIBDA loss for Wireless was $501.7 million.Balance SheetAs of Dec. 31, 2024, SATS had total cash and cash equivalents of $4,305.4 million compared with $622.6 million as of Sept. 30, 2024.For 2024, SATS generated $1.25 billion of cash from operating activities compared with $2.43 billion a year ago.SATS’ Zacks Rank & Peer PerformanceCurrently, EchoStar carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. GILT reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of 15 cents compared with 11 cents a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.14%.Shares of GILT have soared 52.7% in the past six months.Iridium Communications IRDM reported EPS of 32 cents for the fourth quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 94%. The bottom line compared favorably with the prior quarter's figure of 30 cents per share.In the past year, shares have risen 5.1%.Quantum Corporation QMCO reported a third-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP loss of 81 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 70 cents. The company incurred a loss of $1.79 per share in the year-ago quarter.Shares of QMCO soared 38.9% in the past year. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EchoStar Corporation (SATS): Free Stock Analysis Report Iridium Communications Inc (IRDM): Free Stock Analysis Report Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (GILT): Free Stock Analysis Report Quantum Corporation (QMCO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks