Investors abandon ship on DISH Network after shares plunge to 25-year low

Shares of DISH Network plunged to a 25-year low on Monday after the company announced an unanticipated loss in the third quarter and the resignation of CEO Erik Carlson effective Nov. 12.

Littleton-based DISH shares fell from $5.49 at the close of trading on Friday to $3.44 at the end of the day on Monday, a decline of 37%. Shares climbed 2.3% on Tuesday to close at $3.51. Over the past year, DISH shares have lost three-quarters of their value.

Analysts had expected the company to report positive results in the third quarter, but DISH instead reported a loss of $0.26 a share, down from the $0.65 a share gain reported a year earlier. Revenues also missed estimates, falling nearly 10% to $3.7 billion versus $4.10 billion a year earlier.

Pay-TV subscribers decreased by about 64,000 in the third quarter, compared to a net increase of approximately 30,000 in the quarter a year ago. The company had 8.84 million pay-TV subscribers at the end of the quarter, with 6.72 million at DISH TV and 2.12 million at SLING TV.

The company also lost 225,000 wireless subscribers in the third quarter, despite a big push this summer to market its Boost Infinite cellular plan to Amazon Prime customers, ending the quarter with 7.5 million subscribers.

“Are we doing a great job of marketing?” DISH Chairman Charlie Ergen asked on a call with analysts Monday. “The answer is no. The messaging didn’t have quite the desired effect. … We’re not hitting on all cylinders there.”

DISH continues to search for ways to fund the build-out of its 5G network and recently sold assets for its Spectrum network in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as accounts for 120,000 mobile subscribers in that area, to Liberty America for $256 million.

Another way the company is trying to make itself more attractive to investors is via a merger with its satellite communications sister company Echostar, a deal that is expected to be completed on Nov. 13. The departure of Carlson, a longtime veteran of the company, will allow EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan to oversee the combined companies.

DISH earnings weren’t the only ones that disappointed investors. EchoStar saw its net income in the quarter fall to $532,000 from $19.5 million the year prior. Shares of the company fell from $15.44 on Friday to $10.61 at the close of trading on Monday and they stayed at that same level on Tuesday.

A depressed stock value will make it more difficult for DISH Network to raise capital as it tries to complete its buildout of a new 5G network which it is counting on to attract new customers and cash streams as the satellite-TV business fades in popularity.

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