EchoStar Corporation

The forensic scores tell a consistent story of a company under stress, with one screening result that points the other way. The Beneish M-Score is -4.398, which the threshold label places below -1.78 and not in the elevated manipulation-risk zone. That is a screening result, not an audit conclusion, but it means the model did not flag the kind of earnings-manipulation pattern it tests for. The Altman Z-Score variant reported here is -3.93, which falls in the distress zone; in plain terms, the model reads the balance sheet and earnings profile as consistent with financial distress. The Piotroski F-Score is 3 of 7 computable signals, a weak profile on the signals that could be computed. The operating cash flow to net income ratio of 0.01 looks reassuring but is not meaningful here. Operating cash flow was -$99.37 million and net income was -$14.5 billion, so both are negative and the small ratio simply reflects the size of the loss. Management's narrative centers on the Hybrid MNO transition after the AT&T Transactions and SpaceX Transaction, which the filing describes as a pivot away from growing a facilities-based wireless business after FCC actions. The risk factors also warn that the DISH TV subscriber base could keep declining and that Pay-TV margins may shrink. Revenue fell 5.2% to $15 billion, operating cash flow moved from $1.25 billion in 2024 to a negative figure in 2025, and liabilities of $37.2 billion stood against $5.77 billion of equity at year end. Readers may want to look at the notes on the spectrum sales and the 5G decommissioning in the full 10-K, since the excerpts provided do not show how much of the loss and asset decline comes from each.

Catalyst.The company is being reshaped by its exit from facilities-based 5G. According to the 10-K MD&A and business sections, after FCC actions it abandoned its 5G Network deployment and entered the AT&T Transactions and SpaceX Transaction to sell a material amount of its spectrum licenses. On November 15, 2025 it migrated all customer traffic to AT&T's network and became a Hybrid MNO. Pay-TV faces continued DISH TV subscriber pressure, and the lower-priced SLING TV mix dilutes Pay-TV ARPU. The Broadband and Satellite Services segment, which uses the EchoStar XXIV satellite, serves consumer, enterprise, aeronautical and government markets. Reported revenue fell to $15 billion in 2025 from $15.83 billion in 2024, a 5.2% decline.

Hidden risk.The most easily missed point is how large the 2025 loss is relative to the prior year. Net loss was -$14.5 billion in 2025 against -$119.55 million in 2024, and operating loss reached -$17.72 billion. Total assets fell from $60.94 billion to $43.02 billion, and equity fell from $20.19 billion to $5.77 billion. The filing says the company has invested over $30 billion in wireless spectrum licenses, plus $10 billion of capitalized interest, and that final build-out deadlines for licenses under the extension request are December 14, 2026. The excerpts provided do not break down the drivers of the loss, so readers may want to look at the impairment and write-down disclosures in the full financial statements.