- EchoStar’s fortunes are now inextricably tied to SpaceX
- Analysts on EchoStar’s Q4 2025 earnings call quizzed the company about SpaceX
- They also asked some pointed questions about EchoStar’s refusal to pay its 5G wireless vendors
In an abbreviated 4th quarter 2025 earnings call today, EchoStar’s Chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen was asked about the two things most on analysts’ minds. What’s going on with EchoStar’s investment in SpaceX? And what’s the deal with EchoStar not paying its wireless vendors?
EchoStar’s fortunes are now tied to SpaceX ever since its new division called “EchoStar Capital” was created in November 2025. EchoStar Capital expects to receive about $8.5 billion in cash from SpaceX along with an equity interest in the company, whose value is undetermined at this time, but certainly worth billions.
Analysts now view EchoStar Capital as a proxy for SpaceX’s next phase, including its intention to file for an IPO later this year. This connection with SpaceX has caused EchoStar’s stock to rise from about $30 per share in August 2025 to about $121 per share today.
Hamid Akhavan, CEO of EchoStar Capital, said today that the company was awaiting final regulatory approvals for its spectrum sale and the resulting influx of capital expected during the first half of this year.
“At this time, EchoStar is in the midst of a large-scale positive transformation arising from its vision, long horizon of strategic bets, and decades of diligent execution,” said Akhavan.
The first analyst who asked a question on today’s earnings call immediately asked how EchoStar Capital plans to spend its windfall of cash from SpaceX. Akhavan said the company is focused on that. “We obviously are looking at our opportunities every single day and judging that against what other options may be available. I am looking at both active and passive investments. We are looking at every possibility for utilization of the liquidity and cash when it arrives.”
He said there are still far too many variables at this point, including paying down debt obligations, paying current and anticipated taxes, potential investment and development opportunities at EchoStar Capital and possibly returning excess capital to shareholders.
Of course, analysts wanted some insight into SpaceX’s IPO, but Ergen said EchoStar is not privy to that IPO and doesn’t know when it might happen or what it may look like.
The sad vendors of EchoStar’s wireless business
EchoStar’s prospects are looking great, thanks to the up-and-coming cash infusion from the spectrum license sales. However, its Dish Wireless subsidiary is declining to pay contractors for building its 5G network.
Today, Ergen reiterated his assertion that EchoStar was forced to sell its spectrum to SpaceX because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was threatening to take the spectrum away. He calls this a “force majeure” event and says that such an event was written into wireless vendor contracts, alleviating EchoStar from responsibility to pay if something outside of its control happened.
“As you know, several companies have commenced litigation against our independent Dish Wireless entity,” said Ergen. “And I'm disappointed in that because, by contrast, those companies who haven't litigated, we've had good, open faith negotiations, and we've settled, you know, hundreds of contracts.”
He said recently EchoStar signed a settlement agreement “with a large tower company who didn't commence litigation.”
He didn’t specify which tower company, but we know that both Crown Castle and American Tower have already sued EchoStar.
Ergen said he’d prefer to work out settlements with Dish Wireless vendors rather than deal with litigation. “My experience has been that that'll be protracted litigation, because the lawyers talk to the lawyers, and they aren’t typically in a hurry to get anything done.”
“I wish we weren't here,” said Ergen. “You know, it's an ongoing and evolving situation, but we'll continue to appropriately respond to any litigation that's been commenced. You know, we'll assess all of our available steps in front of any courts, and we'll engage with more tower companies to see good, consensual solutions.”
The EchoStar executives said they don’t plan to have an earnings conference call for their Q1 2026 results, but they do plan to have a conference call after their second quarter, sometime in August.
We might deduce that the sale of spectrum to SpaceX will be completed by then, and the company will have more to say about how it plans to spend its windfall.
On today’s call analysts didn’t express much interest in EchoStar’s legacy (and declining) businesses, including Dish TV, Sling TV and HughesNet internet. Analysts also showed little interest in EchoStar’s wireless business — Boost Mobile — now that it’s divesting its spectrum and decommissioning its 5G assets, other than to ask about the vendor situation.
Read all of our coverage from Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona here.