EchoStar plans to sell spectrum to SpaceX for about $20 billion
Key Facts
EchoStar plans to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX for nearly $20 billion, according to MarketWatch's coverage of the agreement in place in October 2026. The contractual consideration includes EchoStar receiving shares in the space company, alongside debt restructuring at some of its subsidiaries. EchoStar's disclosure for the second quarter of 2026 put that consideration at about 261.8 million shares of SpaceX Class A common stock. The fixed contractual value per share is $42.40, according to the disclosure, following SpaceX's stock split. SpaceX completed its initial public offering in June 2026, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The agreement also covers debt servicing and cooperation on telecommunications services, according to EchoStar's statement on the spectrum sale. SpaceX has committed to funding about $2 billion in cash interest payments due on EchoStar's debt through November 2027. The commercial arrangements include long-term cooperation giving Boost Mobile subscribers access to Starlink's direct-to-cell service. In an amendment announced in November 2025, EchoStar also agreed to sell unpaired Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses in exchange for additional SpaceX shares. The additional consideration amounted to about $2.6 billion, based on the valuation of those shares in September 2025, according to the company's statement.
The asset deal comes as EchoStar reported a decline in quarterly revenue and a shrinking retail wireless subscriber base. Revenue totaled $3.58 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the company's financial results statement. The company compared that with revenue of $3.72 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The retail wireless business lost about 118,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2026. That business had added 212,000 subscribers in the corresponding period, taking quarterly subscriber changes from a net gain to a net loss.
EchoStar said its quarterly profit was driven primarily by a noncash gain from the deconsolidation of subsidiaries. That accounting gain totaled about $9.73 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the results statement. As part of the reorganization, Hughes Satellite Systems and some of its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11. Hughes' statement defined the scope of those proceedings, saying that "EchoStar and Hughes' international subsidiaries are not included in the Chapter 11 proceedings." The announced filings are therefore limited to Hughes and the U.S. subsidiaries covered by them, with the parent company and international subsidiaries remaining outside the proceedings.
In a separate debt matter, EchoStar announced a reduction in total outstanding debt at the DISH direct broadcast satellite entities undergoing restructuring. The reduction totaled about $4.35 billion, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 2, 2026. The reduction came through restructuring, alongside full and partial repayments of those entities' notes. Regarding trading in the parent company's shares, EchoStar had announced a change in its Nasdaq ticker symbol from SATS to ECHO. The new symbol took effect on June 24, 2026, according to the company's statement on the ticker change.
On the disclosure calendar, SpaceX was scheduled to announce its quarterly results after the market close on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, according to the company's announcement. EchoStar will hold its annual shareholder meeting on October 30, 2026, according to the proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time. EchoStar is targeting November 30, 2027, to complete the phase involving SpaceX's acquisition of the spectrum, according to its second-quarter disclosure. Closing remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set out in the agreement.