EchoStar management check
ECHO · Communication Services · Wireless Telecommunication Services · CEO Mr. Ergen
Filings as of
0 good · 4 to watch · 3 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $49, against $106 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.16 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
Paid in a loss-making year$8.6m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, a year the company lost $51.9m.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are selling4 insiders sold $10.1m in the last six months and none bought. 5 of 9 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +3.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Ergen, Mr. Akhavan. 8 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Watch
Are the books clean?
An annual report was amendedNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021. 1 amended annual report.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Communication Services.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 27 | |
| Pay for performance | 58 | 76 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 72 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 75 |
| Dilution | 12 | 65 | |
| Stable leadership | 45 | 93 | |
| Clean books | 70 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Wireless Telecommunication Services, by management score. EchoStar is 18th of 18 in its sector.
- 282TMUST-Mobile US63
- 394VZVerizon54
- 417DISWalt Disney Company (The)51
- 452OMCOmnicom Group46
- 464NWSANews Corp (Class A)42
- 483ECHOEchoStar31
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed September 18, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Ergen, Mr. Akhavan | $8.6m | $173.2m | $1.3m | $49 | $106 | −$51.9m |
| 2024 | — | $8.9m | $88.8m | $5.3m | $53 | $111 | −$124.5m |
| 2023 | — | $7.2m | $7.2m | $1.0m | $38 | $95 | −$496.1m |
| 2022 | — | $15.3m | $11.4m | $1.8m | $39 | $85 | $166.5m |
| 2021 | — | $1.8m | $2.0m | $1.5m | $61 | $99 | $62.7m |
The board says pay is tied most to Revenue. Its other key measures: Free Cash Flow, Pay TV and/or Wireless Subscribers, North America Consumer Creation Multiple.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
4 insiders sold $10.1m in the last six months and none bought. 5 of 9 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldHamid AkhavanCEO, EchoStar Capital · 10b5-1 plan$6.4mJun 5, 2026
- SoldDean MansonCHIEF LEGAL OFFICER · 10b5-1 plan$2.5mJun 12, 2026
- SoldStephen J ByeDirector$764kAug 7, 2026
- SoldWilliam David WadeDirector$460kAug 13, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 3, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 7, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 25, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 30, 2026Annual report amended10-K/A
- Dec 29, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 30, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 11, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 2, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 3, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 23, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 11, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 6, 2025, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $399.3m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, and $266.5m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $19.8bn | $18.6bn | $17.0bn | $15.8bn | $15.0bn |
| Net income | $62.7m | $166.5m | −$496.1m | −$124.5m | −$51.9m |
| Stock-based pay | $59.4m | $83.0m | $51.5m | $36.4m | $36.3m |
| Buybacks | $261.4m | $89.3m | — | — | $48.5m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 313m | 308m | 271m | 274m | 288m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.