DISH Network (DISH - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of 69 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.3%. The figure increased 7.8% year over year.

Revenues declined 2.1% year over year to $3.24 billion but surpassed the consensus mark by 2.4%.

DISH exited the reported quarter with 9.394 million DISH TV subscribers, down 5.2% year over year, and 2.592 million Sling TV subscribers, up 7.2%. Total Pay-TV subscribers were 11.986 million, down 2.7% year over year.

DISH shares were up 2.1% in pre-market trading.  
 

DISH Network Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

DISH Network Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | DISH Network Corporation Quote

Quarter Details

DISH lost 194K net Pay-TV subscribers in the reported quarter. The company had lost roughly 334K net Pay-TV subscribers in the year-ago quarter.

Moreover, DISH lost 94K net Sling TV subscribers in the fourth quarter against 47K added in the year-ago quarter.

However, Pay-TV ARPU climbed 1.7% year over year to $87.02. Additionally, the churn rate was 1.56% compared with the year-ago quarter’s 2.07%.

DISH TV SAC was $850, down 1.3% year over year.

Balance Sheet

As of Dec 31, 2019, cash, cash equivalents and current marketable investment securities were $2.86 billion compared with $1.66 billion, as of Sep 30, 2019.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

DISH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

TEGNA (TGNA - Free Report), Gray Television (GTN - Free Report) and Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) are some better-ranked stocks in the broader Consumer Discretionary sector. While TEGNA and Gray Television sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Netflix has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. 

Long-term earnings growth rate for both TEGNA and Gray Television is pegged at 10%, while Netflix is expected to grow at 30%.