Dish reported second-quarter results Wednesday morning and while revenues rose, earnings didn’t meet estimates. To underscore Dish’s quandary, though, pay-TV subscriber numbers fell 44,000. Broadband subscriptions rose by 36,000 but that was short of a consensus projection of 53,000.
An analyst at Deutsche Bank told Bloomberg:
T-Mobile has been the prize on Dish’s mind since the beginning. If you combine satellite with an LTE platform, you have a very interesting competitive dynamic. You could offer a very interesting wireless video play, and you’d have the ability to have a ubiquitous footprint anywhere in the country.
Just about everyone describes Dish’s plan as interesting — everyone that is, except the company’s potential takeover targets. None seems to want anything to do with Ergen’s big idea.
Dish has amassed a veritable mountain of wireless spectrum and the company has to do something with it pretty soon. The $42 billion figure that was being bandied around as Sprint’s offer for T-Mobile is pretty rich for Dish, but Ergen might be able to convince a couple of bankers that his company’s plan is not only “interesting,” but a winner.
Dish stock is up about 1.8% Wednesday afternoon at $63.29 in a 52-week range of $43.75 to $67.50.
T-Mobile trades now at $31.38, down about 7.5%, in a 52-week range of $22.95 to $35.50.
ALSO READ: How Big of a Telecom Disruptor is RingCentral Really?
Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts
Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.
It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.
We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.