Why Dish Network Shares Were Cut in Half During the First 6 Months of 2023

What happened

It's been a good year so far for the overall market, but not so much for Dish Network (DISH +0.00%) shareholders. The satellite TV provider's stock fell 53.1% in the first half of 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, extending a downtrend that's been in place since late 2021. The culprit is continued cord-cutting, which seems to be reaccelerating.

So what

Dish Network shares have been sinking since 2015's peak, reaching yet another 52-week low just last month.

Expand

NASDAQ: DISH

Dish Network

Today's Change

(0.00%) $0.00

Current Price

$0.00

Key Data Points

For the better part of the pandemic, it looked like shares were making a major bottom, with the cable TV industry finally getting a handle on cancellations stemming from the advent of streaming alternatives.

Now we know that's not the case. Dish Network lost another 552,000 paying customers during its first quarter of the year, accelerating the loss of 462,000 subscribers in the same quarter a year earlier.

Perhaps worse, the company's cable-like streaming platform Sling TV is even starting to lose net subscribers. It shed 210,000 of its customers during the first quarter of the year, leaving it with only 2.1 million. That's the fewest paying customers in several years, unwinding the modest subscriber gains seen during the pandemic.

Data source: Dish Network. Chart by author. Figures are in thousands.

Investors are concluding the company is unable to do anything to stop the ongoing attrition.

Now what

Dish owns the mobile phone-service provider Boost Mobile. Although Boost relies on connectively infrastructure from wireless rivals, the company is also building out its own 5G network that's accessible by more than one-fifth of U.S. residents.

The company is leveraging this network in ways beyond consumer-facing ones, too. For instance, it's working with computer maker Dell to build 5G connectivity aimed at industrial and institutional customers.

But none of these other efforts will be able to meaningfully offset the demise of Dish's biggest business anytime soon.

The stock might seem to be hinting that this year's sell-off is finally coming to a close, but don't take the bait. There are far too many other investment options out there instead, until Dish Network has a clear, plausible plan to turn its shrinking business around.