Dish Network swung to a loss in the third quarter as it shedded 64,000 pay-TV subscribers.
The loss was a surprise to Wall Street. Dish also missed on analysts’ revenue estimates. By the end of the day, Dish stock lost nearly 40% of its value, closing at $3.44 a share.
Dish finished the quarter with 8.84 million pay TV subscribers, down from 8.904 million at the end of the second quarter and 10.02 million a year ago.
Dish satellite subscribers fell to 6.72 million from 6.901 million at the end of the second quarter and 7.607 million a year ago.
Sling TV streaming subscribers rose to 2.12 million from 2.003 million in the second quarter, but down from 2.411 million a year ago.
Dish’s third-quarter loss was $139 million, or 26 cents a share, compared to net income of $412 million or 65 cents a share.
Revenue fell 9.8% to $3.7 billion.
