| Leases |
Lessee Accounting We enter into non-cancelable operating and finance leases for, among other things, communication towers, satellites, satellite-related ground infrastructure, data centers, office space, dark fiber and transport equipment, warehouses and distribution centers, vehicles and other equipment. Substantially all of our leases have remaining lease terms from one to 13 years, with a weighted average remaining lease term of 1.1 to 9.7 years, some of which include renewal options, and some of which include options to terminate the leases within one year. For certain arrangements, the lease term includes the non-cancelable period plus the renewal period that we are reasonably certain to exercise. Our Eutelsat 65 West A, Telesat T19V and EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellites are accounted for as finance leases within our Broadband and Satellite Services segment. Through the third quarter of 2024, our Nimiq 5 satellite was accounted for as finance lease within our Pay-TV segment. However, during October 2024, we extended the Nimiq 5 lease and as a result it is currently accounted for as an operating lease. In addition, through the first quarter of 2025, our Anik F3 satellite was accounted for as an operating lease within our Pay- TV segment and as of April 2025 we no longer lease this satellite. Substantially all of our remaining leases are accounted for as operating leases. The components of lease expense were as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For the Three Months Ended | | For the Nine Months Ended | | | September 30, | | September 30, | | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | (In thousands) | Operating lease cost | | $ | 159,215 | | $ | 156,172 | | $ | 493,077 | | $ | 478,662 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Short-term lease cost (1) | | | 2,119 | | | 1,183 | | | 10,460 | | | 3,234 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Finance lease cost: | | | | | | | | | | | | | Amortization of right-of-use assets | | | 10,973 | | | 25,561 | | | 37,442 | | | 58,239 | Interest on lease liabilities | | | 1,184 | | | 1,980 | | | 4,028 | | | 7,169 | Total finance lease cost | | | 12,157 | | | 27,541 | | | 41,470 | | | 65,408 | Total lease costs | | $ | 173,491 | | $ | 184,896 | | $ | 545,007 | | $ | 547,304 |
| (1) | Leases that have terms of 12 months or less. |
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows: | | | | | | | | | For the Nine Months Ended | | | September 30, | | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | (In thousands) | Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities: | | | | | | | Operating cash flows from operating leases | | $ | 453,102 | | $ | 368,793 | Operating cash flows from finance leases | | $ | 3,483 | | $ | 7,363 | Financing cash flows from finance leases | | $ | 18,488 | | $ | 49,648 | | | | | | | | Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations: | | | | | | | Operating leases | | $ | 154,540 | | $ | 406,101 | Finance leases | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | | | | | | Remeasured right of use asset and liability | | $ | 1,283,916 | | $ | — |
Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows: | | | | | | | | | As of | | | September 30, | | December 31, | | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | (In thousands) | Operating Leases: | | | | | | | Operating lease assets (1) | | $ | 291,846 | | $ | 3,260,768 | | | | | | | | Other current liabilities (1) | | $ | 747,178 | | $ | 528,542 | Operating lease liabilities (1) | | | 4,266,240 | | | 3,211,407 | Total operating lease liabilities (1) | | $ | 5,013,418 | | $ | 3,739,949 | | | | | | | | Finance Leases: | | | | | | | Property and equipment, gross | | $ | 364,779 | | $ | 466,074 | Accumulated depreciation | | | (191,737) | | | (235,001) | Property and equipment, net | | $ | 173,042 | | $ | 231,073 | | | | | | | | Other current liabilities | | $ | 33,894 | | $ | 30,381 | Other long-term liabilities | | | 14,817 | | | 36,818 | Total finance lease liabilities | | $ | 48,711 | | $ | 67,199 | | | | | | | | Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term: | | | | | | | Operating leases | | | 9.7 years | | | 9.7 years | Finance leases | | | 1.1 years | | | 1.7 years | | | | | | | | Weighted Average Discount Rate: | | | | | | | Operating leases | | | 9.9% | | | 10.2% | Finance leases | | | 9.7% | | | 9.3% |
| (1) | During the third quarter of 2025, as a result of the AT&T Transactions and SpaceX Transactions, we began the abandonment and decommission process for certain portions of our 5G Network that will not be utilized in our Hybrid MNO business model, resulting in a significant adverse change in the intended use of such assets. These developments were considered triggering events and resulted in, among other things, our review of communication tower lease obligations related to our 5G Network, through which we determined we will no longer take on any new communication tower leases, including those under our take or pay arrangements with certain vendors. Consequently, all future cash flows associated with certain communication tower leases not previously commenced under the take or pay arrangements were attributed to existing leases and certain lease liabilities were remeasured and we recorded $1.284 billion as an ROU asset and liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2025, and the ROU assets associated with such remeasured leases were impaired in the same period and we recorded $4.191 billion in "Impairments and other" on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) in the same period. As a result, a one-time charge for variable lease payment expense resulting from this remeasurement event related to our 5G Network was recorded in "Impairments and other" on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss). See Note 1 for further information. |
Maturities of lease liabilities as of September 30, 2025 were as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | Maturities of Lease Liabilities | | | Operating | | Finance | | | | For the Years Ending December 31, | | Leases | | Leases | | Total | | | | (In thousands) | 2025 (remaining three months) | | $ | 196,802 | | $ | 13,425 | | $ | 210,227 | 2026 | | | 820,131 | | | 36,588 | | | 856,719 | 2027 | | | 819,578 | | | 2,574 | | | 822,152 | 2028 | | | 758,849 | | | — | | | 758,849 | 2029 | | | 723,097 | | | — | | | 723,097 | Thereafter | | | 4,589,921 | | | — | | | 4,589,921 | Total lease payments | | | 7,908,378 | | | 52,587 | | | 7,960,965 | Less: Imputed interest | | | (2,894,960) | | | (3,876) | | | (2,898,836) | Total | | | 5,013,418 | | | 48,711 | | | 5,062,129 | Less: Current portion | | | (747,178) | | | (33,894) | | | (781,072) | Long-term portion of lease obligations | | $ | 4,266,240 | | $ | 14,817 | | $ | 4,281,057 |
Lessor Accounting We lease satellite capacity, communications equipment and real estate to certain of our customers. The following table presents our lease revenue by type of lease: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For the Three Months Ended | | For the Nine Months Ended | | | September 30, | | September 30, | | | 2025 | | 2024 | | 2025 | | 2024 | | | | (In thousands) | Lease revenue: | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sales-type lease revenue | | $ | 1,152 | | $ | 2,984 | | $ | 5,136 | | $ | 5,607 | Operating lease revenue | | | 7,254 | | | 2,732 | | | 11,669 | | | 12,216 | Total lease revenue | | $ | 8,406 | | $ | 5,716 | | $ | 16,805 | | $ | 17,823 |
Substantially all of our net investment in sales-type leases consisted of lease receivables totaling $21 million and $26 million as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The following table presents future operating lease payments to be received as of September 30, 2025: | | | | For the Years Ending December 31, | | Total | | | (In thousands) | 2025 (remaining three months) | | $ | 4,078 | 2026 | | | 10,074 | 2027 | | | 6,450 | 2028 | | | 4,152 | 2029 | | | 3,303 | Thereafter | | | 1,997 | Total lease payments to be received | | $ | 30,054 |
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