Leases

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Leases

Leases

9.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 1.7 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 (generally communication towers), 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. Substantially all of our remaining leases are accounted for as operating leases, including our Anik F3 satellite lease.

The components of lease expense were as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
	(In thousands)
Operating lease cost (1)	$	639,707	$	538,805	$	355,871
Short-term lease cost (2)		16,685		4,765		4,914
Finance lease cost: (3)
Amortization of right-of-use assets		71,474		102,724		57,942
Interest on lease liabilities		8,799		14,090		12,151
Total finance lease cost		80,273		116,814		70,093
Total lease costs	$	736,665	$	660,384	$	430,878

(1) The increase in operating lease cost is primarily related to communication tower leases.

(2) Leases that have terms of 12 months or less.

(3) The increase in finance lease cost for the year ended December 31, 2023 is primarily related to equipment for our 5G Network Deployment.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
	(In thousands)
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	504,604	$	367,438	$	186,372
Operating cash flows from finance leases	$	9,094	$	13,400	$	11,060
Financing cash flows from finance leases	$	56,459	$	53,467	$	42,740
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:
Operating leases	$	522,975	$	753,935	$	1,402,357
Finance leases	$	—	$	53,771	$	66,312

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2024		2023
	(In thousands)
Operating Leases:
Operating lease assets	$	3,260,768	$	3,065,448
Other current liabilities	$	528,542	$	317,395
Operating lease liabilities		3,211,407		3,121,307
Total operating lease liabilities	$	3,739,949	$	3,438,702
Finance Leases:
Property and equipment, gross	$	466,074	$	833,933
Accumulated depreciation		(235,001)		(520,344)
Property and equipment, net	$	231,073	$	313,589
Other current liabilities	$	30,381	$	56,459
Other long-term liabilities		36,818		67,199
Total finance lease liabilities	$	67,199	$	123,658
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term:
Operating leases		9.7 years		10.6 years
Finance leases		1.7 years		2.2 years
Weighted Average Discount Rate:
Operating leases		10.2%		9.5%
Finance leases		9.3%		9.7%

Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2024 were as follows:

	Maturities of Lease Liabilities
	Operating		Finance
For the Years Ending December 31,	Leases		Leases		Total
	(In thousands)
2025	$	569,819	$	35,392	$	605,211
2026		600,545		36,588		637,133
2027		601,316		2,574		603,890
2028		556,826		—		556,826
2029		542,595		—		542,595
Thereafter		3,011,068		—		3,011,068
Total lease payments		5,882,169		74,554		5,956,723
Less: Imputed interest		(2,142,220)		(7,355)		(2,149,575)
Total		3,739,949		67,199		3,807,148
Less: Current portion		(528,542)		(30,381)		(558,923)
Long-term portion of lease obligations	$	3,211,407	$	36,818	$	3,248,225

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 Years Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
	(In thousands)
Lease revenue:
Sales-type lease revenue	$	10,547	$	13,431	$	8,777
Operating lease revenue		14,358		42,565		44,350
Total lease revenue	$	24,905	$	55,996	$	53,127

Substantially all of our net investment in sales-type leases consisted of lease receivables totaling $26 million and $30 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The following table presents future operating lease payments to be received as of December 31, 2024:

For the Years Ending December 31,	Total
	(In thousands)
2025	$	9,322
2026		5,285
2027		4,093
2028		1,379
2029		1,008
Thereafter		16
Total lease payments to be received	$	21,103