EchoStar (ECHO) 10% Owner Charles Ergen Gifts 5M Class B Shares

What Happened

• Charles W. Ergen, a 10% owner of EchoStar (ECHO), recorded a gift transaction on July 20, 2026 transferring 5,000,000 Class B shares into a newly established Ergen Two‑Year July 2026 ECHO GRAT. The filing shows the transfer as a gift (price $0.00). This was not a market sale or purchase — it is an estate‑planning transfer to a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT).

Key Details

• Transaction date: July 20, 2026; Filing date: July 22, 2026 (timely).
• Reported as Gift (code G); shares transferred: 5,000,000 Class B shares; price recorded $0.00.
• The July 2026 GRAT was established July 20, 2026; Mrs. Cantey M. Ergen serves as trustee (Footnote F9).
• The GRAT may convert Class B shares to equal Class A shares at no additional consideration (Footnotes F8, F9).
• Related filings show Mr. Ergen has previously funded similar two‑year SATS GRATs in 2025–2026 (Footnotes F10–F13).
• This is a non‑cash, estate‑planning gift and does not reflect an open‑market buy or sell.

Context

• Gifts into GRATs are commonly used for estate planning and tax strategy; they do not necessarily indicate the insider’s view on the company’s near‑term stock prospects. As a 10% owner (not an employee trade), this transaction reallocates ownership into a trust with his spouse as trustee and is procedural rather than a liquidity event.