DIRECTV 2005 Annual Report Download - page 44

THE DIRECTV GROUP, INC.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER
MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol ‘‘DTV.’’ The following table
sets forth for the quarters indicated the high and low sales prices for our common stock, as reported on
the NYSE Composite Tape.
For the period from January 1, 2004 through March 16, 2004, the table reflects the performance of
Hughes Electronics Corporation common stock which was listed on the NYSE under the symbol ‘‘HS’’
during that period. On March 16, 2004, we changed our name to The DIRECTV Group, Inc. Effective
on March 17, 2004, our ticker symbol was changed to ‘‘DTV.’’
2005 High Low
First Quarter ........................................ $17.01 $14.21
Second Quarter ...................................... 15.91 13.88
Third Quarter ....................................... 16.79 14.48
Fourth Quarter ...................................... 15.07 13.17
2004 High Low
First Quarter ........................................ $18.05 $14.70
Second Quarter ...................................... 18.81 15.60
Third Quarter ....................................... 17.77 15.72
Fourth Quarter ...................................... 18.25 15.52
As of the close of business on March 7, 2006, there were approximately 96,008 holders of record
of our common stock.
Subject to the preferential and other dividend rights of any outstanding series of our preferred
stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to such dividends and other distributions in cash, stock
or property as may be declared by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion. There were no shares
of our preferred stock outstanding at December 31, 2005.
Except for the $275 million special cash dividend paid to GM in connection with the split-off, no
dividends on our common stock have been declared by our Board of Directors for more than five
years. We have no current plans to pay any dividends on our common stock. We currently expect to
retain our future earnings, if any, for the development of our businesses or other corporate purposes.
On February 7, 2006, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program. Under the
repurchase program, we are authorized to spend up to $3.0 billion to repurchase outstanding shares of
our common stock. The source of funds for the proposed purchases is from our existing cash on hand
and cash from operations. We implemented the repurchase program on February 10, 2006. There is no
fixed termination date for the repurchase program and purchases may be made in the open market,
through block trades and other negotiated transactions. The program may be suspended, discontinued
or accelerated at any time. Repurchased shares will be retired but remain authorized for registration
and issuance in the future. Through March 7, 2006, we have repurchased approximately 110.3 million
shares for $1.7 billion, at an average price of $15.50 per share, which includes 100 million shares of our
common stock purchased from General Motors employee pension and benefit trusts.
DIRECTV U.S. is subject to restrictive covenants under its credit facility. These covenants limit
the ability of DIRECTV U.S. to, among other things, make restricted payments, including dividends,
loans or advances to us.
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