Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) and AT&T (NYSE:T) shares fell on Friday after SpaceX agreed to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz low-band spectrum.
The deal covers up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum and requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, according to Grain Management’s announcement.
The acquisition has raised concerns that SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile could become a more direct competitor to the three major U.S. wireless carriers.
Analysts Assess Potential Threat From SpaceX
Deepwater Asset Management co-founder Gene Munster said a SpaceX-built phone running on its own network could undercut carriers on price and offer features they lack.
Separately, Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi lowered his price targets for all three carriers, cutting Verizon to $50 from $51.50, AT&T to $26.50 from $27.50 and T-Mobile to $212 from $217.
Spectrum Capacity and Pricing Power Remain Key Risks
Yaghi said it remains unclear whether the spectrum can economically support traffic in densely populated markets, even when combined with EchoStar’s approximately 65 MHz of spectrum holdings.
Despite the increased long-term disruption and valuation risks, the analyst kept his 2026–2028 estimates for all three carriers unchanged, citing limited visibility into SpaceX’s commercial scale and its potential impact on existing operators.
They identified weaker pricing power and customer-retention economics as the primary long-term risks, rather than immediate market-share losses.
The analyst added that the eventual impact will depend on terrestrial deployment, carrier offload agreements, device compatibility, service quality and pricing, which will determine the service’s capacity and potential market share.
Stock Price Activity: T-Mobile US shares were down 11.97% at $150.79, AT&T shares were down 10.73% at $22.20 and Verizon Communications shares were down 10.65% at $41.41 at the time of publication Friday.
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