Telecom Stocks Drop as SpaceX Strikes Deal for Nationwide Spectrum

Shares of major U.S. wireless carriers dropped on Friday following news that SpaceX has agreed to acquire a nationwide spectrum portfolio to expand its Starlink service into mobile connectivity, according to reporting by CNBC Business (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/verizon-att-tmobile-stocks-spacex-network.html).

Verizon dropped roughly 10%, putting the stock on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2002. T-Mobile fell 13%, pacing toward its worst session since 2013, while AT&T shed about 10%, heading for its largest one-day drop since 2000.

The selloff followed a Thursday statement from SpaceX disclosing an agreement to purchase a portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band from Grain Management. The transaction requires regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

In an interview Friday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said increased market competition is positive for consumers. Carr noted that regulators expect to bring more than $100 billion of spectrum into the market over the next two years, adding that the agency does not intend to pick winners and losers.

Wall Street analysts evaluated both the long-term threat and near-term hurdles for SpaceX. Evercore ISI wrote in a research note that the spectrum deal gives SpaceX "the outline of a real network" when combined with its satellite fleet. JPMorgan analysts noted the transaction makes Starlink Mobile's long-term prospects more credible, though they maintained there is limited near-term risk to incumbent carriers given the capital, time, and physical infrastructure required to deploy a competitive terrestrial network.