AT&T Stock Plummets 4% Due to SpaceX Competition Fears

Shares of AT&T (T) fell roughly 4% to about $23.56, their worst single-day drop since October 2025, after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to Perform from Buy on intensifying satellite-broadband competition. Analyst Timothy Horan warned that long-term broadband subscriber growth, and eventually mobile, is at risk from low-earth-orbit (LEO) constellations led by SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Leo.

The timing is pointed: SpaceX is expected to debut on the Nasdaq as early as next week, an IPO that will put a spotlight on the satellite threat to traditional carriers. Horan projects LEO providers could capture more than 2 million subscribers per year and reach roughly 10% broadband market share by 2030, with Starlink pricing now on par with legacy wired broadband.

Oppenheimer argued AT&T is 'most at risk' among the major telcos given its broadband exposure, with Verizon and T-Mobile seen as less vulnerable . The read-through for investors is structural rather than one-quarter: how aggressively AT&T defends fiber and converged mobile-plus-broadband bundles against a newly public, well-capitalized satellite competitor.

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