Shares of Verizon Communications, AT&T, and T-Mobile traded lower on Tuesday for a second straight session as investors continued to weigh the specter of how Elon Musk's SpaceX could disrupt the telecommunications sector.
Verizon stock fell 3.1% on Tuesday after dropping 5.2% on Monday. AT&T and T-Mobile declined 4.7% and 3.2%, respectively on Tuesday. The two stocks each closed more than 3% lower on Monday.
The big three U.S. cellular service carriers have come under pressure after Bloomberg reported late Friday that Charter Communications has held high-level discussions with SpaceX about possibly partnering on a consumer mobile phone in the U.S.
Charter may also run some of SpaceX's phone traffic through its ground-based internet infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
SpaceX has also told investors it plans to launch a Starlink mobile service for U.S. consumers, according to a report from the Financial Times on Friday.
Charter Communications declined to comment to Barron's about the discussions. SpaceX didn't respond to requests for comment.
The possibility of Charter Communications being a SpaceX mobile phone partner wasn't the only reason telecommunication stocks have declined this week.
Comcast announced Monday plans to split into two companies, one focused on technology and the other on media, by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky. The move signals a large shift in the landscape of cable internet providers.
But BNP Paribas analysts on Monday wrote that the possible Charter-SpaceX partnership was what was weighing on the three stocks.
"The relative moves across the group suggest to us that the SpaceX/Charter story looms large," BNP Paribas analysts noted of the declines among Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
However the multinational bank also believes that a potential offering from Charter and SpaceX would fall short of supplanting "the role of the Big Three carriers."
"There is no way for a Charter-SpaceX partnership to remove the role of terrestrial cellular networks in the U.S. connectivity market. Given the equity moves today though, clearly the mere speculation is a headwind for the wireless names," the analysts added.
If Charter partners with SpaceX on a mobile phone, it would give the company exposure to Musk's Starlink business and growing subscriber base. It would also potentially mean that consumers might move away from cellular service providers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in favor of Starlink's satellite internet and potential mobile services.
A Charter-SpaceX phone could also be particularly troubling for T-Mobile. SpaceX already offers direct-to-cell connectivity with T-Mobile in the U.S.
Even before news of a possible mobile phone offer, SpaceX's Starlink business -- the provider of satellite internet services which currently has about 12 million subscribers -- was making investors rethink Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and Charter Communications.
"SpaceX will disrupt the $1.6T communications industry," wrote Oppenheimer analyst Tim Horan in a client note earlier this month.
Wall Street believes Starlink could take market share from Comcast and Charter Communications, the two leading cable internet providers, and AT&T and Verizon Communication, which offer internet services via fiber.
NewStreet Research analyst Blair Levin on Friday added that SpaceX's potential monopoly on satellites and rocket launches could squeeze the big three wireless providers and that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are pushing back.
All three are negotiating a joint venture to facilitate using satellite services to backup cellular services, which could serve as a SpaceX boycott, with the company's refusing to lease spectrum to SpaceX while pooling resources for a competing satellite service, according to Levin.
Whether Charter and SpaceX partner or not, the SpaceX war with the big three carriers appears to be heating up.
Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 30, 2026 14:52 ET (18:52 GMT)
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