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Luke Kawa

T-Mobile and other wireless carriers tumble on SpaceX’s purchase of spectrum licenses from EchoStar

T-Mobile is the worst-performing S&P 500 constituent in early trading, off 5.2% as of 8:27 a.m. ET.

The reason why? SpaceX purchased a pair of spectrum licenses from EchoStar for roughly $17 billion, and as such, SpaceX might no longer need to rely as heavily on T-Mobile going forward.

In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership where the carrier would help SpaceX’s Starlink provide mobile connectivity from space. The first of such satellites launched in January 2024, and T-Mobile ran an ad during the 2025 Super Bowl touting a beta trial of Starlink-powered satellite texting.

However, other wireless providers like AT&T and Verizon are also down (4.5% and 4.2%, respectively) ahead of the open, so this may also simply be a sell-off linked to the wireless providers not being the ones to purchase these valuable spectrum licenses themselves — even though AT&T struck a deal with EchoStar in late August to purchase $23 billion in spectrum assets.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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