Why AT&T Stock Plunged on Friday

Shares of AT&T experienced an 8% drop on Friday following a report that raised concerns about SpaceX potentially disrupting the U.S. wireless market. According to Bloomberg, SpaceX is negotiating to gain access to a substantial number of cell sites in the United States, which could pose a significant challenge to AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

During SpaceX's Q3 earnings call on October 20, Gwynne Shotwell, the company's chief operating officer, noted that Starlink Mobile's user base grew by 37% to over 22 million monthly subscribers. Starlink Mobile is a satellite-to-cellular network that connects typical smartphones to SpaceX's low-Earth orbit constellation. The space technology firm recently secured a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licenses, which it believes will enable Starlink Mobile to become a significant player in the U.S. mobile market.

SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, emphasized that they are developing their terrestrial network to ensure widespread connectivity wherever SpaceX and Starlink are permitted to operate. However, establishing a new nationwide wireless carrier would require substantial investment, possibly in the tens of billions of dollars, and could take considerable time.

Meanwhile, AT&T continues to attract new customers, adding 379,000 postpaid phone subscribers, 442,000 fiber connections, and 327,000 fixed wireless users in the third quarter. The company's revenue increased by 5% to $32.3 billion, prompting management to raise its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $2.40 per share. Despite Friday's decline, AT&T's stock appears undervalued, trading at less than 9 times its projected 2026 profits.

Furthermore, the telecom leader anticipates growing cash profits in the future. AT&T projects its free cash flow to reach over $21 billion by 2028, up from $18 billion in the current year.