Wells Fargo Analyst: SpaceX Wireless Threatens Carriers, Tower REITs and Cable Stand to Gain

AnalystIndustry
โดย 24/7 Wall St.·US·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said on a September 8 CNBC segment that SpaceX's satellite-plus-spectrum wireless push will hurt incumbent carriers while tower REITs and cable operators quietly profit, arguing the architecture needs far less ground infrastructure than a traditional fourth carrier. The FCC has cleared SpaceX to absorb 65 MHz of EchoStar's U.S. spectrum, which management plans to integrate later next year, and Starlink subscribers doubled year over year to 12.0 million as of Q2 2026. SpaceX's Q2 connectivity revenue reached $4.29 billion, up 66% year over year, on total Q2 revenue of $7.81 billion, $3.54 billion of adjusted EBITDA and a $93.5 billion cash position. Cahall named towers and a Wi-Fi offload MVNO with cable as the potential sector winners, noting Crown Castle yields around 5.5% after its fiber divestiture while AT&T contributes 28% of site rental revenue, and Charter's Spectrum Mobile added 406,000 lines with mobile service revenue up 18.9% year over year to $1.095 billion. The thesis carries a real hole: if SpaceX routes around U.S. towers entirely with its own rooftop equipment, the tower leasing bump never lands, and Crown Castle has said only that its sites offer space, power and backhaul with no signed agreement yet. T-Mobile is seen as most exposed because its Direct-to-Cell partnership loses differentiation once SpaceX controls its own spectrum, with TMUS shares down 23.18% over the past year, while Verizon's fixed wireless net additions fell 30.6% year over year.

Impact on stocks 14

Cloud & Digital Infrastructure± Mixed · 9 stocks
T-Mobile US Inc
TMUS
▼ NegativeCompetitionrelevance

Seen as most exposed because its Direct-to-Cell partnership loses differentiation once SpaceX controls its own spectrum.

Crown Castle
CCI
± MixedDemandrelevance

Named as a potential winner from SpaceX's less tower-intensive architecture, but Crown Castle has no signed agreement and could be bypassed entirely.

Verizon Communications Inc
VZ
▼ NegativeCompetitionrelevance

Incumbent carrier hurt by SpaceX's satellite-plus-spectrum wireless push, with fixed wireless net additions down 30.6% year over year.

EchoStar Corporation
ECHO
▲ PositiveRegulationrelevance

FCC cleared SpaceX to absorb 65 MHz of EchoStar's U.S. spectrum, a regulatory approval tied to EchoStar's spectrum.

Communication Services▲ · 3 stocks
Charter Communications Inc
CHTR
▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Cahall names cable as a winner via a Wi-Fi offload MVNO, and Charter's Spectrum Mobile added 406,000 lines with mobile revenue up 18.9%.

Space Economy▲ · 1 stocks
Financials▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 3

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