New York, June 5, 2026, 05:04 EDT
- AT&T is coming into Friday’s U.S. trading after two days of big losses. Shares last traded at $22.77 ahead of the NYSE’s 9:30 a.m. ET open.
- Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan downgraded AT&T to Perform from Outperform, pointing to satellite broadband threats from SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo.
- AT&T is putting fiber at the center of its pitch, rolling out new simplified fiber plans and savings for wireless and home internet customers this week.
AT&T shares faced fresh selling early Friday, following two rough days as the market shifted from seeing satellite internet as a far-off issue to a clear risk for broadband growth. The stock last changed hands at $22.77. U.S. trading hadn’t opened yet at press time.
Timing is key. Next week, SpaceX is set to take Starlink public, just as AT&T is working to keep investors on board with its fiber-led growth plan. Analysts are now starting to pitch low-Earth-orbit satellites as a real broadband rival, not only a solution for rural areas.
Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan cut AT&T to Perform from Outperform and dropped his $32 price target, Barron’s said. “We think longer-term broadband subscriber growth and eventually mobile is at risk,” Horan said, per the report. Barron’s
MarketWatch quoted Horan saying investors may be “underestimating” the threat from satellite services. He wrote that “pricing for services like Starlink is now on par with legacy broadband,” which he says hits at the main AT&T bull case: fiber is supposed to be the higher-quality, stickier option. MarketWatch
The drop wasn’t just about AT&T. Verizon slid 3.82% Thursday and T-Mobile was down 2.44%. This came as the Dow set a record close and the S&P 500 added 0.41%. The Nasdaq eased 0.09% with chip stocks under pressure.
Global stocks are under pressure. Reuters said Friday that shares were broadly lower, U.S. futures dropped, and investors grew cautious before the U.S. payrolls release. Saxo’s Charu Chanana called it “quite a risk-off today.” Reuters
AT&T is sticking with fiber and bundles. The company said June 3 that customers can choose from four fiber speed tiers starting June 7. People who combine AT&T wireless and home internet may save up to $420 per year. Jenifer Robertson, executive vice president and general manager of AT&T Consumer, said the plans are “packed with value, savings, and powered by a network that performs.” AT&T Newsroom
AT&T is showing some growth in its latest numbers. The company said it had 584,000 advanced connectivity internet net adds in the first quarter, with 292,000 coming from fiber and 294,000 postpaid phone net adds. AT&T said it now reaches more than 37 million fiber locations, and is sticking to its plan for more than 60 million by the end of 2030. Free cash flow was $2.5 billion for the quarter, after capital spending.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile said in May they’ve struck a deal in principle on a joint venture aimed at fixing wireless dead zones through satellite direct-to-device tech. AT&T CEO John Stankey called the goal making it simple to stay connected “no matter where you are.” Competitive lines keep getting muddied. AT&T Newsroom
The risk for AT&T is clear. If Starlink and Amazon’s Leo move to cut prices faster and pull in customers beyond remote rural markets, AT&T could face more discounting or have to spend extra to hold onto growth. That would squeeze the cash it relies on for debt, dividends, and buybacks. If satellites end up just complementing and fiber bundles keep customers on board, the recent drop might seem overdone.
AT&T’s next scheduled events are coming up. CFO Pascal Desroches is set to speak June 9 at the Mizuho Technology Conference, and the company plans its second-quarter earnings call July 22. Investors will get two shots to ask management if satellite competition is just talk or a real new cost.
