New York, Feb 28, 2026, 15:29 EST — Market closed
- ASTS shares dropped in the previous session, with traders bracing for a busy week loaded with potential catalysts.
- Vodafone and AST’s Satellite Connect Europe venture has officially gone live, the companies said.
- Attention shifts to AST’s March 2 quarterly update, with markets watching closely for any word on the upcoming launch schedule.
AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS.O) dropped 7.7% to finish Friday at $79.19, having slipped as low as $77.17 during the session. Volume came in around 24.0 million shares, a pickup from Thursday’s tally.
U.S. markets are closed until Monday, shifting the focus to timing rather than tape. In the industry, “direct-to-device” refers to satellites linking directly with regular smartphones—no extra gear needed. Investors are watching to see if that approach can really move from demo stage to something bigger.
Vodafone announced on Friday that Satellite Connect Europe—the direct-to-device JV it rolled out in 2025 with AST SpaceMobile—has now officially launched operations in Luxembourg. The venture is setting up five ground stations across Europe, with sites already being developed in Spain and the UK. “We are positioned to complement existing terrestrial networks,” said Meredith Sharples, managing director at Satellite Connect Europe. Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, predicts consumers can expect “a significant uplift” in coverage experience. Vodafone
As competition heats up, Europe sees fresh moves. Virgin Media O2 in Britain just rolled out its own satellite-to-mobile plan, tapping SpaceX’s Starlink and pricing it at 3 pounds ($4.06) per month, according to Reuters. The company says this will boost coverage across Britain’s landmass to 95%, up from 89%. O2 chief executive Lutz Schuler described the launch as “the first operator in Europe to launch a space-based mobile data service.” Reuters
AST, headquartered in Midland, Texas, is set for a company update. The firm has scheduled its quarterly business update call for March 2 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, with management fielding questions from both retail and institutional investors. A webcast will stream on AST’s investor site.
There was a government development too. The Space Development Agency handed AST a $30 million prototype deal tied to its HALO Europa Track 2 push—aimed at putting tactical satellite communications through their paces. Those demos are slated to wrap by December 2027. “Selection for SDA’s Europa Track 2 program validates AST SpaceMobile’s ability to rapidly operationalize commercial space capabilities for national security,” said Chris Ivory, chief executive of AST SpaceMobile USA. SDA
Funding hasn’t slipped off the agenda. Earlier this month, the company rolled out a $1 billion convertible senior notes offering, maturing in 2036, with a 2.25% coupon and an initial conversion price set at $116.30 per share. Alongside that, it’s planning a $300 million buyback of existing 2032 convertible notes—a move that could cut interest expense, though investors face dilution risk if the notes are swapped for stock.
Investors are looking for clearer signals on launch performance. Blue Origin has NG-3, its next New Glenn mission, on the books for late February at the earliest, planning to send AST’s upgraded BlueBird satellite up from Cape Canaveral.
The risks are clear enough: delays hit, the business model remains a work in progress out in the open. AST faces the task of launching significantly more satellites, securing spectrum and roaming deals, and managing costs—just as Starlink-supported offerings start billing users in certain regions.
Sellers stepped in Friday as global equities slipped, dragged by valuation concerns. Oil climbed, stoked by anxieties over possible Middle East supply issues — a combination that tends to hit high-growth stocks hardest.
ASTS traders are eyeing the March 2 business update, set for after the U.S. close. Focus? Clarity on the BlueBird 7 launch window, hints about initial service milestones in Europe, and fresh details from management on the state of the cash runway.
