NEW YORK, June 3, 2026, 14:02 EDT
- AT&T shares dropped 3.7% in afternoon trade. Oppenheimer cut its rating on the stock.
- Pressure built after analysts said Starlink might slow down growth in traditional broadband.
- AT&T is rolling out new fiber plans with simpler pricing, focusing on bundles and clearer costs.
AT&T shares dropped Wednesday after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock. The brokerage said SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband could turn into a bigger risk for AT&T’s internet and wireless business than the market is pricing in.
Shares last changed hands at $23.73 in New York, off 91 cents, or close to 3.7%, for the session. The stock opened at $24.09 and slipped to as low as $23.45 earlier in the day.
AT&T’s story has hinged on fiber broadband, wireless bundling and cash payouts to investors. That’s why satellite firms gaining broadband users could make the market cool on the steady cash flows that gave AT&T its utility play reputation.
Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan downgraded AT&T to Perform from Outperform and dropped his $32 target, Barron’s said. Horan wrote, “We think longer-term broadband subscriber growth and eventually mobile is at risk from rising threat of satellite LEO constellations,” pointing to low-Earth-orbit satellites that fly closer to the planet and deliver internet with lower lag than older satellite systems. Barron’s
Oppenheimer says SpaceX is shaking up the $1.6 trillion U.S. communications industry as Starlink grows, Reuters reported. The firm raised its 2035 space revenue forecast to $800 billion from $500 billion ahead of SpaceX’s planned Nasdaq listing on June 12.
Shares of Verizon dropped 3.0% and T-Mobile US slid 3.8% as selling hit more than just AT&T. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF slipped around 0.6%, and the Invesco QQQ ETF, which is heavy on Nasdaq stocks, was off 0.3%.
AT&T stayed in focus as the broadband story weighs on its growth pitch. Oppenheimer flagged downside risks for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, warning that subscriber and revenue drops could speed up if Starlink scales. Starlink could “entrench itself in many critical applications, reducing churn and increasing pricing power,” the broker said. Reuters
AT&T moved forward with its broadband strategy Wednesday, rolling out a new fiber lineup that starts June 7. The lineup includes four speed options: 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 GIG, and 5 GIG. AT&T said customers bundling its wireless and home internet could save up to $420 a year.
AT&T is rolling out plans focused on “straightforward” value and savings for customers, executive vice president and general manager Jenifer Robertson said in a company release. “This is about delivering straightforward plans for our customers that are packed with value, savings, and powered by a network that performs,” Robertson said. AT&T Newsroom
AT&T’s latest numbers landed with new fuel for the bull side. The company said it had 512,000 consumer advanced home internet net adds in the first quarter, with 273,000 coming from AT&T Fiber and 294,000 postpaid phone net adds. Postpaid phone counts matter to analysts—they track monthly wireless users who are seen as more reliable and profitable.
AT&T said it now reaches over 37 million consumer and business locations with fiber and kept its target to pass more than 40 million by end of 2026, rising to over 60 million by 2030. Free cash flow was $2.5 billion for the first quarter, down from $3.1 billion last year, as the company increased fiber spending.
The main risk on the bearish side is timing. It could be years before satellite networks compete with fiber’s speed and reliability in cities and suburbs. AT&T’s bundle deals might also slow the pace of customer losses. Still, there’s clear downside: if Starlink or other satellite players drop prices, ramp up capacity faster than predicted, or raise cash through a public listing, AT&T could end up spending more to hold onto broadband subscribers. Investors may not keep giving the stock its safety premium if that happens.
