NEW YORK, July 1, 2026, 09:27 EDT
- AT&T Inc. NYSE:T was down 5.2% at $20.70 in early New York trading.
- Dish DBS has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company ran out of cash for its $2 billion debt due July 1 after AT&T’s spectrum sale got delayed.
- AT&T, Verizon NYSE:VZ and T-Mobile US NASDAQ:TMUS were set to lose almost $22.4 billion in combined equity value in premarket trade, about matching the $23 billion AT&T-EchoStar spectrum price.
AT&T shares were at $20.70 before trading started in New York on Wednesday, down 5.2%. The slide wiped out roughly $7.9 billion in market value for the telecom group, going by current shares outstanding and market cap. The main NYSE session begins at 9:30 a.m. ET.
AT&T holders have to weigh two things: timing around the EchoStar Corp. NASDAQ:ECHO spectrum close and more selling in U.S. wireless names after SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX and Charter Communications Inc. NASDAQ:CHTR were reported in phone-service talks.
Premarket moves cut sharply for the group. Market-value swings here use each stock’s price move and the latest market cap.
| Company | Premarket price | Move | Approx. market value hit | P/E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Inc. NYSE:T | $20.70 | fell 5.2% | lost $7.9 bln | 7.0 |
| Verizon Communications Inc. NYSE:VZ | $42.34 | dropped 4.1% | down $7.5 bln | 10.3 |
| T-Mobile US Inc. NASDAQ:TMUS | $167.73 | slipped 3.6% | lost $7.0 bln | 17.8 |
The combined drop of about $22.4 billion for the three stocks was close to the size of AT&T’s EchoStar spectrum buy. That doesn’t mean the returns on the deal shifted one-to-one. The sector swing was just large enough to swamp deal math tied only to AT&T before trading started.
Dish DBS and its wireless units filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas. A Reuters report said the filing came after a surprise delay in selling spectrum licenses to AT&T, with Dish DBS unable to pay back $2 billion of 7.75% senior secured notes coming due on July 1.
EchoStar co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen said the company is “operating as usual throughout this process.” EchoStar said Dish TV, Sling TV, Boost Mobile and Gen Mobile are not expected to be impacted by the cases. EchoStar Corporation
AT&T’s key issue is the timing for getting the spectrum. The company is buying 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz mid-band and 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band spectrum from EchoStar for about $23 billion in cash. Licenses span over 400 U.S. markets. AT&T said the new mid-band licenses fit with its capital spending plan.
| AT&T-EchoStar item | Data point |
|---|---|
| AT&T purchase price | About $23 bln in cash |
| Net proceeds tied to Dish DBS liquidity | $20.25 bln |
| Spectrum AT&T is buying | 50 MHz across the U.S. |
| Dish DBS notes due July 1 | $2.0 bln |
| FCC escrow fund tied to DISH Wireless shutdown claims | $2.4 bln |
The FCC cleared EchoStar’s $40 billion in spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX in May. The agency told Reuters that AT&T’s spectrum is set to boost coverage, with a focus on rural and underserved spots, and the deal forces AT&T to deploy its network much quicker than it wanted.
AT&T’s board bumped its quarterly common dividend to 27.75 cents a share, the company said June 24. The payout hits Aug. 3 for holders as of July 10. At $20.70, the annual dividend of $1.11 works out to a 5.4% yield, up from roughly 5.1% at Tuesday’s implied close.
AT&T’s stock is tied closely to its investment cycle. The company reaffirmed its 2026 free-cash-flow target at over $18 billion in April, kept plans for about $8 billion in share buybacks, and said it expects net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA to get back to 2.5 times about three years after closing the EchoStar deal.
AT&T CEO John Stankey said in April the company’s offer is “fiber and 5G all from one provider.” That is still the message now. The EchoStar spectrum adds more low-band and mid-band options as AT&T looks to push more bundled wireless and home internet. AT&T Newsroom
It wasn’t just Dish raising the competitive issue. On June 26, Reuters said SpaceX and Charter talked at the executive level about a U.S. mobile phone product. Charter wouldn’t comment to Reuters, and SpaceX didn’t reply right away. Reuters also noted SpaceX already has direct-to-cell service with T-Mobile in the U.S.
Futures were lower. Dow e-minis dropped 0.27%, S&P 500 e-minis slipped 0.19% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis lost 0.5% at 8:18 a.m. ET, Reuters reported. “The mood is sanguine, but not complacent,” said Benjamin Jones, global head of research at Invesco. Reuters
AT&T will report Q2 earnings before the market opens on July 22, with a conference call set for 8:30 a.m. ET.
