AST SpaceMobile shares fell 26.8% last month, per S&P Global Market Intelligence, and are down 71% from their highs after a further 27% drop in October. The article attributes the slide to slow satellite deployment, since at least 45 satellites are needed in orbit for US service versus 13 today, and to a bottleneck of satellites waiting for launches on SpaceX rockets, plus competition from Starlink's planned direct-to-smartphone service. Last quarter, the company posted negative free cash flow of $719 million while generating little revenue. With a $15 billion market cap, the stock trades at a steep premium to trailing revenue; even at $1 billion in revenue, the price-to-sales ratio would be 15. The author judges the stock overvalued and says it is not a good time to buy in.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
AST SpaceMobilevaluationtelecommunicationsSpaceXElon Musk
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- AST SpaceMobile Hit a 52-Week Low Days After SpaceX Spent $8 Billion on Spectrum. That's Not a Coincidence.
AST SpaceMobile hit a 52-week low of $39.02 on Oct. 20, 12 days after SpaceX agreed to buy Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum for $8 billion. The article says the deal could let Starlink, combined with over 10,000 active satellites, become a standalone wireless carrier, threatening AT&T and Verizon's plans with AST. However, the author argues the sell-off is an overreaction, since carriers may need to invest more in AST's satellites to compete, and SpaceX's move may push more carriers toward AST. AST has launched 13 BlueBird satellites and needs at least 45 for stable service, and the decline is attributed mainly to a valuation of 74 times this year's sales. Analysts expect revenue to rise from $168 million in 2026 to $1.73 billion in 2028.
- AST SpaceMobile Rises 4% as Europe’s Largest Carriers Explore Joint Satellite Spectrum Bid; SpaceX and Rocket Lab Edge Higher
AST SpaceMobile rose 4% to $42.24 in early trading after its carrier partners, described as Europe's four largest, signed a letter of intent to explore a potential joint bid for mobile satellite services spectrum. The letter names no financial terms and adds no signed revenue yet, while SpaceX and Rocket Lab rose more modestly. The company has 13 BlueBird satellites in orbit, targets about 45 by early 2027, and says its carrier partners cover more than 3 billion subscribers. Its Q2 2026 revenue of $31.52 million missed expectations, and the loss of $0.77 per share also fell short, though management reaffirmed revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million for the year. Pro forma liquidity tops $3.7 billion and the signed backlog is roughly $1.3 billion.
- AST SpaceMobile’s stock is feeling the heat from SpaceX’s wireless plans
An analyst warns that AST’s commercial rollout could be delayed by satellite-launch challenges and SpaceX’s growing ambitions.
- 2 Space Stocks Down More Than 50% That Could Be the Best Buys of Q4
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is down roughly 69% from its May 2026 peak, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) has fallen more than 60% from its record high, as investors reassessed timelines and competition. Bank of America expects AST to begin initial intermittent cellular coverage in the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K. and Saudi Arabia before the end of 2026, backed by partnerships with more than 60 mobile operators serving over 3 billion subscribers. AST launched 13 satellites in August but still faces execution, competition and funding risks. Rocket Lab reported record Q2 2026 revenue of about $234 million, up 62% year over year, and a record backlog of $2.4 billion, up 137%, while it agreed to acquire Iridium Communications and delayed its Neutron rocket debut to 2027. Analysts' target prices imply potential upside of 10% to 157%, and the stock trades at about 41 times sales.
- AST SpaceMobile Is the New Battleground Stock
- Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Keeps Falling
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 1% on Monday before falling again on Tuesday, down about 9% intraday and nearly 26% over the past week. Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy after it lost 65% of its market capitalization from May to October, arguing investors overreacted to launch delays; analyst Bryan Kraft says all but $10 of the share price is backed by the value of AST's cellphone spectrum. Kraft also expects SpaceX's satellite direct-to-cell network to push telecom companies toward partnering with AST. Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to neutral, noting that Ariane, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance rockets are currently unavailable, which leaves AST dependent on SpaceX, now its primary competitor, to launch satellites. AST needs between 45 and 60 satellites to cover even select markets.
Related markets
Latest news
- Epidemic of Hacked Freezers Spreads Across Europe
In France, about 700 of 10,000 supermarkets were affected in October, and nine more countries reported refrigeration problems on Monday. France's CERT-FR links the compromises to remote controllers made by Danfoss and Copeland, and no group has claimed responsibility. Hackers forced a continuous defrost cycle, spoiling food and sparking fires at some stores, while units in Estonia were pushed to 50°C (122°F). Groupement Mousquetaires counted 300 affected stores, and Cooperative U said 80 of its 2,000 shops were hit. CERT-FR warns the campaigns are probably still ongoing, and Italy's government was set to hold a cybersecurity meeting on Tuesday.
- Securities firm issues surprising outlook for FPT
VCBS issues a cautious “Hard to compete” view on FPT, as generative AI is changing competitive advantages in the software outsourcing sector, even though Q3 2026 net revenue rose 12% to VND 13,754 billion and profit attributable to parent shareholders rose 11.8% to VND 2,723 billion. Q3 foreign technology revenue grew only 8.2% to VND 9,636 billion, with Japan up 8% to VND 4,270 billion, while nine-month new contract value rose 23% to VND 36,137 billion but converting contracts into revenue has slowed. In telecoms, nine-month revenue rose 17% to VND 16,699 billion, but cost of sales climbed 29%, narrowing gross margin by about 7 percentage points. Education revenue fell 5% in Q3, and VCBS forecasts a 5% drop to VND 5,825 billion in 2026 and another 5% decline to VND 5,534 billion in 2027.
- Pain for shareholders of FPT, Masan Consumer, SSI: Tens of thousands of billions of VND in market cap 'evaporate' since the start of the year
The 20 companies with the steepest market-cap declines on Vietnam's stock market lost a combined 622,748 billion VND between Dec. 31, 2025 and the start of trading on Nov. 3, 2026. FPT led with a 68,532 billion VND drop (42%), followed by Masan Consumer (down 62,473 billion VND, or 26.4%) and GELEX Electric (down 49,373 billion VND, or 54.9%). PNJ posted the steepest percentage decline at 75.9% (25,102 billion VND), while seven banks in the Top 20 accounted for about 184,377 billion VND. The article notes that market-cap changes reflect both share prices and changes in shares outstanding, so the decline does not equal cash actually withdrawn from the market.
- Foreign investors’ net selling since Vietnam’s market upgrade raises alarm
Since FTSE Russell upgraded Vietnam to secondary emerging market status on September 21, foreign investors have net sold nearly VND 30,000 billion on HoSE over about a month and a half, with only 3 of 32 trading sessions seeing no net selling, and year-to-date net selling reached nearly VND 121,000 billion as of November 3. The VN-Index has dropped more than 116 points (over 6%) since the upgrade, while average HoSE trading value has fallen to about VND 13,000 billion per session, one-third of a year earlier, as domestic cash flow stays thin amid high interest rates. The article remains optimistic on long-term prospects, citing stable macroeconomics, rising corporate earnings and a P/E near 12, and says foreign inflows could reverse soon.
- Over 21,000 billion VND poured into IPOs: More quality supply for the stock market
Six IPOs since early 2026 (DMX, HPA, LPS, HGI, F88 and DVV) have raised more than 21,000 billion VND in total. Điện Máy Xanh (DMX) raised over 13,300 billion VND, and although it did not sell all its shares (subscriptions reached 93% of the offering), its valuation above 100,000 billion VND (about USD 4 billion) makes it one of the most valuable non-financial companies to list since 2018. Unlike the 2017–2018 wave, which was mainly driven by banking, finance, consumer goods and real estate, this round includes retail, infrastructure and agriculture firms. The article also notes that many private conglomerates are listing subsidiaries to reflect the separate value of their business units. Highlands Coffee, CP Vietnam and Bảo tín Mạnh Hải are mentioned as having IPO plans.
- Company with VND 1.5 million billion in debt misses loan payment, roiling China’s credit market
Zhuhai Huafa Group, almost wholly state-owned and carrying interest-bearing debt of RMB 413 billion (VND 1.5 million billion), missed payments on two trust products and asked to extend some bank loans, triggering the sharpest selloff in China’s credit market in two years. Within two sessions to November 2, yields on benchmark Chinese corporate bonds rose 10.3 basis points, and the Huafa real estate unit posted a net loss of RMB 6.44 billion in the first nine months. Fitch placed Huafa on rating watch negative at BBB, while Huafa has since repaid one of the two delayed trust products. According to China Zheshang Bank, if Huafa keeps paying public bonds in full, the episode could be a temporary liquidity crunch, but extensions or restructuring could force markets to reassess risk across the state-owned enterprise sector.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.