News about telecommunications

On October 8, SpaceX agreed to buy Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio to help its Starlink Mobile service reach phones indoors; terms were not disclosed, though The Wall Street Journal put the price at about $8 billion in cash. Shares of T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T each fell over 10% the next day, while SpaceX stock barely moved and trades near $146, about 31% below its record $211.39 close on June 16. In the second quarter, SpaceX's connectivity segment, which houses Starlink, posted revenue of $4.3 billion, up 66% year over year, and was the only segment with an operating profit; the Grain purchase still needs FCC approval. At a valuation of about $2 trillion, the $8 billion is under 1% of that, but trailing four-quarter revenue of about $23 billion leaves the stock above 80 times sales, and the company lost $4.8 billion in the first half of 2026. The author considers the stock still too pricey, noting that revenue from direct phone service is probably more than a year away and that third-quarter results are due October 20.