SpaceX spectrum deal sends Deutsche Telekom shares falling 7%

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09/10/2026 10:26

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Deutsche Telekom DTEGn.DE were on track for their worst trading day in more than three years on Friday, after SpaceX SPCX.O on Thursday announced an agreement to buy a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio, enabling Starlink Mobile to become a major telecom operator in the US.
The German telecommunications group owns a 54% stake in T-Mobile US TMUS.O, which could be facing stiffer competition in the United States.
Deutsche Telekom shares, which have lost around a quarter of their value since a February high, were down 7% at 0919 GMT, at the bottom of Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index .STOXX.
"We view the news as ... an ongoing risk for the telecoms and cable stocks," Citi analysts wrote in a note to investors, adding that the risk of SpaceX emerging as a facilities-based competitor has likely contributed to these stocks' recent poor performance.
Stéphane Beyazian, analyst at ODDO BHF, expects SpaceX to be a "big contender" at the US Federal Communications Commission's 2027 spectrum auction, a bidding sale of 160 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the Upper C-Band.
However, he said Elon Musk's company did not pose an imminent threat to Deutsche Telekom's business.
"Without a roaming agreement with a partner, it will take years before Starlink can build and sell a good quality product," Beyazian told Reuters.

(Reporting by Danny Callaghan in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
((Email: danny.callaghan@thomsonreuters.com))