AT&T Stock Rebounds After EchoStar and SpaceX Deal. Why the Shares Can Jump 10%.

AT&T stock has climbed 28% so far in 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)

AT&T is still a fierce competitor in the wireless space, despite SpaceX’s latest deal to snap up more spectrum licenses.

EchoStar’s agreement to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX in a $17 billion deal stunned the wireless communications sector on Monday. The news sent AT&T tumbling 2.3% on Monday, and sent AT&T stock tumbling 2.3%. The shares were fighting back Tuesday, though, up around 1% early in the day.

Oppenheimer analysts reminded investors Tuesday that AT&T’s own deal with EchoStar could be a positive for the company. In August, the telecommunications company acquired spectrum licenses from EchoStar for $23 billion.

Spectrum, or the frequencies that wireless calls travel over, is a finite resource that is essential for mobile companies.

Last month’s deal “makes AT&T more competitive in wireless,” Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan said in a Tuesday note. He reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock with a target price of $32—implying around 10% upside to Tuesday’s price.

“It has been operating with a spectrum deficit compared to peers, and as a result lagged behind network speeds/quality and ability to sell FWA (fixed wireless access),” he added. The additional 50MHz of spectrum takes it past Verizon’s total and “closes the gap with industry leader T-Mobile.”

In addition, the company’s “attractive” dividend yield—3.8%, according to FactSet—remains a key pillar of its investment thesis, Oppenheimer say.

Separately, AT&T reaffirmed its full-year guidance and said it plans to buy back $20 billion of shares by 2027 in a statement late Monday.

EchoStar said Monday it has agreed to sell its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceX in a $17 billion cash-plus-stock deal. The long-term commercial agreement will allow EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access Space’s Starlink Direct-to-Cell service.

AT&T’s rivals Verizon Communications and T-Mobile US both fell Monday, while EchoStar jumped 20%. Only T-Mobile was lower early Tuesday.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com