Today’s Change
Current Price
Verizon Communications (VZ -8.75%), a wireless and broadband carrier, closed at $41.65, down 10.14%. Friday’s slide followed a spectrum deal by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPCX +1.25%), better known as SpaceX, and a Scotiabank target cut. Investors are watching the October 26 earnings call for guidance and subscriber trends.
Trading volume reached 88.6 million shares, coming in about 286% above its three-month average of 22.9 million shares.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.59%) closed at 7,811, up 0.59%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.64%) closed at 27,366, up 0.64%. Among integrated telecommunications services peers, AT&T (T -9.81%) closed at $22.17, down 10.86%, and T-Mobile US (TMUS -13.27%) closed at $148.58, down 13.27%, as the SpaceX spectrum news pressured the group.
What this means for investors
As one of the largest mobile service providers in the U.S., Verizon’s business faces a major new competitor in SpaceX due to the space-based company’s nationwide low-band spectrum deal with Grain Management. CEO Elon Musk positioned the move as a major step toward offering direct-to-device phone coverage across the U.S. The news prompted Wall Street to reassess long-term competition for traditional mobile carriers, impacting not just Verizon, but other major wireless carriers as well.
Consequently, Scotiabank lowered its price target on Verizon Communications to $50 from $51.50 while keeping a sector outperform rating, adding to pressure during the session. The telecom giant’s October 26 earnings call is now the next key checkpoint for guidance, capital spending, and subscriber commentary after the day’s sell-off, which looks to be the stock’s worst day since 2002.
Verizon’s April guidance increase and July profit forecast lift still frame the stock’s setup for now. In the near term, SpaceX’s deal is likely not going to hurt Verizon’s revenue or subscriber outlook, but investors have begun to weigh competition against execution over the long term.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in AT&T, Space Exploration Technologies, T-Mobile US, and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
