Shares of AST SpaceMobile climbed sharply in mid-day trading, rising about 9.38% after the three largest U.S. wireless carriers - AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon - disclosed a coordinated joint venture intended to expand satellite-delivered services for mobile customers.
The carriers said they would pool satellite partnerships and spectrum resources to better integrate supplementary satellite service into terrestrial mobile networks. AST SpaceMobile publicly welcomed the announcement, characterizing the proposed collaboration as a step that should speed technical integration, improve customer experience and reduce coverage gaps across the United States. CEO Abel Avellan said, "AST SpaceMobile is happy to see how the industry is preparing to enable space-based cellular broadband connectivity to every American."
The carrier joint venture was only one element behind the share move. On the analyst front, Roth Capital boosted its price target on AST SpaceMobile, lifting it from $82.50 to $108 and retaining a Buy rating. Roth framed prior timing issues in Q1 as noise relative to the company’s launch calendar and highlighted that the company is "fully funded" for more than 100 satellites, with more than $3.5 billion in cash backing that plan.
Institutional filings added to the momentum. BlackRock increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 22%, acquiring an additional 2.57 million shares and raising its total stake to 14.52 million shares. Those flows, combined with analyst optimism, underpinned investor appetite despite near-term concerns flagged by some market participants.
AST SpaceMobile reported Q1 2026 financial results on May 11. Revenue rose to $14.74 million, while the company recorded a wider net loss of $191 million. The company nevertheless reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue outlook of $150 million to $200 million and emphasized more than $1.20 billion in contracted revenue commitments on the books.
Management also pointed investors toward a major revenue ramp expected in 2027, with the 2027 revenue opportunity described as approaching $1 billion, driven by long-term contracted or highly recurring revenue. Despite that longer-term outlook, several analysts remained cautious, noting that both revenue and launches are skewed toward the back half of the year.
Among the more conservative broker notes, B. Riley and Bank of America maintained Neutral ratings while issuing modest target adjustments. New Street Research initiated coverage with a $80 Neutral rating. The common thread among those cautious views was the emphasis on back-half weighting for revenue and launches, a timing issue that leaves near-term results more uncertain.
The broader market provided a benign backdrop for AST SpaceMobile’s move. Major indexes gained ground, with the S&P 500 up about 0.72%, the Dow Jones rising roughly 0.76% and the NASDAQ higher by approximately 0.85% during the same trading session.
Taken together, the carrier joint venture announcement acted as an industry-level endorsement of the direct-to-device satellite market in which AST SpaceMobile is positioning itself. Verizon and AT&T are already reported to be working with AST SpaceMobile separately, reinforcing the company’s strategic placement at the intersection of hard operational catalysts - launches, FCC approvals and revenue guidance - and softer market drivers such as retail sentiment and analyst target revisions. The convergence of the carrier JV, analyst activity and institutional buying contributed to the sharp intraday move in the stock.
Key points
- Major U.S. carriers announced a joint venture to pool satellite partnerships and spectrum resources, a development AST SpaceMobile publicly endorsed.
- Roth Capital raised its price target to $108 and highlighted AST SpaceMobile as "fully funded" for more than 100 satellites with over $3.5 billion in cash; BlackRock increased its holdings by 2.57 million shares to 14.52 million shares.
- Company fundamentals show rising revenue but a widened net loss in Q1 2026, with management reaffirming 2026 revenue guidance and pointing to a potential large revenue ramp in 2027.
Risks and uncertainties
- Timing risk: Revenue and launches are described as back-half weighted, creating near-term uncertainty for achieving guidance - this impacts aerospace and telecom sectors as well as equity valuations.
- Profitability and cash burn: A widening net loss in Q1 2026 underscores continued near-term losses, which is a risk for investors in the satellite and growth-equity space.
- Operational dependencies: The company sits at the intersection of launches, FCC approvals and contract execution; delays or regulatory hurdles could affect outcomes - implications for satellite services and mobile network operators.
This article presents the facts disclosed by AST SpaceMobile, the carriers and analysts without speculation beyond those disclosures.