SpaceX's Satellite-to-Smartphone Ambitions Win FCC Nod as Barclays and Morgan Stanley Turn Bullish
Published on 10/10/2026 at 11:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SpaceX is no longer just a rocket company in the eyes of Wall Street. The Elon Musk-led venture is being repriced as a global telecommunications and data infrastructure play, and this week delivered two catalysts that gave analysts fresh reason to sharpen their pencils.
The most consequential came from Washington. On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission granted SpaceX partial approval to build and operate 15,000 satellites designed specifically for direct-to-device services, allowing the spacecraft to establish direct radio links with ordinary smartphones. The license comes with hard deadlines attached: at least 50 percent of the constellation must be active in orbit by October 7, 2032, with full deployment required by October 7, 2035.
That regulatory green light lands alongside a spectrum deal that underpins the strategy. SpaceX has agreed to acquire the entire nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, encompassing up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum. The transaction, reportedly worth roughly $8 billion, is intended to support the hybrid Starlink Mobile service and improve indoor mobile reception. It remains subject to FCC approval and customary closing conditions.
Analysts Race to Reprice the Story
Barclays initiated coverage on Friday with an Overweight rating and a 12-month price target of $254, signaling confidence in the company's widening commercial reach. The call followed Morgan Stanley, where analyst Adam Jonas reaffirmed an Outperform rating and a $300 target on October 5. Both banks have trained their focus on the commercial prospects of the Starlink satellite network.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SpaceX?
Investors have been receptive. The stock closed Friday at EUR 145.20, up 1.4 percent on the day and roughly 14 percent over the past 30 days. The price sits about 15 percent above its 50-day moving average of EUR 126.20.
Beyond Rockets: Compute, Spectrum and a Hybrid Network
The re-rating reflects a broader corporate transformation. SpaceX is positioning itself well beyond pure radio transmission, with Musk announcing that the company's internal AI division, SpaceXAI, will be renamed SpaceXSI. Reuters has reported talks over a financing package worth $40 billion to fund the purchase of Nvidia AI chips — a sum that would break down into roughly $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade bonds. SpaceX has not confirmed those financing plans.
Operationally, the spaceflight business continues to hum along. On Thursday, SpaceX completed the crewed Crew-12 mission, with the Dragon capsule splashing down in the Pacific as scheduled, carrying four astronauts after a stay of more than seven months aboard the International Space Station.
The strategic logic is coming into focus: a seamless network stitching together orbit and earth, with the company's ambitions now spanning satellite fleets, global telecommunications and capital-intensive computing infrastructure over a horizon stretching well into the next decade. Whether a single company can manage that operational stretch is the question markets are only beginning to price.
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