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5h

T-Mobile and other wireless carriers tumble on SpaceX’s purchase of spectrum licenses from EchoStar

T-Mobile is the worst-performing S&P 500 constituent in early trading, off 5.2% as of 8:27 a.m. ET.

The reason why? SpaceX purchased a pair of spectrum licenses from EchoStar for roughly $17 billion, and as such, SpaceX might no longer need to rely as heavily on T-Mobile going forward.

In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership in which the carrier would help SpaceX’s Starlink provide mobile connectivity from space. The first such satellites launched in January 2024, and T-Mobile ran an ad during the 2025 Super Bowl touting a beta trial of Starlink-powered satellite texting.

However, other wireless providers like AT&T and Verizon are also down (4.5% and 4.2%, respectively) ahead of the open, so this may also simply be a selloff linked to the wireless providers not being the ones to purchase these valuable spectrum licenses themselves — even though AT&T struck a deal with EchoStar in late August to purchase $23-billion in spectrum assets.

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16m

SpaceX spectrum deal sends would-be rivals lower

Shares of struggling satellite services company EchoStar soared Monday, after the company — which had recently tottered close to bankruptcy — announced the sale of some of its wireless spectrum licenses to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX for $17 million.

The sale provides a competitive advantage to Musk’s growing Starlink satellite services business, as the licenses it is acquiring from Echostar allows Starlink to operate ground based broadband and cellphone services, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Entities that stood to be hurt by the emergence of a Musk-led SpaceX Starlink service got hit hard on the news. AST SpaceMobile, which has plans to offer a similar satellite-to-consumer cellular service, tumbled.

So did wireless tower providers like Crown Castle and American Tower. Low cost cellular service provider T-Mobile, which had a deal with SpaceX, also slumped, as Luke noted earlier, along with other large wireless telecommunication services providers.

The wireless telecommunications industry grouping within the S&P 500 was down more than 2.5% shortly after noon, making it the worst performing industry within the S&P 500 on Monday.

SpaceX strikes $17B deal to buy EchoStar's spectrum for Starlink's direct-to-phone service | TechCrunch

SpaceX strikes $17B deal to buy EchoStar's spectrum for Starlink's direct-to-phone service | TechCrunch

Entities that stood to be hurt by the emergence of a Musk-led SpaceX Starlink service got hit hard on the news. AST SpaceMobile, which has plans to offer a similar satellite-to-consumer cellular service, tumbled.

So did wireless tower providers like Crown Castle and American Tower. Low cost cellular service provider T-Mobile, which had a deal with SpaceX, also slumped, as Luke noted earlier, along with other large wireless telecommunication services providers.

The wireless telecommunications industry grouping within the S&P 500 was down more than 2.5% shortly after noon, making it the worst performing industry within the S&P 500 on Monday.

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3h

Hims rises, Novo dips after FDA releases “green list” of GLP-1 raw material suppliers

Hims & Hers rose and Novo Nordisk slipped in early trading after the US Food and Drug Administration released a "green list" of foreign GLP-1 ingredient suppliers that it considers in compliance with agency standards.

Some telehealth companies like Hims sell copycat versions of Novo's and Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs through compounding pharmacies, which take the active ingredients from FDA-approved medications and make adjusted, or "personalized,” versions of the drug for patients.

Novo and Lilly have fought against this, arguing that it infringes on their intellectual property. They've sued smaller telehealth providers, pharmacies, and clinics in lieu of any action against them from the FDA. Instead, the FDA gave compounders a list of suppliers it deems safe.

Recent developments in the cases filed by the drugmakers so far as well as the FDA's recent actions suggest telehealth companies may be in a less risky position than investors previously thought. As of Monday morning, prediction markets pegged the likelihood of a suit from Novo against Hims at 34%, down from about 70% earlier this month.

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4h

UNH rises after saying it plans to reiterate outlook

UnitedHealth rose 2% in early trading after it disclosed that it plans to reiterate its full-year earnings outlook when it meets with investors this week.

The company said on July 29 that it was expects to report annual adjusted earnings per share of at least $16. The company had previously pulled full-year guidance and prior to that withdrawal, had told investors it expected to see earnings of $26 to $26.50 per share.

Currently, a analysts polled by FactSet are penciling in $16.23, compared to $17.21 before the guidance came down.

UnitedHealth has had a tumultuous year as he industry has been hit with rising costs of care, and UnitedHealth specifically has been hit with investigations into its Medicare Advantage practices. It recently got a boost after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it's built a stake in the company

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