First, I just want to point out that before starting the PhoneArena gig in 2009, I had developed an options trading system and was even a guest writer for Barron's The Striking Price option column on December 21, 1998. Still, my only association with the market since has been any articles I've written for PhoneArena.
2026 has been a tough year for T-Mobile investors
T-Mobile's close on Friday of $148.58 means that the shares have declined more than 25% year-to-date. The last time T-Mobile's stock traded as low as yesterday's intraday nadir of $147.90 was December 1, 2023, when the stock hit $147.90 during that day's trading session.
T-Mobile has been in the midst of a major sell-off, down 25% during 2026. | Image by Google
AT&T's stock also took it on the chin yesterday, with a 9.85% decline resulting in a $2.42 drop in the price of the telecom giant. Closing at $22.18, AT&T held up better than T-Mobile as it remains more than 10% above its 52-week low. T-Mobile, on the other hand, set a new 52-week low on Friday.
Despite Verizon's decline Friday, there is one piece of good news relating to the carrier's shares
Verizon's shares fell by $3.99 or 8.75% to $41.65. A good technical analyst is always looking for aberrations. Consider this: Even after Friday's rout, Verizon remains ahead for the year, albeit by just 2.8%.
This is the news that set off the decline
What got investors to grab their iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxy S26 Ultras, call their brokers, or access their brokerage apps and sell the Big 3 US carriers' shares? It was the news that SpaceX, long rumored to be starting up a terrestrial wireless firm to compete with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, had made a stunning acquisition.
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SpaceX acquired 100% of the 800 MHz low-band spectrum owned by Grain Management. The 800 MHz airwaves are perfect for nationwide 5G service. While they don't offer the fastest data speeds, the signals do travel long distances and can penetrate buildings and trees.
The 800 MHz spectrum acquired by SpaceX was originally acquired by T-Mobile through its acquisition of Sprint. Since the carrier uses 600 MHz spectrum for its nationwide 5G service, T-Mobile had given an option to Dish Networks to buy the 13.5 MHz of airwaves for $3.59 billion, but Dish's fading financials forced the latter to walk away.
AT&T and Verizon do have something that could prop up their shares
Some might think that T-Mobile's, AT&T's, and Verizon's shares look tantalizingly cheap at their current prices. AT&T and Verizon could be propped up by their dividends, as they sport yields of 5% and 6.79%, respectively. T-Mobile's 3.15% yield is not enough to hold up what was once considered a growth stock but is now running on fumes.
This is not Monopoly money, folks. Earlier this year, former Sprint CEO Raul Marcelo Claure sold 550,000 T-Mobile shares at an average price of $217.57. Those shares would be worth $38 million less had Claure not sold them when he did. The sales were discretionary open market transactions and were not part of a pre-filed arrangement.
On the other hand, Claure still owns over 890,000 shares of T-Mobile, which declined in value by $20.26 million on Friday. Still, there is no need to start a GoFundMe for Claure. After selling that block of 550,000 T-Mobile shares this past February and taking into consideratioin the big paper loss he had yesterday, Claure saved himself some $18 million.
On Friday, T-Mobile lost $26 billion to $28 billion in valuation, taking its market cap down to $159 billion. In early March, the company had a market cap of over $238 billion. AT&T's market cap declined by $15 billion to as much as $17 billion on Friday, and Verizon's valuation dropped $16 billion to $18 billion, all on the same day. Combined, the Big 3 US carriers saw their valuation decline by as much as $50 billion yesterday.
Mint Mobile is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a special offer on its six-month subscription plans. For a limited time, you can get your preferred tier (6GB, 17GB, 23GB or unlimited) for just $10/mo. That saves you between 50% and 71% on the carrier's mobile plans, making it way easier to recommend.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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