SpaceX Talks to Lease 80,000 US Cell Sites Send Crown Castle Surging 13% and Rattles AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile

Crown Castle shares surged as much as 13.4% on Friday, topping the S&P 500, after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is in talks to access at least 80,000 US cell sites to build a full nationwide mobile carrier under its Starlink Mobile service. Crown Castle is among the infrastructure owners in active discussions, and 80,000 sites represents roughly half of all purpose-built towers in the United States, underscoring the scale of SpaceX's terrestrial wireless ambitions.

The news lit up the entire tower sector. American Tower rose as much as 10% in premarket trading, while Crown Castle climbed nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Thursday before extending gains to 13.4% during Friday's session. The move follows SpaceX having recently secured a deal to acquire nationwide low-band wireless spectrum, signaling the company is pursuing a direct competitive position against established carriers rather than purely a satellite service.

The three incumbent carriers bore the brunt of the selloff. AT&T fell roughly 4.3% to $21.76, T-Mobile dropped approximately 5%, and Verizon slid about 3.8% in premarket Friday trading, as investors priced in the prospect of a well-capitalized fourth national wireless competitor. The broader market backdrop was negative, with the Dow Jones falling around 700 points on Friday, making the tower stocks' gains stand out further.

Crown Castle separately disclosed an improved 2026 outlook, raising guidance for site rental revenues, EBITDA, and adjusted funds from operations, with leverage at 6.3x net debt to EBITDA as management continues a strategic divestiture and cost-savings program.