Policyband

Here’s a Number Wall Street’s Starting to Care About: (888) GO-STARLINK

On earnings calls, analysts are starting to use up their limited quota of questions to ask CEOs if they are feeling any heat from Elon Musk's Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.

Ted Hearn

May 4, 2026 — 11 min read

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LEOs: Here’s a number Wall Street’s starting to care about: (888) GO‑STARLINK. Wall Street is paying closer attention to how Starlink’s accelerating growth could reshape expectations for traditional ISPs like AT&T, Charter, and Shentel. What once looked like a niche satellite experiment is now a competitive variable that analysts are building directly into subscriber forecasts, capital‑spending models, and long‑term valuation assumptions. On conference calls, analysts are using up their limited quota of questions to ask CEOs if they are feeling any heat from Elon Musk’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service.

On Feb. 13, Starlink reported 10 million subscribers globally, adding 1 million over the prior 53 days. The company has not publicly updated its subscriber totals in 80 days, though the U.S. is still likely to be the largest market with at least 2 million customers. (More after paywall)