Policyband

Wall Street Keeps Selling Cable Stocks While the S&P 500 Hits All-Time Highs

Shentel and TDS stand apart from the carnage, likely because their bold pivot to fiber keeps yielding net subscriber additions

Ted Hearn

May 11, 2026 — 11 min read

💡

■ FCC, CAR’s Suhr Respond to Disney’s Defense of The View ■ TDS CEO: LEOs Will Have ‘Substantial Influence Going Forward’ ■ Is FCC Going to Commit to a Nexstar-TEGNA Vote Today? ■ Ziply Fiber Added 6,775 U.S. Subscribers in Q1, Montreal-Based Parent BCE Says ■ A3SA Open to Out-of-Home DVR Viewing ■ Trump on Streaming Costs: NFL Could Be ‘Killing the Golden Goose’ ■ UK Has Paid Starlink $22.5 Million over Past Four Years ■ Poll: Moulton Narrowing the Gap in Primary Battle with Markey ■ Is Tucows Going to Sell or Spin Off Ting Internet? ■ Eighth Circuit’s Grammar Hawks Correct an FCC Pronoun ■ People: Curtis Knobloch Takes Over as NRTC CEO on June 1

Wall Street: Cable stocks are taking a pounding in 2026 as competition from fiber overbuilders, Fixed Wireless Access operators and Starlink’s Low Earth Orbit satellite Internet service continues to erode investor confidence. Eventually, Amazon, a $2.9 trillion company, will launch its own LEO service. With the exception of Shentel and TDS Telecom, investors have been steadily marking down the value of traditional cable operators as subscriber losses mount and competitive pressure intensifies. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index is up 8% in 2026 and up 30% over the past 12 months. On May 8, the S&P hit an all-time high, closing at 7,398. (More after paywall)