Viasat Stock Surges 19% as Amazon's $9 Billion Globalstar Bid Reshapes the Satellite Sector
NEW YORK, April 3 —
Viasat (VSAT) jumped nearly 19% to $53.69 Thursday after the Financial Times reported Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar for roughly $9bn. The bid lit up the entire satellite sector.
- VSAT +19%, Iridium (IRDM) +15%, Globalstar (GSAT) +14% in a single session
- VSAT trades at 84.3x forward earnings on $4.6bn TTM revenue. That multiple only works if this is a takeout story.
- Watch for Amazon/Globalstar deal confirmation, price, and whether Apple's 20% Globalstar stake becomes a blocking issue
What Actually Happened
Viasat didn't announce anything. Amazon, according to the FT, has held prolonged talks to acquire Globalstar for roughly $9bn. The deal would give Amazon's LEO satellite project — now branded Amazon Leo — Globalstar's Band 53/n53 spectrum, its existing constellation, and its ground infrastructure. Wall Street did the math quickly: if Amazon will pay $9bn for Globalstar, every satellite operator with real spectrum and orbital assets just got cheaper by comparison. Iridium surged 15% on the same logic.
Separately, Delta announced it will equip 500 aircraft with Amazon Leo WiFi starting in 2028. All SkyMiles members get free connectivity. That contract validates demand for satellite broadband and makes spectrum licenses more valuable still.
The Catch
Viasat is not the target. It caught a bid because the sector moved. At 84.3x forward earnings, the stock already prices in a buyer that hasn't shown up. Viasat swallowed Inmarsat in 2023 and still carries the debt from that deal. Its GEO satellite fleet faces direct competitive pressure from LEO constellations — Starlink and Amazon Leo chief among them.
The Globalstar deal itself has a complication. Apple owns 20% of Globalstar and controls 85% of its network capacity for Emergency SOS, following a $1.5bn investment in November 2024 ($400mn equity + $1.1bn prepaid services). That stake makes Apple the largest shareholder and structurally critical to any acquirer. That is not a clean acquisition target. If the Amazon bid falls apart, the sector re-rating unwinds, and VSAT gives back most of this move.
Bottom Line
This is a sector trade, not a company trade. Viasat gets interesting only if you believe satellite consolidation has one more big deal in it — with Viasat as the target. On fundamentals alone, 84x forward earnings for a company burning cash to integrate Inmarsat is hard to defend. The number that matters is $9bn. If Amazon closes Globalstar at that price, every satellite name has a real M&A floor beneath it. If the deal stalls on Apple's stake, this was a short squeeze in a beaten-down sector. Nothing more.
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