Jim Cramer urges caution on AT&T and Verizon, citing a research note that links telecom valuations to Starlink

Telecom stocks came under fresh scrutiny this week as Jim Cramer, the CNBC host known for fast-turn market commentary, cautioned viewers that they “don’t want to own” AT&T or Verizon. His remarks were aired during CNBC’s “Mad Dash” segment on Monday, where he reacted to a Bernstein research note tied to the competitive pressure from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service.

The commentary, as reported by Yahoo Finance via a reprint, centers on the idea that Starlink is not only expanding consumer and enterprise broadband options, but also creating valuation risk for traditional wireless and fixed-network telecom operators. Cramer framed the issue as one that could affect how the market prices big carriers, rather than as a near-term product debate alone.

Cramer’s warning followed the publication of what the report describes as a Bernstein piece that “ties valuation risk directly to SpaceX’s Starlink.” In that framing, the emergence and scale of satellite broadband is treated as a factor that could pressure expectations embedded in telecom multiples, according to the segment recap.

The same reprint quotes or paraphrases the host’s bottom-line message: he urged viewers to avoid positioning in both AT&T and Verizon while Starlink’s market trajectory remains a key debate point. The segment did not present new network performance data or new company guidance in the way a typical earnings discussion would, according to the limited information available in the post.

For Verizon, the concern is emblematic of a broader telecom theme, where satellite and terrestrial broadband are increasingly discussed as substitutes in some use cases. That shift is likely to keep analysts focused on questions such as who captures new broadband demand, how much pricing power remains with incumbents, and whether satellite providers can reduce reliance on certain terrestrial services.

Still, the post provides few specifics about how Bernstein quantified the valuation impact, and it does not detail whether the concern applies evenly across each carrier’s revenue streams. It also does not spell out what assumptions drive the valuation argument, such as timelines for subscriber growth, changes in unit economics, or the degree to which enterprise customers would switch versus add satellite alongside existing connectivity.