Eutelsat stock is up 25% this week as Ukraine flags limits on SpaceX service

Eutelsat stock has risen 25% in the last five sessions, with investors wagering that European satellite providers stand to gain after Ukraine said SpaceX curtailed its military-grade Starlink service, according to CNBC.

On Wednesday, Eutelsat stock was trading 23% higher at 1355 GMT, marking its strongest single-session performance in 16 months, according to Reuters. SES, a Luxembourg-based satellite operator, rose 2.6% in the same session.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "Starlink was switched off," and that the shutdown meant some Russian attacks went unintercepted by Ukrainian drones, adding to the civilian death toll.

Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note on Thursday that the stock move supports "the sovereign value of European Satellite networks," according to CNBC. They said markets viewed Eutelsat as "the credible Starlink alternative." The analysts added that although Eutelsat has a worldwide low Earth orbit constellation, it cannot match Starlink's volume of terminals.

Experts warn that people already using Starlink could not shift straight onto Eutelsat's OneWeb network, and that making the change would mean buying new terminals and building out supporting infrastructure, according to Reuters. "OneWeb may provide useful complementary capacity, but considering it as a straightforward substitute overlooks significant operational and infrastructure constraints," independent satellite consultant Christian Freiherr von der Ropp said, according to Reuters. Eutelsat has more than 600 satellites in orbit.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the U.S. government owns and controls Starshield, the military satellite service Ukraine says was restricted without warning this week. Musk said on X $TWTR that any limits on its speed or use are up to the U.S. military and the president. He described Starlink as a commercial service owned by SpaceX and limited to civilian or defensive use.

Ukrainian officials reported on Tuesday that terminals moving faster than 100 miles per hour, or about 160 kilometers per hour, stopped working. Ukraine's armed forces learned of the limit from SpaceX customer support after filing a complaint, and SpaceX gave no prior warning.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former defense minister, said on Wednesday that Starlink connectivity at speeds up to 160 km/h was being restored. Ukraine's government has asked SpaceX to explain the change, and Kyiv has received no response.