Amazon Wants to Buy a Satellite Company. Apple Already Owns Part of It.

SpaceX's Starlink has 10,000+ satellites in orbit and 9 million users. Amazon has roughly 200. When you're that far behind, you don't just build your way out — you buy.

What's Actually Happening

The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Amazon is in active talks to acquire Globalstar, a satellite communications company. Negotiations have been going on for some time, but the deal hasn't closed yet because of structural complexities. Globalstar shares surged more than 15% in after-hours trading on the news. Amazon declined to comment; Globalstar didn't respond.

The strategic logic is straightforward. Amazon is building Project Leo, its low Earth orbit internet service, with commercial launch targeted for later this year. The long-term plan calls for a constellation of roughly 7,700 satellites — but Amazon has only launched about 200 since last April. In January, the company asked the FCC for an extension on a deadline requiring it to have approximately 1,600 satellites in orbit by July 2026. It's behind schedule, and Starlink isn't waiting.

Acquiring Globalstar would give Amazon existing satellite infrastructure, spectrum licenses, and ground station networks — assets that take years and billions of dollars to build from scratch.

The Complication Nobody's Talking About Enough

Here's where it gets interesting. Globalstar isn't a clean acquisition target.

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In 2024, Apple invested $1.5 billion into Globalstar in exchange for a 20% stake. The purpose: to underpin the satellite emergency SOS feature on iPhones — a capability Apple has been quietly expanding across its device lineup. That means Globalstar's network is already deeply embedded in Apple's consumer infrastructure.

If Amazon buys Globalstar, it effectively controls a piece of hardware that millions of Apple users depend on in life-or-death situations. That's not just a business complication — it's the kind of arrangement that draws regulatory scrutiny and requires renegotiated contracts. The FT cited this Apple stake as one of the key complexities holding up the deal.

And there's another wrinkle: Bloomberg reported last October that Globalstar had already held early-stage talks with SpaceX about a potential sale. So the same company has been courted by Amazon, SpaceX, and is partly owned by Apple. At this point, Globalstar isn't just a satellite operator — it's a geopolitical asset in the commercial space race.

Who Wins, Who Watches Nervously

For Amazon investors, a successful acquisition would signal that Leo is a real competitive threat to Starlink, not just a long-term science project. But the premium Amazon would need to pay — especially with Apple's stake complicating the structure — could be substantial.

For consumers, more competition in satellite internet is generally good news. Starlink's residential plan runs $120/month in the US. A credible second player with Amazon's distribution muscle and Prime ecosystem could push prices down over time.

For Apple, the outcome is more ambiguous. Losing control of a key infrastructure partner to a direct competitor in cloud, devices, and services would be uncomfortable at best. Expect Apple to negotiate hard on any transition terms.

For SpaceX, losing Globalstar to Amazon removes one potential shortcut for a competitor. But Starlink's lead is large enough that the outcome probably doesn't change the near-term competitive picture.