AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) dropped 15.5% as of 2:14 p.m. ET on Friday, August 28, 2026, even as broader markets posted solid weekly gains.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both moved higher during the same period, rising 1.1% and 1.8% respectively, highlighting how sharply AST underperformed the wider market.

The selloff stems from growing investor concern that the Federal Reserve is preparing to raise interest rates in response to persistently elevated inflation.

AST SpaceMobile is constructing a large constellation of satellites funded predominantly through borrowed capital, making the company uniquely vulnerable to shifts in the interest rate environment.

When borrowing costs rise, the financial assumptions underpinning AST’s long-term investment model come under significant pressure, reducing the attractiveness of the stock to growth-oriented investors.

Wednesday’s economic data release revealed that inflation remains well above the level the Federal Reserve considers acceptable, immediately raising expectations of an imminent rate hike.

Those expectations were reinforced on Friday when Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered a closely watched speech from Jackson Hole, stating that inflation should be the Fed’s primary focus right now.

Warsh’s remarks were interpreted by markets as a clear signal that tighter monetary policy may be approaching sooner than many investors had previously anticipated.

On the financial front, AST reported second-quarter sales of $31.5 million, a dramatic improvement from just $1.2 million recorded during the same quarter one year earlier.

Despite that revenue momentum, the company’s losses are expanding at an alarming pace alongside its growth, with net loss widening to $230.9 million during the quarter.

The combination of a heavy debt load, mounting losses, and a rising rate environment creates a difficult backdrop for a capital-intensive business still in its early commercial stages.

Investors weighing a position in AST must contend with the dual risk of ongoing operational losses and the very real possibility that the cost of the company’s borrowed capital is set to increase.

Until there is greater clarity on both the Fed’s rate trajectory and AST’s path toward profitability, the stock is likely to remain under considerable pressure.