Amazon Embraces Satellite Service, Executives Sell Company Shares

Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced on April 14, 2026, that it has entered into a merger agreement to acquire satellite communications provider Globalstar. At the same time, the company revealed a separate agreement with Apple under which its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, Amazon Leo, will enable satellite-based emergency communications and connectivity features for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

On the same day, Douglas J. Herrington, CEO of Amazon Stores, sold approximately 20,000 shares of Amazon stock under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for about $50 million (roughly KRW 7 billion), while still retaining hundreds of thousands of shares.

On April 17, Andrew R. Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, disposed of roughly 30,000 shares under a 10b5-1 plan for about $79 million (in the KRW 10 billion range). According to SEC filings, he continues to hold several billion dollars’ worth of direct and indirect equity in the company.

In its Q1 2026 earnings report on April 29, Amazon posted net sales of $181.5 billion, up approximately 17% year-over-year. Its cloud division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), sustained its growth trajectory with revenue rising 28% to around $37.5 billion.

The previously announced Globalstar acquisition is valued at approximately $11.5–11.6 billion (around KRW 15 trillion) and is positioned as a landmark deal to expand satellite internet and direct-to-device communications services using the Amazon Leo network.

Amazon—long established as a U.S. big-tech leader on the strength of its e-commerce platform and AWS—has been accelerating its entry into the global satellite internet and direct-to-device satellite communications markets through Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper).

The direct-to-device satellite communications and LEO internet markets have evolved into a competitive landscape that includes traditional satellite operators alongside SpaceX’s Starlink, OneWeb and Amazon. Smartphone-based satellite services such as Apple’s Emergency SOS have emerged as key growth drivers in this sector.