(Bloomberg) — T-Mobile US Inc. surpassed Wall Street sales estimates for the second quarter, and raised its forecast for subscriber growth, showing the benefits of the carrier’s lead in 5G capacity over Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc.
- The second-largest U.S. wireless carrier added 1.3 million regular monthly subscribers in the quarter, including 627,000 new phone customers, according to a statement Thursday. Analysts predicted a total gain of 873,000. In comparison, AT&T added 1.16 million subscribers during the same period, promoting free-phone offers to boost sign-ups.
- T-Mobile also raised its full-year subscriber growth forecast to as many as 5.3 million, up from 4.9 million in its previous outlook, according to the statement.
- See more details.
Key Insights
- The competition to build out faster 5G networks with greater capacity to serve future businesses like driverless taxis is intensifying as the carriers sharpen their focus on network expansion. While T-Mobile has been outpacing the industry in 5G service and subscriber gains, it lags in service quality, according to a RootMetrics report.
- T-Mobile, whose largest shareholder is Deutsche Telekom AG, says it will see as much as $3.2 billion in so-called synergies — a combination of added revenue and costs benefits — from its April 2020 takeover of Sprint Corp. The company’s last estimate was about $3.1 billion.
- Earnings totaled 78 cents a share, including merger related costs. Revenue grew 13% to $20 billion, compared with the $19.4 billion analysts were expecting.
Market Reaction
- T-Mobile was little changed at $144.55 in extended trading Thursday. The stock is up more than 7% this year, compared with a 1.6% decline for AT&T and nearly a 5% drop for Verizon.
Get More
- Read the statement.
- See T-Mobile earnings surprises.
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