(Bloomberg) — T-Mobile US Inc. raised its subscriber forecast for the third straight quarter after posting better-than-expected customer gains. The company said it signed up more new subscribers than rivals AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. combined.
(Bloomberg) — T-Mobile US Inc. raised its subscriber forecast for the third straight quarter after posting better-than-expected customer gains. The company said it signed up more new subscribers than rivals AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. combined.
- T-Mobile now expects to add as many as 6.4 million new subscribers this year, up from a prior view of 6.3 million. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg are projecting 6.3 million.
- During the third quarter, the company added 1.7 million total wireless subscribers, including 854,000 new phone customers. Analysts predicted a total of 1.5 million, with 714,500 of them phone subscribers. Earnings came in at 40 cents per share on $19.5 billion in sales. Analysts had expected 38 cents on $19.9 billion in revenue, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Key Insights
- “The industry is starting to normalize,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Sievert said on an earnings call Thursday. “We’ve seen in these last couple quarters, overall postpaid growth was more moderate and yet our performance is fantastic.”
- The second-largest mobile carrier in the country added 578,000 wireless home broadband subscribers, better than the 554,800 analysts predicted. T-Mobile now has 2.1 million total broadband users. At $50 a month, wireless broadband service has cut into to the cable companies’ landline internet service.
- Unlike the price hikes earlier this year by Verizon and AT&T, T-Mobile has kept its fee increases to a minimum, focusing instead on 5G network expansion to improve service quality and in selling more services to business customers. T-Mobile committed to a three-year price freeze in April 2020 as a condition of its purchase of Sprint Corp.
- T-Mobile raised the low end of its full-year, free cash forecast to $7.4 billion from $7.3 billion previously. Analysts are projecting as much as $7.6 billion for the year.
Market Reaction
- T-Mobile shares rose 3.4% in late trading after the announcement. The stock is the best performer among the three big US wireless companies this year with a 21.3% gain through Wednesday’s close.
Get More
- Read the statement.
- See AT&T story.
(Updates with phone subscriber chart and CEO comments. Earlier version corrects analysts’ broadband estimate in fourth paragraph.)
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