T-Mobile US Inc. exceeded Wall Street’s estimates for profit and mobile phone customer gains and raised its subscriber forecast for the year, a strong sign that the No. 2 carrier is using its 5G lead to gain market share from its wireless peers.
Second-quarter revenue declined 2.5% to $19.2 billion, missing analysts’ estimates. The shares slid about 1.5% in extended trading.
The Bellevue, Washington-based wireless provider added 760,000 mobile phone customers in what it said was its best second quarter in eight years. T-Mobile also posted earnings of $1.86 a share. Analysts were looking for EPS of $1.72 on $19.4 billion in sales.
T-Mobile, has been bucking the trend of slowing demand for mobile phone lines plaguing the other two big wireless companies, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., after a huge run-up during the pandemic. The big three carriers are still dangling free phones to try and fuel growth and AT&T has started to raise prices on its top tier plan to make up for slumping customer gains. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is cashing in on its 5G lead, adding more rural territories to its map and selling wireless internet access where broadband choices are few.
T-Mobile said it now expects to add 5.6 million to 5.9 million new wireless customers this year, raising a previous forecast in April for as much as 5.7 million
Verizon, the largest US wireless carrier, added 8,000 mobile phone customers in the second quarter, far fewer than the 12,000 a year earlier. AT&T reported a disappointing 326,000 new phone subscribers and less than half the amount of a year ago.
As mobile phone growth slows, T-Mobile has been working on expanding its fixed wireless broadband base and added 509,000 wireless home internet customers more than the 495,400 analysts predicted. The company now has 3.7 million wireless home broadband customers, about halfway to its target of 7 million to 8 million subscribers by 2025.
Competition for internet offerings is fierce, as cable companies, Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc. are fighting back with promotions offering a free mobile line for broadband customers.
T-Mobile is also exploring a possible joint venture to build out a home fiber optic service and has already started offering fiber through a resale partnership in parts of two towns in Colorado.
(Updates shares in second paragraph.)