T-Mobile U.S. reported record service revenues of $7.6 billion, up 7% year-over-year, and net income of $550 million, up 50% yoy. The carrier is expected to lead its peers on both metrics.
In a pre-recorded video statement, John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile, said “Just step back and look at these financial results – they’re incredible! Record service revenues, record free cash flow, record Q3 Adjusted EBITDA – and that’s on top of 18 quarters in a row with more than one million customers added.”
There was no discussion about a possible acquisition offer or merger attempt with Sprint.
Some notable items from the quarterly report
- Hurricanes – Costs attributed to the multiple hurricanes during Q3 amounted to $31 million. (T-Mobile’s network is not fully restored yet in Puerto Rico).
- ARPU is pretty stable – branded postpaid phone Average Revenue per User (ARPU) was $46.93 in Q3 2017, down 0.3% from Q2 2017 and down 2.5% from Q3 2016 primarily due to the continued adoption of T-Mobile ONE including taxes and fees. Branded prepaid ARPU was a record-high $38.93 in Q3 2017, up 2.4% from Q3 2016, primarily due to the continued growth of MetroPCS customers who generate higher ARPU, partially offset by negative hurricane-related impacts of $0.18.
- Customer additions – during Q3, T-Mobile added 1.3 million users, bringing the total customer count to 70.7 million. Q3 2017 marks 18 straight quarters in which T-Mobile generated more than 1 million total net customer additions. Branded postpaid additions with 817,000.
- 600 MHz update – at least 10 MHz covering more than 1.2 million square miles will be clear and ready to deploy in 2017
- Big retail store expansion – 3,000 total new stores are planned for 2017, with 1,200 new T-Mobile and 1,300 net new MetroPCS stores opened year-to-date.
- The carrier is raising its 2017 guidance for between 3.3 and 3.6 million new users.
