T-Mobile US reported Q4 2018 serve revenues of $8.2 billion, up 6% in Q4 2018. Annual revenue was also up 6% to $32.0 billion. Diluted earnings per share amounted to $0.75 and $3.36 in Q4 2018 and 2018, respectively.
On the earnings conference call, T-Mobile execs said there a big revenue aspirations for 5G but not through price increases compared its 4G smartphone service. T-Mobile expects to use its coming 5G network to build a broadband business, expand IoT capabilities, and to pursue enterprise opportunities. Some highlights:
- Record 2.4 million total net additions in Q4 2018 — 7.0 million in 2018
- 1.4 million branded postpaid net additions in Q4 2018, best in the industry — 4.5 million in 2018
- 1.0 million branded postpaid phone net additions in Q4 2018, best in industry — 3.1 million in 2018
- 135,000 branded prepaid net additions in Q4 2018, expect to be best in the industry — 460,000 in 2018
- Q4 record-low branded postpaid phone churn of 0.99% in Q4 2018, down 19 bps YoY — 1.01% in 2018, down 17 bps from 2017
- Branded postpaid phone Average Revenue per User (ARPU) remained generally stable in Q4 2018 at $46.29, down 0.2%.
- T-Mobile is building out standards-based 5G in six of the Top 10 markets, including New York and Los Angeles. The network will be ready for the introduction of the first standards-based 5G smartphones in 2019. The carrier anticipates the delivery of a nationwide standards-based 5G network next year.
- At the end of Q4 2018, T-Mobile owned a nationwide average of 31 MHz of 600 MHz low band spectrum.
- As of December 31, 2018, T-Mobile had cleared approximately 135 million POPs and the company expects to clear spectrum covering approximately 272 million POPs by year-end 2019.
- T-Mobile now covers more than 325 million people with 4G LTE, up from 322 million at the end of 2017.