T-Mobile US (TMUS) posted much stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings Wednesday, while boosting its forecast for net additions over the full year, as it continues to attract new customers with its expanding 5G network.
T-Mobile said diluted earnings for the three months ending in March were pegged at 57 cents per share, down 23% from the same period last year but well ahead of the Street consensus forecast of 33 cents per share. Group revenues also impressed, rising 1.8% to a forecast-beating $20.12 billion, thanks in part to net customer additions of 1.3 million, the best quarterly gain in eight years, including 589,000 post-paid additions, wireless carriers' most valuable clients.
Last week, Verizon (VZ) unveiled smaller-than-expected loss of 36,000 monthly phone subscribers, while AT&T (T) said it added 691,000 mobile customers over the first quarter, noting that core wireless revenues -- including broadband -- rose 2.5% from last year to $29.7 billion.
Looking into the 2022 financial year, T-Mobile said it sees net customer additions of between 5.3 million and 5.8 million, up from a prior forecast of 5 to 5.5 million.
Synergies from its merger with Sprint expected to rise to between $5.2 billion and $5.4 billion. Full year free cash flows should rise to between $7.2 billion and $7.6 billion, T-Mobile said.
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“T-Mobile continues to be the growth leader in this industry, with another beat and raise quarter that delivered front-of-the-pack postpaid, new account, and broadband customer results,” said CEO Mike Sievert. “Only the Un-carrier’s unparalleled network leadership in the 5G era has enabled us to give customers the best network and best value without compromise, and effectively solve one of the most prevalent pain points in the wireless industry."
"And we are accomplishing this while advancing our integration and delivering bigger synergies faster than expected," he added. "I’m excited to carry our momentum forward through the rest of the year.”
T-Mobile shares were marked 2.8% higher in early trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $128.43 each, extending its year-to-date advance to around 10%.
