X
Tech

T-Mobile adds 1.4 million net subscribers in Q2

T-Mobile also raised its 2021 merger synergies outlook.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

T-Mobile added 1.4 million net subscribers in the second quarter as it delivered 13% revenue growth from a year ago.

The wireless carrier net additions handily surpassed the new subscriber tally from Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile reported second quarter net income of $978 million, or 78 cents a share, on revenue of $20 billion, up 13% from a year ago.

Wall Street was expecting T-Mobile to report second quarter revenue of $19.34 billion with non-GAAP earnings of 53 cents a share.

T-Mobile continues to gain share as the big three carriers in the US battle for subscribers with phone promotions. T-Mobile added 627,000 postpaid phone net additions and postpaid accounts of 349,000.

In addition, T-Mobile said that its integration of Sprint if fueling results. About 80% of Sprint traffic is now carried on the T-Mobile network and a third of the customers have been moved over. T-Mobile also raised its 2021 merger synergies outlook.

Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile, said it is benefiting from its 5G network and unlimited plans. T-Mobile ended the quarter with 104.8 million subscribers. On a conference call with analysts, Sievert took a few jabs at Verizon and AT&T and said that its 5G reach is extending into enterprises.

Our 5G network creates a platform for growth beyond core wireless, and we are focused on helping customers realize value from emerging technologies such as private networks and mobile edge compute, which are exciting potential upsides to our plan. We're already in trial programs with major enterprises in these areas, including 12 of the Fortune 50, even though we don't issue empty press releases about it every week.

tmus-q2-2021.png
T-Mobile second quarter investor factbook. 

By the numbers for the second quarter:

  • Postpaid net customer additions were 1.3 million with postpaid phone net additions of 627,000.
  • Service revenue was $14.49 billion compared to $13.2 billion a year ago.
  • T-Mobile expects merger synergies of $2.9 billion to $3.2 billion in 2021. That sum includes $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion in sales, general and administrative costs.
  • Postpaid Phone ARPU was $47.61 in the second quarter, down from $47.99 a year ago.
  • Extended range 5G now covers 305 million points of presence. Mid-band and mmWave 5G covers 165 million points of presence.

As for the outlook, T-Mobile said it expects postpaid net customer additions of 5 million to 5.3 million for 2021 with free cash flow of $5.2 billion and $5.5 billion. 

Editorial standards