T-Mobile US Inc. missed Wall Street’s estimates for revenue and mobile phone subscriber growth but still raised its forecast for wireless customer gains for the year. The results, coming after those of its peers, may be a sign of cooling in the consumer spending environment.
(Bloomberg) — T-Mobile US Inc. missed Wall Street’s estimates for revenue and mobile phone subscriber growth but still raised its forecast for wireless customer gains for the year. The results, coming after those of its peers, may be a sign of cooling in the consumer spending environment.
The No. 2 wireless carrier in the US added 538,000 mobile phone customers in the first quarter, fewer than the 551,621 analysts predicted. T-Mobile also posted earnings of $1.58 a share on $19.6 billion in revenue. Analysts were looking for EPS of $1.48 on $19.8 billion in sales.
The shares slid about 3% in extended trading to $145.50. The stock is up 15% over the past 12 months.
T-Mobile raised its subscriber forecast and now expects to add 5.3 million to 5.7 million new wireless customers this year. That is more than the 5 million to 5.5 million new subscribers it initially forecast in February.
The fewer-than-expected mobile phone gains in the first three months of the year may be a sign that the Bellevue, Washington-based company is facing a slowdown in consumer spending that contributed to the shortfalls that its rivals also reported experiencing.
Verizon Communications Inc., the largest US wireless carrier, said it lost 127,000 mobile phone customers, which was more than analysts expected. And while AT&T Inc. topped phone customer targets in the first quarter, it’s disappointing free cash flow performance revived concerns that rising costs and slowing growth could make for a difficult year, not just at AT&T but possibly the sector.
T-Mobile added 523,000 wireless home internet customers topping the 471,900 analysts predicted. The company added 348,000 in the year-ago period and 524,000 in the fourth quarter and now has nearly 3.2 million wireless home broadband customers. The company has said it expects to have between 7 million and 8 million subscribers by 2025.
The broadband service starts at $50 a month and has been a cheaper alternative to landline connections from phone and cable companies. The arrival of wireless broadband has added to the internet subscriber woes at cable companies including Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc.
T-Mobile is also exploring a home fiber optic service and has started offering it in parts of two towns in Colorado. The company is offering the service through a resale deal with fiber providers and is looking for a possible partner to expand the fiber offering and potentially bundle it with mobile phone service.
The company raised the low end of its full-year free cash flow forecast to a range between $13.2 billion to $13.6 billion, up from $13.1 billion to 13.6 billion.
(Updates with broadband number in chart; updates shares.)
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