(Bloomberg) — T-Mobile US Inc. reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, overshadowing a surprisingly strong increase in new mobile phone subscribers.
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The No. 2 wireless carrier reported earnings per share of $1.67 in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement Thursday. Analysts, on average, expected $1.91, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company also predicted adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in 2024 will be $31.3 billion to $31.9 billion.
The shares slid about 2.9% in extended trading after closing at $162.56 in New York. The stock is up about 10% in the past 12 months.
The earnings miss came even as T-Mobile reported a gain of 934,000 mobile phone subscribers in the quarter, beating estimates of about 886,000. Earlier this week, AT&T Inc. reported 526,000 additional subscribers and Verizon Communications Inc. said it added 449,000, with each exceeding gains from the fourth quarter a year earlier.
The gains are a positive sign for a mobile sector that has suffered through slow or even no subscriber growth in recent years, as the industry cooled from the phone-buying frenzy of the pandemic. This year, T-Mobile said it expects 5 million to 5.5 million net customer additions.
“Even in the most competitive markets T-Mobile comes out on top as a share-taker,” T-Mobile marketing chief Mike Katz said in an interview.
T-Mobile has grown faster than its peers by cashing in on its lead in fast 5G airwaves, adding more rural territories to its coverage area and selling wireless internet access in places where broadband choices are few.
The carrier, based in Bellevue, Washington, has benefited as customers shift to higher-rate unlimited plans to take advantage of its high-capacity 5G network.
As mobile phone growth slows, T-Mobile has also been working to expand its fixed wireless broadband base. It added 541,000 wireless home internet customers, beating estimates and bringing the total to 4.8 million. The company has said its target is 7 million to 8 million subscribers by 2025.
Competition for internet offerings is fierce, as cable companies such as Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc. fight back with promotions offering a free mobile line for broadband customers.
The weaker earnings per share, which were down 8.2% from the same period a year ago, was due in part to the accelerated depreciation tied to modernizing T-mobile’s network and the payment of about $7.6 billion worth of shares to SoftBank Group Corp. in December as a result of an agreement associated with the merger with Sprint, Chief Financial Officer Peter Osvaldik said in an interview.
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