T-Mobile posted yet another robust quarter of operational and improving financial results, but how did it fare against rivals Verizon, Sprint and AT&T?
On this week’s Carrier Wrap, we spoke with Bill Ho, principal at 556 Ventures, to take one final dive into the latest quarterly results from domestic carriers, with a specific focus on T-Mobile US, which appeared to continue to dominate its rivals.
T-Mobile US was the last of the nationwide domestic carriers to report second-quarter results. Those results included adding nearly 1.9 million total net connections during the quarter, which while still industry leading was down both sequentially and year-over-year. By comparison, Verizon Wireless said it added 585,000 direct net connections during the latest quarter, AT&T Mobility posted 1.4 million net connection additions and Sprint counted 377,000 net adds.
T-Mobile US noted its latest growth included 890,000 net postpaid additions, which counted 646,000 “phone” connections and 244,000 mobile broadband connections that include tablets and mobile hot spot devices. Both numbers were down slightly from those the carrier posted in Q2 2015, though the lucrative phone net additions easily outpaced its rivals.
On the prepaid side, T-Mobile US said it added 476,000 net connections during its latest quarter, which handily outpaced the 178,000 net connections posted last year, but dropped significantly from the 807,000 net prepaid additions posted during the first quarter of this year. The prepaid results were also market leading, with only AT&T Mobility managing to post positive prepaid growth during the quarter.
Relatively flat consumer spending and more than 8 million new connections compared with last year helped boost total revenue from $8.2 billion in Q2 2015, to $9.2 billion this year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization surged from $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA margins growing from 30% to 36% over the same time period.
A slight increase in expenses, including capital expenses that hit more than $1.3 billion in the latest quarter, dropped net income from $361 million during Q2 2015, to $225 million this year. The carrier did note adjusted free cash flow surged from $73 million last year to $485 million this year.
The conversation also touched on Scotch, with Ho discussing his views on Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak, which was judged a good drinking Scotch. RCR Wireless News Editor-in-Chief Dan Meyer discussed the Glenlivet 16 Year Old Nadurra, which is marketed as a more “natural” Scotch that eschews coloring or flavor additives. The described small-batch Scotch is more limited in availability and carries a slight price premium, but does bring a higher alcohol percentage to the table.
Make sure to check us out again next week when we are scheduled to speak with Market Force Information on its recent survey of the nation’s favorite wireless carriers.
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