The company reported financial results for the second quarter with better than expected profits. Profit for the quarter was $361 million or 42 cents per share. With analysts predicting only 18 cents per share, it’s safe to say that T-Mobile blew away expectations. So much so that the stock was up 5.6 percent in pre-market trading.
T-Mobile has been making the “Un-carrier” phrase a household name by giving away mobile service at unbelievable pricing. This kind of disruption often leads to growth, but it’s not always profitable, so this is great news for the fourth-largest wireless carrier. What’s even better is that the company expects to be profitable for the remainder of the year.
The reason for this profitability has been subscriber growth — T-Mobile added 2.1 million new subscribers during the second quarter, bringing its total to 58.9 customers. The much larger carriers, Verizon and AT&T, added 1 million and 2.1 million new customers for the same period respectively, but that growth was more from tablets and connected cars, which isn’t as profitable. The majority of T-Mobile’s new customers are signing up for phone service.
Programs like the ability to upgrade smartphones three times a year and use your phone in all of North America without roaming fees are definitely working and could very well catapult the company to the No. 3 position, overtaking Sprint.
If this news isn’t enough to make John Legere giddy this morning, how about coming out on top in the latest J.D Power study, which was released today. This study analyzed how satisfied customers are with their current wireless carrier in terms of customer care. T-Mobile took the top spot with a score of 795 out of 1,000, followed by AT&T with 792, Verizon at 776, and Sprint at 748. J.D. Power has conducted this study 22 times, and T-Mobile came in first 13 times.
