T-Mobile US shares jumped 5% at the open Wednesday. The wireless giant crushed first-quarter expectations, propelled by postpaid account gains that outpaced forecasts. Adjusted earnings per share hit $2.27, topping Wall Street’s $2.06 call. Revenue reached $23.11 billion, edging past the $22.97 billion consensus. And service revenue? Up 11% to $18.8 billion.
Postpaid net account additions stood at 217,000. That’s 6% above last year—and well beyond the 193,000 analysts anticipated. Postpaid average revenue per account climbed 3.9% to $151.93, thanks to pricing tweaks and a richer customer mix. Postpaid service revenue soared 15% to $15.6 billion. Core adjusted EBITDA rose 12% to $9.2 billion. Operating cash flow gained 5% at $7.2 billion; adjusted free cash flow matched that pace to $4.6 billion.
Net income dipped 15% to $2.5 billion. Diluted EPS fell 12% to $2.27. Merger costs from the UScellular deal explain it—$476 million in after-tax accelerated depreciation hit the bottom line. Still, the beat sent shares higher, reflecting investor faith in T-Mobile’s trajectory.
“Q1 marked a strong start to the year as we continue to execute against our ambitious 2026 and 2027 targets,” said CEO Srini Gopalan, per the Yahoo Finance report. “We reported accelerating postpaid net account growth and strong postpaid ARPA growth, reflecting this team’s differentiated ability to not only attract new customer relationships but also deepen the engagement with our existing base.”
T-Mobile Pulls Ahead in a Tightening Race
But here’s the edge. T-Mobile shifted focus last quarter to accounts over individual phone lines—a move that highlights bundled value in a saturated market. One family plan now bundles phones, broadband, IoT. Postpaid account churn ticked up slightly to 1.04%, yet gross additions set records. Total postpaid accounts hit 34.44 million, from 31.1 million a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal noted total sales climbed nearly 11%, driven by those 217,000 postpaid net accounts—up 6% year over year and beating FactSet’s 192,800 forecast. Compare that to rivals. Verizon shed 127,000 postpaid accounts, with ARPA down nearly 2%, as T-Mobile CFO Peter Osvaldik pointed out in the earnings call transcript covered by Investing.com. AT&T added 84,000 postpaid wireless accounts but excludes broadband-only in that tally, per Broadband Breakfast.
T-Mobile added over 500,000 broadband subscribers—fixed wireless and fiber combined—in Q1. Fixed wireless alone ended 2025 at 8.45 million. And the company isn’t stopping. New $2.7 billion fiber joint ventures target expansion. Enterprise internet services launch soon. Satellite direct-to-cell? Usage lags expectations, CEO Gopalan admitted in remarks echoed on X, but network superiority—best in tests—keeps customers sticky.
Guidance just got bolder. Full-year postpaid net account adds now eye 950,000 to 1.05 million, from prior 900,000-1 million, as Yahoo Finance detailed. Adjusted free cash flow? $18.1 billion to $18.7 billion. Total service revenue growth holds at 8% midpoint; core adjusted EBITDA at 16% midpoint. Oppenheimer upgraded to Outperform with a $260 target, per X posts from market watchers.
Shares reflect the momentum. Up nearly 7% intraday, per StockNewsRoom on X. Seeking Alpha highlighted the subscriber lift and revenue jump in its key takeaways. T-Mobile’s Un-carrier playbook—aggressive pricing, Netflix bundles, 5G leads—deepens wallets per account. Rivals chase. Verizon leans loyalty perks; AT&T balances fiber and wireless.
Yet challenges loom. UScellular integration drags short-term profits. Competition heats as everyone bundles broadband. Churn could pressure if economy sours. But T-Mobile’s formula delivers. Postpaid ARPA up nearly 4%. Service revenue four times the next rival’s growth rate, Osvaldik boasted on X.
Industry insiders watch closely. T-Mobile isn’t just adding lines. It’s building households. And cash flows follow. Expect more raises if Q2 mirrors this.
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