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Sprint Subscriber Growth Continues as Merger Looms

In what's expected to be its last earnings report before announcing its planned merger with T-Mobile, Sprint's latest earnings show slight signs of a comeback for the embattled company. Sprint's third quarter earnings indicate that Sprint added 279,000 post-paid phone customers during the third quarter. That was more net postpaid subscriber additions than AT&T (which lost 97,000 of these customers), thanks in large part to Sprint's promotion offering Verizon customers a free year of unlimited data if they switched to the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier.

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Sprint was quick to note its rate of postpaid subscriber growth was the highest it has been in two years.

Like T-Mobile, Sprint refused to hold a traditional earnings call ahead of its planned merger with T-mobile. That's in part because the companies are close -- but not quite finished -- hammering out the details on the megadeal. But it's also likely because neither company really wants to address the fact that the deal could not only kill between 10,000 and 30,000 jobs (potentially more than Sprint has), and history suggests the reduction in competition will result in higher prices and less disruptive behavior by T-Mobile.

“Sprint was able to deliver net additions in both its postpaid phone and prepaid business for the third consecutive quarter,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said in a press release. “I’m even more proud that the team was able to deliver this customer growth while continuing to attack the cost structure, improve the network, and maintain positive adjusted free cash flow.”

And while Sprint posted a net loss of $48 million during the third quarter, that's a notable improvement from the $142 million loss the company reported during the same period one year earlier. As the T-Mobile Sprint merger sales pitch heats up over the next few weeks, a cornerstone of the argument will focus on how Sprint couldn't possibly survive without regulators approving the competition killing deal.

And while Sprint does have an ocean of debt and continues to struggle in building a real brand identity, there's numerous potential partners (Comcast, Charter, Altice, Dish) that could help shore up the company's finances without dramatically harming overall competition in the space. Meanwhile, whether regulators approve the looming deal will be a litmus test to see just how big of a mindless rubber stamp Trump FCC boss Ajit Pai really is.

Most recommended from 31 comments


iolaire
join:2001-06-29
Arlington, VA

8 recommendations

iolaire

Member

Sprint added 279,000 post-paid phone customers (who pay only taxes and fees)

So since July Sprint has offered free service for a year for only taxes and fees for people porting in from other carriers with compatible phones:
»www.sprint.com/content/s ··· ted.html

If anything it looks very poor to see only 279,000 added "post-paid" customers when they are offering free post-paid service for only taxes and fees for a year.