T-Mobile Claims It Beat AT&T To Become Second Largest US Wireless Carrier In Q2

T-Mobile US, Inc TMUS claimed Thursday it had become the second-largest cellular carrier in the United States, ahead of AT&T Inc T.

T-Mobile Claims Number Two Spot

The Washington-based cellphone carrier said it had 98.3 million total customers at the end of the second quarter this year.

T-Mobile added a net of 253,000 postpaid and 133,000 prepaid customers in 2020 Q2. Net customer additions stood at 1.24 million, mostly unchanged from the similar quarter last year.

CEO Mike Sievert said during the earnings call Thursday that the company was “staring down Verizon" with its "sight set on the No. 1 spot,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

Verizon Communications Inc VZ had 119.9 million wireless connections at the end of June, the Journal noted.

Q2 Results Show 61% Increase in Revenue

The cellular firm realized total revenue of $17.67 billion in the quarter, up about 61.1% year-on-year from the $10.9 billion posted in 2019 Q2.

The earnings per share were at 9 cents, with a total profit of $110 million. This compared with last year's EPS of $1.09 and profit of $939 million. 

Sprint Merger Impact On Numbers

In February, T-Mobile merged with Sprint, combining the country’s third and fourth-largest wireless companies. 

The company said merger-related costs amounted to $798 million pre-tax in the quarter, which led to a decline in net income and EPS, along with impact from the pandemic and non-cash impairments.

The adjusted EBITDA rose from $3.5 billion to $7 billion YoY, on account of the merger and addition of customers, along with higher lease revenues included in equipment revenue. 

Price Action 

T-Mobile shares traded 5.46% higher at $114 in the after-hours session, after it reported the earnings.