Yahoo Finance T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript Highlights: Strategic Growth and ...
Postpaid Net Customer Additions: Expected between 5.2 million and 5.6 million for 2024.
Postpaid ARPA Growth: Up to 3% increase expected in 2024.
Core Adjusted EBITDA: Forecasted to be between $31.4 billion and $31.9 billion, up 9% year-over-year at the midpoint.
Adjusted Free Cash Flow: Projected to be between $16.4 billion and $16.9 billion, up 23% over the previous year.
Cash CapEx: Expected to remain between $8.6 billion and $9.4 billion.
Home Broadband Customers: Reached over 5 million, continuing as the fastest-growing broadband provider.
Fiber Investment: Joint venture with EQT to acquire Lumos, targeting 3.5 million homes passed by 2028 with an investment of about $950 million initially and another $500 million between 2027 and '28.
Release Date: April 25, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you unpack the plan on how you're approaching pricing actions and the net benefit? A: G. Michael Sievert - T-Mobile US, Inc. - COO, CEO & Director: We're not announcing specific plans today, but any changes will align with our long-standing strategy of being the value leader. Changes over the years are understood by customers given the broader industry context of rising costs. We've made some adjustments in the past six months and may make more, especially with older rate plans. All outcomes from these changes are included in the guidance shared.
Q: How are you seeing the competitive landscape and the switcher pool, especially with industry trends like lower upgrades and churn? A: Jon A. Freier - T-Mobile US, Inc. - President of Consumer Group: The competitive environment remains intense but consistent. We have unique growth vectors in smaller markets, rural areas, high-speed Internet, and enterprise, which drive success despite the competitive pressures. Upgrades are aligned with natural customer demand, and our differentiated value proposition contributes to record low churn rates.
Q: On the Lumos transaction, should we expect similar deals in other parts of the country? How much growth is left in fixed wireless, and are there capacity constraints? A: G. Michael Sievert - T-Mobile US, Inc. - COO, CEO & Director: The strategy with Lumos is capital-light and opportunistic, focusing on areas where we predict excess 5G capacity. We initially see up to 7-8 million total customers for fixed wireless, with no current updates on expanding this number. The fiber strategy with Lumos can relieve pressure on the 5G network and potentially expand the total addressable market (TAM).
Q: What kind of partner ecosystem are you building to execute on your strategy? A: Callie R. Field - T-Mobile US, Inc. - President of T-Mobile Business Group: We're partnering with major OEMs like Ericsson and Cisco, and industry experts for specific segments. These partnerships help us focus on enterprise solutions and innovate at scale. Recent key partnerships include Delta and the U.S. Coast Guard, which leverage our network capabilities for strategic connectivity solutions.
Q: Can you discuss the impact of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ending and your strategies to mitigate its effects? A: Michael J. Katz - T-Mobile US, Inc. - President of Marketing, Strategy & Products: We expect the ACP funding to end, and this is factored into our guidance. Our participation in ACP is minimal in postpaid and limited in prepaid through wholesale partners. We're working on transitioning customers to other plans or programs like Lifeline. Our focus remains on providing value through our brands and helping customers find affordable alternatives.
Q: How are you managing the deployment and integration of different spectrum bands to maintain your network advantage? A: Ulf Ewaldsson - T-Mobile US, Inc. - President of Technology: We're leveraging our unique position with three dedicated 5G bands (600 MHz, 1,900 MHz, and 2.5 GHz) to provide a consistent and high-quality network experience. Our network strategy includes deploying these bands extensively across our sites, which helps in maintaining a strong and reliable connection for our customers, with advanced carrier aggregation techniques enhancing the overall network performance.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
