T-Mobile's Stellar Q2 5G Performance Leaves AT&T & Verizon Scrambling
T-Mobile's Stellar Q2 5G Performance Leaves AT&T & Verizon Scrambling
T-Mobile US has posted a Q2 performance that sets the benchmark in 5G leadership, leaving rivals AT&T and Verizon under pressure. The latest earnings reveal multiple areas where T-Mobile is not just leading, but significantly outpacing the competition on key metrics such as 5G availability, coverage, growth in postpaid customers, and free cash flow.
One standout metric: T-Mobile's service revenues rose 4% year over year to approximately US$16.4 billion, while total revenue increased 3% to around US$19.8 billion. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 9% to nearly US$8.1 billion, reflecting strong operating efficiency. Free cash flow surged 54% to about US$4.4 billion.
From a customer base perspective, T-Mobile crossed 100 million postpaid subscribers, adding approximately 777,000 postpaid phone customers in Q2. AT&T and Verizon lagged behind: AT&T added about 419,000, Verizon only around 148,000 in the same period.
Where T-Mobile really shines is in 5G availability and 5G coverage experience. According to third-party metrics from Opensignal, T-Mobile scored 7.7/10 on coverage experience, vs AT&T's 6.3 and Verizon's 5.9. On availability—meaning the percentage of time users see 5G in places they frequently visit—T-Mobile posted ~67.9%, while AT&T and Verizon came in at ~11.8% and ~7.7% respectively. These gaps are large and glaring.
Capital expenditure (capex) is another differentiator. For the back half of 2024, AT&T and Verizon plan to spend roughly US$11.5-12.5B and US$8.9-9.4B respectively, up from last year. T-Mobile, by contrast, expects about US$4.2B in that same period—showing much lower capex while still maintaining or extending performance. These numbers underscore the company's capital efficiency in deploying multi-band spectrum and optimizing lower-band 5G (600MHz, 1.9GHz, 2.5GHz) for better indoor and wide area service.
T-Mobile's ability to outperform both competitors while spending less is drawing investor attention. Free cash flow growth, improved profit margins, and aggressive customer gains validate its strategy. This leaves AT&T and Verizon facing strategic decisions: increase capex, shift spectrum band plans, improve indoor/low-band coverage, or risk losing customers due to coverage and availability deficits.