Q3 2025 T-Mobile US Inc Earnings Call
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Speaker #5: Good morning . All participants will be in a listen only mode should you need assistance , please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key , followed by zero .
Speaker #5: After today's presentation , there will be an opportunity to ask questions . To ask a question , please press star . Then one .
Speaker #5: And to withdraw your question , please press star then two . You may submit questions also via zoom by sending a post to T-Mobile US at G.
Speaker #5: Sievert or using hashtag Team . I would now like to turn the conference over to Kathy , our Senior Vice President of Investor Relations for T-Mobile US .
Speaker #5: Please go ahead .
Speaker #6: Good morning . Welcome to T-Mobile's third quarter 2020 earnings call . Joining me on our call today are Mike Sievert , our president and CEO .
Cathy Yao: Good morning. Welcome to T-Mobile US Inc.'s third quarter 2025 earnings call. Joining me on our call today are G. Michael Sievert, our President and CEO; Srinivasan Gopalan, our COO and incoming CEO; Peter Osvaldik, our CFO, as well as other members of the Senior Leadership Team. During this call, we will make forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. We encourage you to review the risk factors set forth in our SEC filings. Our earnings release, investor fact book, and other documents related to our results, as well as reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP results discussed on this call, can be found on our Investor Relations website. With that, let me now turn it over to Mike.
Speaker #6: Srini Gopalan , our COO and incoming CEO . Peter Osvaldik our CFO , as well as other members of the senior leadership team .
Speaker #6: During this call, we will make forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. We encourage you to review the risk factors set forth in our SEC filings.
Speaker #6: Our earnings release, Investor Factbook, and other documents related to our results, as well as reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP results discussed on this call, can be found on our Investor Relations website.
Speaker #6: With that , let me now turn it over to Mike .
Speaker #7: Thanks , Kathy . Great job . Good morning everybody . Well , as you can see , Srini and I are here in New the senior team ready to discuss another truly extraordinary quarter for T-Mobile .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, Cathy. Great job. Good morning, everybody. As you can see, Srini and I are here in New York with the senior team, ready to discuss another truly extraordinary quarter for T-Mobile US Inc. First, let me do a couple of welcomes. I want to start by welcoming Andre Almeida to the team and to the table. Andre is a deep industry expert and a longtime colleague of Srini. He has also been a strategic advisor to me on many topics for many years. I am so happy that he is here leading such a big part of our team.
Speaker #7: But first, let me do a couple of welcomes. I want to first start by welcoming Andre Almeida to the team and to the table.
Speaker #7: Andre is a deep industry expert and a long time colleague of Srini's , and he has also been a strategic advisor to me on many topics for many years , and I am so happy that he is here leading such a big part of our team .
Speaker #7: Thanks , Mike . Thank you very much . And and also , you all know Doctor John SA now serving York with as our president of Technology and resident Genius .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, Mike. Thank you very much.
Srinivasan Gopalan: You all know Dr. John Saur, now serving as our President of Technology and resident genius. John, thanks for stepping into this expanded role for us as President of Technology. John and I go way back to 2009 at Clearwire. Together and separately, we've been stewards of this centerpiece of T-Mobile US Inc.'s 5G spectrum strategy for a long time. It's great to have you here as our President of Technology.
Speaker #7: John , thanks for stepping into this expanded role for us as president of Technology . John and I go way back to 2009 at Clearwire .
Speaker #7: So together and separately , we've been stewards of this centerpiece of T-Mobile's 5G spectrum strategy for a long time . It's great to have you here as our president of technology .
Speaker #7: Thank you . Mike . All right . Well , let me just start by saying this . This call is an especially meaningful one for me as it actually marks the 50th quarterly earnings report for T-Mobile .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thank you, Mike.
Srinivasan Gopalan: All right. Let me just start by saying this. This call is an especially meaningful one for me, as it actually marks the 50th quarterly earnings report for T-Mobile US Inc. That means it's also my 50th report here. I've been here for every single one to offer my perspective and to help shape our narrative about the future. I have had a blast. Leading this company over the past 13 years has been the honor of a lifetime. Together, we transformed T-Mobile US Inc. from a distant number four player in crisis and decline into the world's most successful and customer-centric telecommunications company. I've seen T-Mobile US Inc. go from last to first, with the best network, the best value, the best customer experience in the market. Today, that margin of our differentiation is only widening.
Speaker #7: And that means it's also my 50th report here . I've been here for every single one to offer my perspective and to help shape our narrative about the future .
Speaker #7: And I have had a blast leading this company over the past 13 years has been the honor of a lifetime . Together , we've transformed T-Mobile from a distant number four player in crisis and decline into the world's most successful and customer centric telecommunications company .
Speaker #7: I've seen T-Mobile go from last to first with the best network , the best value , the best customer experience in the market , and today that margin of our differentiation is only widening .
Speaker #7: And the growth and financial momentum that flows from this in many ways , only just beginning . I'm excited to continue to support this team right here and the strategies that enable this success in my new role as vice chairman just a few weeks ago , I talked about what it means to get CEO succession right .
Srinivasan Gopalan: The growth and financial momentum that flows from this, in many ways, only just beginning. I'm excited to continue to support this team right here and the strategies that enable this success in my new role as Vice Chairman. Just a few weeks ago, I talked about what it means to get CEO succession right, that you do it when three things are true. First, when the company has never been more successful. Second, when the opportunity ahead has never been more exciting. Third, and most importantly, when the leader to take us into the future is fully ready. Q3 is living proof that all three are true for T-Mobile US Inc. right now. Now, Srini is going to cover the results here in a minute with you. I just want to say, wow, what another spectacular quarter.
Speaker #7: That you do it when three things are true . First , when the company has never been more successful . Second , when the opportunity ahead has never been more exciting , and third , and most importantly , when the leader to take us into the future is fully ready .
Speaker #7: Q3 is living proof that all three are true for T-Mobile , right now . Now Serena is going to cover the results here in a minute with you , but I just want to say , wow , what another spectacular quarter this team once again delivered the thoughtful , profitable and durable growth for which we are known .
Srinivasan Gopalan: This team once again delivered the thoughtful, profitable, and durable growth for which we are known. We smashed not only all-time customer records, like best ever postpaid account growth, best ever total postpaid net additions, while also leading the industry in postpaid phones with over a million nets, and phone churn. Importantly, we also once again led the industry in financial growth by a wide margin across a wide variety of metrics, beating expectations again. Clearly, it is evident that this team, under Srini's leadership, executes like no other team. This quarter was a showcase of Srini's and this entire team's ability to rally the organization to deliver exceptional results, while at the same time building on the durable advantages that make it all possible. T-Mobile US Inc. has never been stronger. Our growth run rate is broad-based. Our differentiation is widening.
Speaker #7: We smashed not only all time customer records like Best Ever postpaid account growth , best ever total postpaid net additions , while also leading the industry in postpaid phones with over a million nets and phone churn .
Speaker #7: But importantly , we also once again led the industry in financial growth by a wide margin across a wide variety of metrics , beating expectations again .
Speaker #7: Clearly , it is evident that this team , under Serena's leadership , executes like no other team . This quarter was a showcase of Streamys and this entire team's ability to rally the organization to deliver exceptional results .
Speaker #7: While at the same time building on the durable advantages that make it all possible, T-Mobile has never been stronger. Our growth run rate is broad-based.
Speaker #7: Our differentiation is widening . The Uncarrier ethos continues to disrupt the industry and delight customers . The opportunity ahead to generate even more outsized , durable and profitable growth across wireless broadband .
Srinivasan Gopalan: The uncarrier ethos continues to disrupt the industry and delight customers. The opportunity ahead to generate even more outsized, durable, and profitable growth across wireless, broadband, smart new adjacencies, as well as digital transformation has never been more exciting. With that, let's dive in. Srini, in more ways than one, over to you, my friend.
Speaker #7: Smart , new adjacencies , as well as digital transformation has never been more exciting . So with that , let's dive in . Srini , in more ways than one .
Speaker #7: Over to you, my friend. Thank you, Mike.
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thank you, Mike. Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining in. I can't wait to start talking about Q3. I'll take a minute. I just want to start by saying it's an incredible privilege to be here with this fantastic team, the best in the industry. In the last 13 years, Mike, you have truly turned around this business. You've made the uncarrier into this force for good, this disruptive, innovative, the most admired telco in the world. The network has gone from last to first, like you've talked about. We've delivered on industry-leading customer and financial growth. You and the team have created more value than any other CEO in the history of this industry, not just in the U.S., but globally. Thank you. I've been involved in this team for some time now.
Speaker #6: Hi .
Speaker #8: Everyone , and thanks for joining in . I can't wait to start talking about Q3 , but I'll take a minute . I just want to start by saying it's an incredible privilege to be here with this fantastic team .
Speaker #8: The best in the industry, and in the last 13 years, Mike, you have truly turned around this business and made the Un-carrier into this force for good.
Speaker #8: This disruptive , innovative , the most admired telco in the world , the network has gone from last to first , like you've talked about .
Speaker #8: And we've delivered on industry leading customer and financial growth . You and the team have created more value than any other CEO in the history of this industry , not just in the US , but globally .
Speaker #8: Thank you . Look , I've been involved in this team for some time now , and the one truly amazing thing , the Uncarrier has done , and this is rare in this industry differentiation .
Srinivasan Gopalan: The one truly amazing thing the uncarrier has done, and this is rare in this industry, is differentiation. It's the one truly rare commodity in this industry. For a large part of this journey, that differentiation has come from outstanding customer value and experience. As I look forward now, the foundation for the next big leap has already been laid. We have the opportunity to widen this differentiation even further with network leadership and digital transformation. I can talk about this all day, but I'll come back to it in our continuing strategy. First off, to Q3 and the phenomenal quarter we've delivered. Starting with wireless, we had our all-time best postpaid customer account growth. That's saying something when it comes from the uncarrier.
Speaker #8: It's the one truly rare commodity in this industry for large part of this journey that differentiation has come from outstanding customer value and experience .
Speaker #8: And as I look forward now , the foundation for the next big leap has already been laid . We have the opportunity to widen this differentiation even further with network leadership and digital transformation .
Speaker #8: I can talk about this all day , but I'll come back to it and I'll continuing strategy . But first off , to Q3 and the phenomenal quarter we've delivered , starting with wireless , we had our all time best postpaid customer account growth , and that's saying something when it comes from the Uncarrier .
Speaker #8: We achieved our best-ever total postpaid net additions and delivered over a million postpaid phone net additions—our best Q3 in over a decade.
Srinivasan Gopalan: We achieved our best ever total postpaid net additions and delivered over a million postpaid phone net additions, our best Q3 in over a decade. That coming from T-Mobile US Inc. is something. What I like is how broad-based this growth is. It's in the top 100 markets. It's in smaller markets and rural areas. Even within the top 100, our postpaid share of households is up where we're number one, number two, and number three in market share. It's truly broad-based growth. It's not just gross additions momentum. In Q3, we led the industry in postpaid phone churn. Across the board, tremendous customer momentum. It's not just volume. It's also in value. We saw postpaid ARPA grow by 3.8% on an organic basis when you exclude the dilutive impact of UScellular, Metronet, and Lumos.
Speaker #8: And that coming from T-Mobile is something what I like is how broad based this growth is . It's in the top 100 markets .
Speaker #8: It's in smaller markets , in rural areas , even within the top 100 are postpaid share of households is up where we're number one .
Speaker #8: Number two and number three in market share . So it's truly broad based growth . And it's not just gross additions . Momentum in Q3 , we led the industry in postpaid phone churn .
Speaker #8: So across the board tremendous customer momentum . And it's not just volume . It's also in value . We saw postpaid Arpa grow by 3.8% on an organic basis .
Speaker #8: When you exclude the dilutive impact of US cellular , Metronet and Lumos , we're also delighted to have welcomed US cellular customers to the T-Mobile family and provided them with immediate benefits from an improved network experience to great rankings like T-Mobile Tuesdays , integration is off to the races .
Srinivasan Gopalan: We're also delighted to have welcomed UScellular customers to the T-Mobile family and provided them with immediate benefits, from an improved network experience to great thankings, like T-Mobile Tuesdays. Integration is off to the races. We're using everything from the T-Mobile playbook that we learned and perfected with Sprint. We're simultaneously deepening our relationships. Let me turn to broadband, another huge growth opportunity for us. Again, we led the industry with over 500,000 customer additions on 5G broadband and over 50,000 on the newest addition to our family, fiber. That includes the contribution from Metronet, following our close on July 24. This is an amazing business. Here's an often underrated fact. Our 5G broadband ARPUs and customer lifetime values are very similar to our postpaid phone business. That just drives great value creation. Now, our customer results and industry-leading customer results flow through to industry-leading financial growth.
Speaker #8: We're using everything from T-Mobile's playbook that we learned and perfected with Sprint, and we're simultaneously deepening our relationships. Let me turn to broadband.
Speaker #8: Another huge growth opportunity for us. Again, we led the industry with over 500,000 customer additions on 5G broadband and over 50,000 on the newest additions to our family fiber.
Speaker #8: And that includes the contribution from Metronet . Following our close on 24th of July . This is an amazing business and here's an orphan .
Speaker #8: Underrated fact our 5G broadband arpus and customer lifetime values are very similar to our postpaid phone business , and that just drives great value creation .
Speaker #8: Now our customer results and industry-leading customer results flow through to industry-leading financial growth. Our postpaid service revenue grew by 12% year over year.
Srinivasan Gopalan: Our postpaid service revenue grew by 12% year over year. That's obviously industry-leading. Our service revenue as a whole, 9%. Core adjusted EBITDA, 6%. Another incredible quarter of service revenue to free cash flow conversion at 26%. There's great customer momentum. Importantly, that's translating into that one key metric, cash conversion. Overall, an amazing quarter. Let me come back to what I was saying earlier about my strategic priorities and spend a moment on that. Let me start by saying I have enormous conviction in what the team outlined during Capital Markets Day. Even more so now that we're a year into that journey. Everything we've seen in the last year makes us double down on our convictions and convinces us that we're heading in the right direction. I expect continued profitable growth in our core wireless and broadband businesses.
Speaker #8: Now, that's obviously industry-leading. Our service revenue as a whole is 9%, with a core adjusted EBITDA of 6%. And we had another incredible quarter of service revenue to free cash flow conversion at 26%.
Speaker #8: So there's great customer momentum . And importantly , that's translating into that one key metric cash conversion . So overall , an amazing quarter .
Speaker #8: Let me come back to what I was saying earlier about my strategic priorities and spend a moment on that. We start by saying I have enormous conviction in what the team outlined during Capital Markets Day, and even more so now that we're a year into that journey.
Speaker #8: Everything we've seen in the last year makes us double down on our convictions and convinces us that we're heading in the right direction .
Speaker #8: I expect , continued profitable growth in our core wireless and broadband businesses , and this is a big deal , which is that momentum which we're seeing right now is being driven by widening differentiation , which means it's truly sustainable .
Srinivasan Gopalan: This is the big deal, which is that momentum which we're seeing right now is being driven by widening differentiation, which means it's truly sustainable. That widening differentiation is driven by kind of two big things. On the one hand, you have our growing network leadership, not just in reality, but in perception as well. That's complemented by our digital transformation, which just takes pain out of the customer process. Let me talk about this in a bit more detail. Start with the natural place to start, our network. We're often asked, how big is this whole network perception opportunity? Let me give you some sense of it. One out of every three AT&T and Verizon customers chose them at some point because they were the best network. These customers are paying a premium for something that is simply no longer true. You work the math.
Speaker #8: And that widening differentiation is driven by kind of two big things . On the one hand , you have our growing network leadership , not just in reality , but in perception as well .
Speaker #8: And that's complemented by our digital transformation, which just takes the pain out of the customer process. Let me talk about this in a bit more detail.
Speaker #8: Start with the natural place to start our network . We're often asked , how big is this whole network perception opportunity ? Let me give you some sense of it .
Speaker #8: One out of every three , AT&T and Verizon customers shows them at some point because they were the best network . And these customers are paying a premium for something that is simply no longer true .
Speaker #8: You work the math . That means there are 70 million customers that are paying a premium for something that is simply no longer true , and that we can unlock with our best network and more and more of these customers are beginning to change their perception .
Srinivasan Gopalan: That means there are 70 million customers that are paying a premium for something that is simply no longer true and that we can unlock with our best network. More and more of these customers are beginning to change their perception. In Q3, we hit an all-time high in our network perception amongst switchers. That's a big driver to the outperformance we're seeing. Our network perception is changing because the reality is changing. Let me give you a couple of examples of how powerful our network is. Ookla data shows that our median download speeds on the new iPhone are nearly 90% faster than one of our benchmark competitors and over 40% faster than the other. That's why when you have jump walls with a device change, you see the uncarrier's continued outperformance.
Speaker #8: In Q3, we hit an all-time high in our network perception amongst switchers, and that's a big driver to the outperformance we're seeing now.
Speaker #8: Our network perception is changing because the reality is changing. Let me give you a couple of examples of how powerful our network is.
Speaker #8: Ookla data shows that our median download speeds on the new iPhone are nearly 90% faster than one of our benchmark competitors , and over 40% faster than the other .
Speaker #8: That's why when you have jump balls with a device , change , you see the Uncarrier continued outperformance driving superiority in the network for a new device like this and such visible superiority is a huge driver to our performance .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Driving superiority in the network for a new device like this and such visible superiority is a huge driver to our performance. Another great example is our 5G broadband business. Using the fallow capacity model in the last two years, we've nearly doubled our number of customers. Each of them used 30% more, so a phenomenal 580 gigabytes a month. At the same time, doubling customers, 30% more usage per customer. At the same time, our average download speeds have increased by nearly 50%. Our wireless speeds have gone up as well. That's what an ultra-capacity network truly looks like. We're not standing still. We're making progress on perception. The reality is only getting better. We will not stop. We're not standing still. We're building and upgrading thousands of new cell sites, many of which are in smaller markets and rural areas.
Speaker #8: Another great example is our 5G broadband business . Now , using the low capacity model in the last two years , we've nearly doubled our number of customers .
Speaker #8: Each of them used 30% more . So a phenomenal 580GB a month at the same time . So doubling customers 30% more usage per customer at the same time , our average download speeds have increased by nearly 50% .
Speaker #8: And our wireless speeds have gone up as well. That's what an ultra-capacity network truly looks like. And we're not standing still.
Speaker #8: So we're making progress on perception . The reality is only getting better and we will not stop . We're not standing still . We're building and upgrading thousands of new cell sites , many of which are in smaller markets and rural areas , and we're deploying and leveraging our nationwide 5G advanced network .
Srinivasan Gopalan: We're deploying and leveraging our nationwide 5G Advanced network. I want all of you to know that I am committed to not only being the network leader of today, but also investing tirelessly to defend and widen the margin of our network leadership for tomorrow. Let me talk a bit about digital transformation. The amount of friction and frustration we cause customers today because of our processes and the state of evolution in this industry is phenomenal. We have a huge opportunity to change that with our digital transformation. We saw great progress in adoption. Now, I love this stat. Three out of four of our iPhone upgrades during our pre-order window were digital. That is widening differentiation. Together with the stats I shared with you about network quality, that creates a moment where it's clear that we're different.
Speaker #8: I want all of you to know that I am committed to not only being the network leader of today , but also investing tirelessly to defend and widen the margin of our network leadership for tomorrow .
Speaker #8: Let me talk a bit about digital transformation . The amount of friction and frustration we cause customers today because of our processes and the state of evolution in this industry , is phenomenal .
Speaker #8: We have a huge opportunity to change that with our digital transformation, and we saw great progress in adoption. Now, I love this stat.
Speaker #8: Three out of four of our iPhone upgrades during our pre-order window were digital . That is widening differentiation together with the stats I shared with you about network quality , that creates a moment where it's clear that we're different and see life continues to be the center of our digital engagement with over 85 million app installs .
Srinivasan Gopalan: T-Life continues to be the center of our digital engagement with over 85 million app installs. I can sit here all day and talk about all of this. Ultimately, what will matter is our results going forward, quarter after quarter. Q3 is just another proof point that the uncarrier strategy is working, that our differentiation is widening. Peter will give you an update shortly on our guidance. I just want to say that I'm really excited to discuss our guidance in detail for 2026 and 2027 on our year-end call. I plan on increasing our guidance for 2026 and 2027. That reflects the core strength in the underlying business and M&A. I'm looking forward to our future. As I look at it, it's even better than what we said a year ago. Let me conclude by saying our differentiation is only widening.
Speaker #8: Look , I can sit here all day and talk about all of this , but ultimately , what will matter is our results going forward .
Speaker #8: Quarter after quarter and Q3 is just another proof point that the Uncarrier strategy is working , that our differentiation is widening . Now , Peter will give you an update shortly on our guidance .
Speaker #8: I just want to say that I'm really excited to discuss our guidance in detail for 26 and 27 on our year end call , I plan on increasing our guidance for 26 and 27 , and that reflects the core strength in the underlying business and M&A .
Speaker #8: And I'm looking forward to our future . And as I look at it , it's even better than what we said a year ago .
Speaker #8: Let me conclude by saying our differentiation is only widening . This scheme , this team's ability to deliver is totally unmatched . We've come a long way and our most exciting days are ahead of us .
Srinivasan Gopalan: This team, this team's ability to deliver is totally unmatched. We've come a long way, and our most exciting days are ahead of us. Our future is bright. Our vision is clear. Our results will continue to speak for themselves as we march towards our lofty long-term goals. With that, over to you, Peter.
Speaker #8: Our future is bright, our vision is clear, and our results will continue to speak for themselves as we march toward our lofty long-term goals.
Speaker #8: With that , over to you , Peter . All right . Thanks , Srini . As you .
Peter Osvaldik: All right. Thanks, Serene. As you can see, we had a fabulous Q3, which underpins the confidence in our increased guidance. Starting with customers, we are raising our expectation for total postpaid net additions to now be between 7.2 to 7.4 million, an increase of just over 1 million at the midpoint. As part of that total, we are also increasing our expectation for postpaid phone net additions, now expected to be 3.3 million, highlighting the tremendous momentum we're seeing in the business. On the strength of our T-Fiber rollout, we are also raising our fiber customer net additions guidance to be approximately 130,000 this year, up from approximately 100,000 previously. We now expect postpaid ARPA growth of at least 3.5% for the full year, including the dilutive impacts of UScellular, Metronet, and Lumos.
Speaker #9: Can see , we had a fabulous Q3 , which underpins the confidence in our increased guidance . So starting with customers , we are raising our expectation for total postpaid net additions to now be between 7.2 to 7.4 million , an increase of just over 1 million at the midpoint .
Speaker #9: As part of that total , we are also increasing our expectation for postpaid phone net additions . Now expected to be 3.3 million , highlighting the tremendous momentum we're seeing in the business and on the strength of our fiber rollout .
Speaker #9: We are also raising our fiber customer net additions guidance to be approximately 130,000 this year , up from approximately 100,000 previously . We now expect postpaid growth of at least 3.5% for the full year , including the dilutive impacts of US cellular , Metronet and Lumos .
Speaker #9: Excluding the impacts of US cellular and the fibre , JVs are underlying growth is now expected to be up approximately 4% for the full year .
Peter Osvaldik: Excluding the impacts of UScellular and the fiber JVs, our underlying ARPA growth is now expected to be up approximately 4% for the full year. We now expect core adjusted EBITDA to be between $33.7 and $33.9 billion for the full year, an increase of $300 million at the midpoint, reflecting our ongoing core operating strength and the inclusion of UScellular into our full-year guidance. Speaking of UScellular, in September, we both increased our synergy guidance to $1.2 billion in total OPEX and CAPEX run rate synergies and accelerated the timeline to realizing those run rate synergies to within two years of close. As part of that accelerated synergy realization plan, we expect to incur approximately $300 million in costs to achieve in Q4, primarily driven by merger-related costs related to UScellular, which will be excluded from core adjusted EBITDA.
Speaker #9: We now expect core adjusted EBITDA to be between 33.7 and 33.9 billion for the full year , an increase of 300 million at the midpoint , reflecting our ongoing core operating strength and the inclusion of US cellular into our full year guidance .
Speaker #9: And speaking of US cellular , in September , we both increased our synergy guidance to 1.2 billion in total OpEx and CapEx run rate synergies and accelerated the timeline to realizing those run rate synergies to within two years of close .
Speaker #9: As part of that accelerated synergy realization plan , we expect to incur proximately 300 million in cost to achieve in Q4 , primarily driven by merger related costs related to US cellular , which will be excluded from core adjusted EBITDA in network where we remain focused on using our customer driven coverage model to both defend and expand the margin of our network leadership .
Peter Osvaldik: In network, where we remain focused on using our customer-driven coverage model to both defend and expand the margin of our network leadership, the merger also allowed us to accelerate a broader network transformation initiative focused on optimizing customer experience and value through cell site location optimization. As part of this effort in Q4, we expect to incur approximately $160 million in additional expenses related to cell site decommissioning that will be excluded from core adjusted EBITDA. With all M&A and financing incorporated, we anticipate Q4 depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $3.7 billion and interest expense of $1 billion. All right, turning to cash CAPEX, we now expect cash CAPEX to be approximately $10 billion, an increase of $500 million driven entirely by the inclusion of UScellular.
Speaker #9: The merger also allowed us to accelerate a broader network transformation initiative focused on optimizing customer experience and value through cell site location optimization .
Speaker #9: As part of this effort , in Q4 , we expect to incur proximately 160 million in additional expenses related to cell site decommissioning that will be excluded from core adjusted EBITDA .
Speaker #9: With all M&A and financing incorporated, we anticipate Q4 depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $3.7 billion and interest expense of $1 billion. All right, turning to cash CapEx.
Speaker #9: We now expect cash CapEx to be approximately 10 billion in increase of 500 million , driven entirely by the inclusion of US cellular .
Speaker #9: And we now expect adjusted free cash flow , including payments for merger related costs in the range of 17.8 to 18 billion , representing an increase of 200 million at the lower end of the range .
Peter Osvaldik: We now expect adjusted free cash flow, including payments for merger-related costs, in the range of $17.8 to $18 billion, representing an increase of $200 million at the lower end of the range. All right, to sum it all up, not only did our results continue to demonstrate our ability to consistently execute and deliver outsized and profitable growth, we could not be more excited to carry our strong momentum far into the future. With that, I'll now turn the call back to Cathy to begin the Q&A. Cathy.
Speaker #9: All right . To sum it all up , not only did our results continue to demonstrate our ability to consistently execute and deliver outsized and profitable growth , we could not be more excited to carry our strong momentum far into the future .
Speaker #9: So with that , I'll now turn the call back to Kathy to begin the Q&A . Kathy .
Speaker #6: Thanks , Peter . All right , let's get to your questions . You can ask questions via phone by pressing Star . Then one and via X by sending a post to at T-Mobile IR at or Srini Gopalan using hashtag .
Cathy Yao: Thanks, Peter. All right, let's get to your questions. You can ask questions via phone by pressing star, then one, and via X, by sending a post to @T-MobileIR, @MikeSievert, or @SereneGopalan using #TMUS. We will start with a question on the phone and wrap a few minutes early for closing remarks today. Operator, first question, please.
Speaker #6: We will start with a question on the phone and wrap a few minutes early for closing remarks . Today . Operator . First question please .
Speaker #5: First question will come from Benjamin Swinburne with Morgan Stanley . Please go ahead .
Operator: First question will come from Benjamin Swinburne with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Speaker #10: Thank you . Good morning everyone . Hello . One for Srini , maybe one for Peter . Srini , you talked about sort of this the .
[Analyst]: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Hello. One for Srini, maybe one for Peter. Srini, you talked about sort of the network perception gap and committing to narrowing that. Can you guys talk a little bit about your strategy and tactics to close that gap as quickly as possible? I would think the faster you can convince customers you have the best network across the country, the faster the business can grow. Your intentions are clear, but we'd love to hear about how you're thinking about making that happen beyond just spending more on marketing. Peter, just going back to the UScellular synergies, very clear sort of how that's going to ramp over the, very clear where you're going to get to at the end of the ramp.
Speaker #10: Network perception gap and committing to to narrowing that . Can you guys talk a little bit about your strategy and tactics to close that gap as quickly as possible ?
Speaker #10: I would think the faster you can convince customers you have the best network across the country , the faster the business can grow .
Speaker #10: So your intentions are clear , but we'd love to hear about how you're thinking about making that happen beyond just spending more on marketing .
Speaker #10: And then Peter , just coming back to the USM synergies , very clear sort of how that's going to ramp over the well , very clear where you're going to get to at the end of the ramp .
Speaker #10: But you can talk a little bit about the path from here to full run rate. If there's any guidance you can provide to us on sort of the timeline to capture all those synergies and what that looks like over the course of the next two years.
[Analyst]: Can you talk a little bit about the path from here to full run rate, if there's any guidance you can provide to us on sort of the timeline to capture all those synergies and what that looks like over the course of the next two years? Thank you.
Speaker #10: Thank you .
Speaker #7: That's good . We'll start with the first question with the mike wants to pile in on that one two and then give it over .
G. Michael Sievert: That's good. We'll start with the first question with Srini. Mike wants to pile in on that one too, then pivot over. Yeah.
Speaker #9: Yeah thanks .
Speaker #8: Mike . Thanks for the question Ben . Let me start with where we are on network perception . I mean , one of the reasons you saw the outsized delivery this quarter is the extent to which we're already closing the gap .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, Mike. Thanks for the question, Ben. Let me start with where we are on network perception. One of the reasons you saw the outsized delivery this quarter is the extent to which we're already closing the gap. If you look at this quarter, you saw at the margin more switching behavior. That's due to a few different things. You had a new device going in. You also saw kind of churn normalization, partly driven by the fact that some of our competitors had 36-month contracts over a period of time, et cetera, et cetera, all of which meant at the margin more switching. At that point in time, seeing our network perception really widen the gap. Like I said earlier, our perception amongst switchers is now at an all-time high. That's what drove some of the volume. That gives you some sense of the critical impact this has.
Speaker #8: I mean , if you look at this quarter , you saw at the margin more switching behavior , and that's due to a few different things .
Speaker #8: You had a new device going in . You also saw kind of churn normalization , partly driven by the fact that some of our competitors had 36 month contracts over a period of time , etc.
Speaker #8: , etc. all of all of which meant at the margin , more switching . And at that point in time , seeing our network perception really widen the gap .
Speaker #8: Like I said earlier , our perception amongst switchers is now at an all time high . That's what drove some of the volumes .
Speaker #8: So that gives you some sense of of the critical impact this has . When to your piece of what are we going to do about it ?
Srinivasan Gopalan: To your piece of what are we going to do about it, I think this is something we will attack across multiple vectors. Marketing is clearly one piece of it. There's also a reality, which is network perception ultimately is an incredibly local thing. It's down to how each customer feels about it. When we think about activating all of our channels, activating digital to actually speak to customers at an individual basis, this is where some of our digital transformation and our network perception, our two big initiatives, actually have a huge overlap. Using digital, using our local reach in stores, and as an organization, becoming obsessed about how we drive this message of network perception home are central to how we drive this. The other piece is also just making it easier to come to us because network perception is a barrier.
Speaker #8: I think this is something we will attack across multiple vectors . Marketing is clearly one piece of it . There's also a reality which is network perception ultimately is an incredibly local thing .
Speaker #8: It's down to how each customer feels about it . And when we think about activating all of our channels , activating digital to actually speak to customers at an individual basis , this is where some of our digital transformation and our network perception , our two big initiatives , actually have a huge overlap using digital , using our local reach and stores .
Speaker #8: And as an organization becoming obsessed about how we drive this message of network perception home . Our central to how we drive this .
Speaker #8: The other piece is also just making it easier to come to us because network perception is a barrier and inertia is a big part of network perception .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Inertia is a big part of network perception. A lot of the stuff that we're talking about in our digital transformation just makes it a lot easier to come to us. Again, 75% of our upgrades, and you'll see an increasing number of our acquisitions, will come to us through digital channels. That reduces a lot of the barrier of the switch because one of the big barriers is just kind of, you know, I kind of get that T-Mobile now has the best network, but am I going to take the time to do it? Perhaps it's a multitude of initiatives. To a large part, it's the intersection space between our digital transformation and our network perception.
Speaker #8: So a lot of the stuff that we're talking about in our digital transformation just makes it a lot easier to come to us.
Speaker #8: And again , 75% of our upgrades and you'll see an increasing number of our acquisitions will come to us through digital channels . And that reduces a lot of the barrier of the switch , because one of the big barriers is just kind of I kind of get that T-Mobile now has the best network , but am I going to take the time to do it ?
Speaker #8: So that's a multitude of initiatives. And to a large part, it's the intersection space between our digital transformation and our network perception.
Speaker #7: Mike .
G. Michael Sievert: I think the only other two things I'd say is continuing to have the best network. We have a network that's two years ahead of everybody else. We've talked about it being still two years ahead two years from now and making sure that we're widening that gap. We've talked a lot about our strategies, using things like customer-driven coverage to direct our network capital into places that really matter for customers, to improve their experience, to make sure that they have the best possible experience there. When you have big switching in quarters like this one, where you have nearly 400,000 accounts come, that is one of the biggest ways to change network perception. Think about the way that you learn about network perception. It's from friends and family and neighbors.
Speaker #11: The only other two things I'd say is continuing to have the best network . You know , we have a network that's two years ahead of everybody else .
Speaker #11: We've talked about it being still two years ahead , two years from now and making sure that we're widening that gap . And we've talked a lot about our strategies using things like customer driven coverage to direct our network capital into places that really matter for customers to improve their experience , to make sure that they have the best possible experience .
Speaker #11: There . And then when you have when you have big switching , like in quarters like this one , where you have over 400 , have nearly 400,000 accounts , come , that is one of the biggest ways to change network perception , because think about the way that you learn about network perception is from friends and family and neighbors .
Speaker #11: And the more of those customers that join T-Mobile that talk to it about their friends and families . Yes , we'll do marketing and all those things , but the most powerful way to change perception is from recommendations from the people around you .
G. Michael Sievert: The more of those customers that join T-Mobile, that talk to it about their friends and families, yes, we'll do marketing and all those things. The most powerful way to change perception is from recommendations from the people around you. Continuing to have big quarters like this one is a big part of changing those perceptions.
Speaker #11: So continuing to have big quarters like this one is a big part of changing those perceptions.
Speaker #7: Love the question , Ben . Hopefully what you're hearing from us is lots of confidence because we're in this kind of sweet spot on this one where the data tells us two things moving the needle .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Love the question, Ben. Hopefully, what you're hearing from us is lots of context because we're in this kind of sweet spot on this one where the data tells us two things simultaneously. It tells us, one, what we're doing is working. It was a big factor, as Srini said, in fueling all-time record customer results this quarter. That's great. At the same time, the data also tells us there is lots of room to run here. A lot of people still have yet to make a decision either on the vector of it being worth it or on the vector of it being better. That just shows us that a strategy that's working has lots of potential tailwinds to fuel our business into the future. We're feeling good.
Speaker #7: It tells us one , what we're doing is working , and it was a big factor . As Trini said , in fueling all time record customer results this quarter .
Speaker #7: So that's great . And at the second time , the data also tells us there is lots of room to run here . So a lot of people still have yet to make a decision either on the vector of it being worth it or on the vector of it being better , and that just shows us that a strategy that's working has lots of potential tailwind to fuel our business into the future .
Speaker #7: So, we're feeling good.
Speaker #9: All right . US cellular . You know , I couldn't be more excited about how we've hit the ground running both with , you know , John Fryer and his team from a customer perspective .
Peter Osvaldik: All right. UScellular, you know, I couldn't be more excited about how we've hit the ground running both with Jonathan Freier and his team from a customer perspective and Dr. John Saur running to the races on network. You're going to see this kind of go exactly except quicker than Sprint. What that really means from a modeling perspective, I won't get into the dollars. We'll incorporate that into our 2026 and 2027 guide. You're going to see us invest in those costs to achieve early on. I'd expect the vast majority of those to come in 2026 and then achieve the full run rate of those synergies. Remember, it was $950 million of OPEX synergies and $250 million of CAPEX synergies. We'll achieve those inside of two years.
Speaker #9: And doctor saw running to the races on network . So you're going to see this kind of go exactly . Except quicker than sprint .
Speaker #9: And what that really means from a modeling perspective, I won't get into the dollars. We'll incorporate that into our 2026 and 2027 guide.
Speaker #9: But you're going to see us invest in those costs to achieve early on. So I expect the vast majority of those to come in 2026.
Speaker #9: And then achieve the full run rate of those synergies. Remember, it was $950 million of synergies and $250 million of CapEx synergies, and we'll achieve those inside of two years.
Speaker #9: So as I model it out , kind of by the end of 27 , you're going to have those full synergies already coming to bear .
Peter Osvaldik: As I model it out, kind of by the end of 2027, you're going to have those full synergies already coming to bear.
Speaker #10: Thanks , team . Thanks , doctor .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, team. Thanks, Dr. Saur.
Speaker #6: Operator . Next question please .
Cathy Yao: Operator, next question, please.
Speaker #5: Your next question will come from John with UBS . Please go ahead .
Operator: The next question will come from John Hodulik with UBS. Please go ahead.
Speaker #12: Great . Thanks and good morning . And one last congrats again to Mike on his retirement .
[Analyst]: Great. Thanks, and good morning. One last congrats again to Mike on his retirement.
Speaker #7: Thanks , John .
Speaker #12: Can we dig into the can we dig into the broadband business ? I guess first on the fiber , you guys had some new disclosures , but I guess for Srini , how big of an opportunity do you think this sort of fiber business is ?
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, John.
[Analyst]: Can we dig into the broadband business? I guess first on the fiber, you guys had some new disclosures. For Srini, how big of an opportunity do you think this sort of fiber business is? I know you have targets out there for Homes Pass. Can you talk about how many sort of Homes Pass you have now with fiber? How do you expect that to grow? Any targets for penetration? Maybe comment on the sort of environment for more deals to potentially back up the JVs you already have out there. On the fixed wireless business, obviously a big quarter. What's the opportunity there? What drove those big lifts in NetAd's this quarter? How do you see that playing out as we look into 2026?
Speaker #12: I know you have targets out there for for homes passed , but can you talk about how many homes passes you have now ?
Speaker #12: Fiber , how do you expect that to grow ? Any targets for penetration . And then maybe comment on the sort of environment for for more deals to potentially back up ?
Speaker #12: The JVs ? You already have out there . And then on the fixed wireless business , obviously a big quarter . What's the opportunity there ?
Speaker #12: And sort of what drove those sort of big lift in net adds this quarter and sort of how do you see that playing out as we as we look into 26 ?
Speaker #7: Great .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Great. Thanks for that question, John. I'll really talk about the big picture in terms of how we see broadband as an opportunity first, then spend a few minutes on FWA as well as fiber. We're really excited by the broadband opportunity. This plays to the heart of the uncarrier because what we've got here is customers in a place where they have an inferior product quite often, where they're paying a huge premium. It's classic uncarrier territory, going in and attacking incumbents who have not invested in their networks and who are charging a large premium for a product that isn't living up to expectations. We'll go after that with both FWA as well as fiber. We see those as complementary. The way we think about both those businesses is setting them up in a way that the economics allow us to pursue the uncarrier strategy.
Speaker #8: Thanks for that question , John . So look , I'll talk about the big picture in terms of how we see broadband as an opportunity first and then spend a few minutes on FWA as well as fiber .
Speaker #8: We're really excited by the broadband opportunity . This plays to the heart of the Uncarrier , because what we've got here is customers in a place where they have an inferior product quite often where they're paying a huge premium .
Speaker #8: It's classic Uncarrier territory going in and attacking incumbents who have not invested in their networks and who are charging a large premium for a product that isn't living up to expectations .
Speaker #8: Now , we'll go after that with both FWA as well , as well as fiber . We see those as complementary and the way we think about both those businesses is setting them up in a way that the economics allow us to pursue .
Speaker #8: The Uncarrier strategy . What I love about FWA is the heart of it is the capacity model and what we're benefiting from is .
Srinivasan Gopalan: What I love about FWA is the heart of it is the fallow capacity model. What we're benefiting from is the ultra-capacity network, but also the rapid evolution you're seeing in mobile technology, which is moving far quicker than a lot of other technologies, which is giving us more and more runway and also making the product incredibly sustainable. We see FWA as not a temporary category, but something that's here to stay as mobile technology gets better and better and taps into a customer need, which a lot of people trapped in old relationships with incumbents are suffering from. Fiber, again, we've been very thoughtful about setting up the economics in a way that we can scale and sustain this business. The way we thought about fiber is go after specific places where we're confident that the economics will work for us to create a win-win situation for customers.
Speaker #8: The ultra capacity network . But also the rapid evolution you're seeing in mobile . In mobile technology , which is moving far quicker than a lot of other technologies , which is giving us more and more runway and also making the product incredibly sustainable .
Speaker #8: We see FWA as not a temporary category, but something that's here to stay as mobile technology gets better and better and taps into a customer need, which a lot of people trapped in old relationships with incumbents are suffering from fiber.
Speaker #8: Again , we've been very thoughtful about setting up the economics in a way that we can scale and sustain this business the way we thought about fiber is go after specific places where we're confident that the economics will work for us to create a win win situation for customers .
Speaker #8: That's been the heart of the areas that we've picked . Fiber places where we're either first to fiber near first to fiber , places where we believe we can set up these JVs .
Srinivasan Gopalan: That's been the heart of the areas that we've picked fiber, places where we're either first to fiber, near first to fiber, places where we believe we can set up these JVs that allow us to be capital-light. These JVs also allow us to bring complementary skills into the things that we bring to the table, like distribution, like the brand, along with the expertise that those folks bring in. We've talked about numbers on both of those. Let me just hand over to Andre to share his perspective on the scalability of these businesses.
Speaker #8: That allows us to be capital light . Also , these JVs allow us to bring complementary skills into the things that we bring to the table , like distribution , like the brand , along with the expertise that those folks bring in .
Speaker #8: Now , we've talked about numbers on both of those , but let me just hand over to Andre to share his perspective on the scalability of these businesses .
Speaker #8: Thank you . Srini .
Andre Almeida: Thank you, Serene. Listen, as you said, I would like to double-click on a couple of the topics. One, I think we're very, very happy with our FWA results. I think as Serene mentioned in his opening comments, we did more than 500,000 NetAds. That's an impressive 22% year-on-year growth. We see a lot of strength and a lot of runway. What I think has been outstanding about our FWA product is it's not just industry-leading. Something we introduced into the U.S. in 2021 is the product keeps getting better. In two years, the speeds that we're giving our customers have gone up 50% while we almost doubled the base of customers we have. This is clearly, as Serene mentioned, a very sustainable product that we see is here for the long run. On fiber, I think we've been very consistent.
Speaker #13: As you said , and I've double click on a couple of the topics . One , I think we're very , very happy with our FWA results .
Speaker #13: I think the Srini mentioned in his opening comments , we did more than 500,000 net adds . That's an impressive 22% year on year growth .
Speaker #13: So we see a lot of strength and a lot of runway and what I think has been outstanding about our FWA product is it's not just industry leading , something we introduced into the US in 2021 is the product keeps getting better in two years .
Speaker #13: The speeds that we're giving our customers have gone up 50% while we almost doubled the base of customers , we have . So this is clearly a Srini mentioned a very sustainable product that we see is here for the long run on fiber .
Speaker #13: I think we've been very consistent . We see this as a great compliment to our FWA nationwide offer , and we love the business under the right parameters .
Andre Almeida: We see this as a great complement to our FWA nationwide offer. We love the business under the right parameters, as Serene said. These parameters for us have always been threefold. One is technology. We love fiber. We love the fact that we can be present in the two technologies that are gaining share in the U.S. market, FWA and fiber. The second one is price. We go into fiber and FWA to create outsized returns for our shareholders. That means we need to be able to look at these opportunities at the right price, at the right valuation. Lastly, as Serene mentioned, is structure. We are committed to our capital-light structure because it not only allows us to scale, it also allows us, as Serene mentioned, to use complementary capabilities. We're great at what we do. Our brand translates very strongly into fiber. Our early results show it.
Speaker #13: That Srini said . And these parameters for us have always been threefold . One is technology . We love fiber and we love the fact that we can be present in the two technologies that are gaining share in the US market , FWA and fiber .
Speaker #13: The second one is price . We won't go into fiber and to create outsized returns for our shareholders , that means we need to be able to look at these opportunities at the right price , at the right valuation .
Speaker #13: And lastly , as Srini mentioned , is structured , we are committed to our capital light structure because it not only allows us to scale , but it also allows us a Srini mentioned to use complementary capabilities .
Speaker #13: We're great at what we do . Our brand translates very strongly into fiber , and our early results show it . But we also love to bring in partners that are experts in building out and to make sure that the two of us together can create the best of both worlds .
Andre Almeida: We also love to bring in partners that are experts in building out and to make sure that the two of us together can create the best of both worlds and, as Serene mentioned, a win-win for customers.
Speaker #13: And as Srini mentioned, a win-win for customers.
Speaker #8: So , John , hopefully what you're hearing is lots of confidence in the numbers that we've put out . We've said 12 million fixed wireless access .
Srinivasan Gopalan: John, hopefully what you're hearing is lots of confidence in the numbers that we've put out. We've said 12 million fixed wireless access. We've said 12 to 15 million homes passed on fiber. Are we looking at new assets? Yes, as long as they fit the criteria that Andre just laid out. You know what this team is like. We put a set of numbers out there. You can see the confidence we have in hitting those numbers, and then we strive to exceed them. That's exactly what you should expect in broadband as well.
Speaker #8: We've said 12 to 15 million homes passed on fiber. Are we looking at new assets? Yes, as long as they fit the criteria that Andre just laid out.
Speaker #8: But you know what the scheme is like . We put a set of numbers out there . You can see the confidence we have in hitting those numbers , and then we strive to exceed them .
Speaker #8: That's exactly what you should expect in broadband as well .
Speaker #6: All right . Great . Let's move on to our next question . Please .
Cathy Yao: All right, great. Let's move on to our next question, please.
Speaker #5: The next question will come from Sam McHugh with BNP. Please go ahead.
Operator: The next question will come from Samuel McHugh with BNP. Please go ahead.
Speaker #14: Good morning guys . A couple of quick questions . First on just running some numbers on cost of acquisition . It doesn't look like you're spending a ton more on a per sub basis to acquire these customers versus recent quarters , which I think is quite encouraging .
[Analyst]: Yeah, good morning, guys. A couple of quick questions. First on just running some numbers on cost of acquisition. It doesn't look like you're spending a ton more on a per-sub basis to acquire these customers versus recent quarters, which I think is quite encouraging. Can you just tell me what you're seeing in terms of SAC and SLC as well and the competitive environment? I guess related to that, Srini, you talked about digital customer acquisition. I'm a Verizon customer. Apologies. I've been trialing the T-Mobile network with the T-Life app and the eSIM. Is that what you're talking about when you think about pushing digital for customer acquisition? Should we expect you to be a bit more vocal about the ability for competitor customers to trial the T-Mobile network and then go through the customer acquisition journey through the app? Is that what we're looking at? Thanks.
Speaker #14: But can you just tell me what you're seeing in terms of SAC and SQ as well ? And the competitive environment ? And I guess related to that , Srini , you talked about digital customer acquisition .
Speaker #14: I'm a Verizon customer , so apologies . I've been trying the T-Mobile network with the T life app and the eSIM . Is that what you're talking about ?
Speaker #14: When you think about pushing digital for customer acquisition ? Should we expect you to be a bit more vocal about the ability for competitor customers to trial the T-Mobile network and then go through the customer acquisition journey through the app ?
Speaker #14: Is that what we're looking at ? Thanks .
Speaker #7: Well , let's start with Peter on the first question , and then maybe turn to Srini on the second question . We probably won't be able to give you as much as you're hoping for on this .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Let's start with Peter on the first question and then maybe turn to Srini on the second question. We probably won't be able to give you as much as you're hoping for on this, Sam, you know, telling you all of our plans on how we're going to compete. You might be a little unsatisfied, but we'll start with the one we can answer.
Speaker #7: Sam . You know , telling you all of our plans on how we're going to compete , you know , so you might be a little unsatisfied , but but we'll start with the one we can answer .
Speaker #9: Absolutely . Yeah . Let . Good . You're not asking for my spreadsheet . Look , you're absolutely right . In terms of we continue to see extremely strong customer lifetime values .
Peter Osvaldik: Absolutely. Good. You're not asking for my spreadsheet. That's not Srini's. Look, you're absolutely right in terms of we continue to see extremely strong customer lifetime values. From a SAC perspective and everything that comes from that, including linkage of our top-tier promos primarily to highest-tier ARPU plans, you'll love this. In fact, we now believe for the full year, we'll have ARPU increase of approximately 2%. Up from 1.5% that we had previously guided to. That's really strong. Yes, we're continuing to see very strong customer lifetime values. Of course, it's because promos are an element of this industry, always have been. It's great when you see promotional times like holiday seasonality because it creates more customer consideration. In those moments, we win.
Speaker #9: And from a sack perspective and you know , everything that comes from that , including linkage of our top tier promos primarily to higher tier Rpu plans .
Speaker #9: And you'll love this . In fact , we now believe for the full year we'll have Rpu increase of approximately 2% . So up from 1.5% that we had previously guided to .
Speaker #9: So that's really strong . But yes , we're continuing to see very strong customer lifetime values . And of course it's because promos are an element of this industry , always have been .
Speaker #9: It's great when you see promotional times like holiday seasonality because it creates more customer consideration . And in those moments , we win .
Speaker #9: But one of the big tailwinds that we're also seeing that drives customer switching to T-Mobile , as we've been talking about here . So excitedly , is this best value , best network , best experience proposition ?
Peter Osvaldik: One of the big tailwinds that we're also seeing that drives customer switching to T-Mobile US Inc., as we've been talking about here so excitedly, is this best value, best network, best experience proposition. The more we're getting from a tailwind on best network, that's just another benefit in terms of why customers are coming here. We're very excited about what we're seeing from customer lifetime values and how that translates into ARPAs and ARPUs.
Speaker #9: And the more we're getting from a tailwind on best network , that's just another benefit in terms of why customers are coming here .
Speaker #9: So we're very excited about what we're seeing from customer lifetime values and how that translates into Rpas and Rpas .
Speaker #8: So on the digital acquisition that Sam , as Mike said , we're not going to talk to you about all of our plans in detail , but look how good parallel of what you should expect is what we did with upgrades .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Yeah, on the digital acquisition bit, Sam, as Mike said, we're not going to talk to you about all of our plans in detail. A good parallel of what you should expect is what we did with upgrades. Like we said, 75% of our upgrades are now on T-Life. The heart of getting there was to actually take the upgrade process and simplify it, which is to take this painful, I don't remember, John, it was what, 36 steps or something like that, and bring that down to something which feels like a transaction you're doing in 2025 rather than 2002.
Speaker #8: Like we said , 75% of our upgrades are now on t life . Now the heart of getting there was to actually take the upgrade process and simplify it , which is to take this painful .
Speaker #8: I don't remember about 36 steps or something like that and bring that down to something which feels like a transaction you're doing in 2025 , rather than in 2002 .
Speaker #8: Right ? It's digital acquisition and moving our customers to digital is fundamentally going after customer pain points and going after the way we've always done things in this industry .
Srinivasan Gopalan: It's digital acquisition and moving our customers to digital, fundamentally going after customer pain points and going after the way we've always done things in this industry and changing and radically relooking at that process and just making it simpler to do the one thing you can't do on your wireless, which is buy wireless. We feel it's kind of crazy that you can shop for any other category on your wireless except for wireless. It's a lot more than some of the things we've been doing, like test drive and being able to try out the T-Mobile network. It's a comprehensive relook at the entire process. We'll work at that.
Speaker #8: And change and radically relooking at that process and just making it simpler to do the one thing you can't do on your wireless , which is buy wireless .
Speaker #8: Right . We feel it's kind of crazy that you can do you can shop for any other category on your wireless except for wireless .
Speaker #8: And so it's a lot more than some of the things we've been doing , like test drive and being able to try out the T-Mobile network .
Speaker #8: It's a comprehensive relook at the entire process , and we'll work that .
Speaker #7: You know , AI is playing a big role in this , and we talked a year ago about our intention to co-invent intents with open AI .
Srinivasan Gopalan: You know, AI is playing a big role in this. We talked a year ago about our intention to co-invent Intent CX with OpenAI. In these breakthrough results you're seeing on the upgrade path, that's starting to come together. Quietly, some of the early elements of Intent CX are hitting customers now. One of the reasons, I love it when you say this, Srini, like you could buy everything under the sun from this mobile phone except your mobile phone service at scale. The reason for that is that it's a very complicated transaction involving trade-ins and valuing trade-ins and signing up for a two-year payment plan, picking a plan, getting a promotion against that plan, possibly a promotion against that device. People throw their hands up and say, I need help. AI is great at making the complicated uncomplicated. We're seeing that in our upgrade flows.
Speaker #7: And in these breakthrough results, you're seeing on the upgrade path that's starting to come together. So quietly, some of the early elements of intents are hitting customers now.
Speaker #7: And one of the reasons I love it when you say this , the like you could buy everything under the sun from this mobile phone except your mobile phone service at scale .
Speaker #7: And the reason for that is it's complicated . It's a very complicated transaction involving trade ins and valuing trade ins and signing up for a two year payment plan , picking a plan , getting a promotion against that plan , possibly a promotion against that device .
Speaker #7: And people throw their hands up and say , I need help . Well , AI is great at making the complicated , uncomplicated , and we're seeing that in our upgrade flows .
Speaker #7: You start with your existing customers that already know how to transact with you , but there's obvious extensions here , and it's really great to see the power of this partnership starting to pay dividends .
Srinivasan Gopalan: You start with your existing customers that already know how to transact with you, but there's obvious extensions here. It's really great to see the power of this partnership starting to pay dividends.
Speaker #7: So great .
Speaker #6: Thanks , Mike . Thanks , Sam . Let's move on to our next question on the phone , please .
Cathy Yao: Great. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, Sam. Let's move on to our next question on the phone, please.
Speaker #5: Your next question will come from David Barden with New Street Research . Please go ahead .
Operator: The next question will come from David Barden with New Street Research. Please go ahead.
Speaker #9: Hey , guys .
Speaker #15: Thanks so much . It's really great to be here again . Three congratulations on the new seat , Mike . Well , I have you .
[Analyst]: Hey, guys. Thanks so much. It's really great to be here again. Srini, congratulations on the new seat. Mike, while I have you, I wanted to follow up on a couple of things. One was last quarter, you were joking with Craig about how new the satellite product was, and you didn't have any real color on what it meant for T-Mobile US Inc. to be partnered with Starlink. I would love to get an update on kind of your learnings there and what that partnership means for you and how that partnership might be different than, say, AT&T and Verizon, who have invested in AST Space Mobile. The second thing would be just on the comments you were making about the AI stuff.
Speaker #15: I wanted to follow up on a couple of things . One was last quarter . You were joking with Craig about how new the satellite product was .
Speaker #15: And you didn't have any real color on on what it meant for T-Mobile to be partnered with Starlink . I would love to get an update on your learnings there , and what that partnership means for you , and how that partnership might be different than , say , AT&T and Verizon , who have invested in St Space Mobile and the second thing would be just on the comments you were making about the AI stuff , you know , a year ago , you had Sam and you had Jensen on stage and you were talking about all the amazing stuff that that AI was going to do is you kind of maybe disrupted the business model the way you disrupted the go to market model in mobile .
[Analyst]: You know, a year ago, you had Sam and you had Jensen on stage, and you were talking about all the amazing stuff that AI was going to do as you kind of maybe disrupted the business model the way you disrupted the go-to-market model in mobile. Could you kind of give us where we are now on that path? Maybe, Srini, you could add where we're going to go. Thank you. Yeah, I'll make a couple of comments.
Speaker #15: Could you kind of give us where we are now on that path and maybe you could add where we're going to go ? Thank you .
Speaker #7: Yeah , I'll make a couple comments and then turn to Srini . You know , first of all , how we do it is we we tend one of the things that has always worked well for T-Mobile is we look around corners and you think about , you know , when we kind of invented the fixed wireless industry , nobody really believed us that we would create what we've created .
G. Michael Sievert: Turn to Srini. First of all, how we do it is we tend—one of the things that has always worked well for T-Mobile US Inc. is we look around corners. You think about when we kind of invented the fixed wireless industry, nobody really believed us that we would create what we've created. Now they're all following, and their best argument is, maybe it's temporary, maybe it'll only last a decade. Good luck with that. We saw that future, and now we're leading that industry. When I went on stage with Elon to say we were going to co-invent satellite directly to your cellular, people didn't believe that would happen. Some did, some didn't. What happened was really interesting. We did that announcement so everybody would know we had this technology alliance. We put our heads down and did the inventing.
Speaker #7: Now they're all following and their best argument is , well , maybe it's temporary . Maybe it'll only last a decade . Good luck with that .
Speaker #7: So we saw that future and now we're leading that industry . When I went on stage with with Elon to say we were going to Co-invent satellite directly to your cellular , people didn't believe that that would happen .
Speaker #7: Some some did , some didn't . But then what happened was really interesting . We did that announcement . So everybody would know we had this technology alliance , and then we put our heads down and did the inventing and and it took two years before we came back , you know , with a product and began beta testing it .
G. Michael Sievert: It took two years before we came back with a product and began beta testing it. A year ago, we talked about the future of 6G and that together we intended, with the world leaders, to craft 6G for the benefit of T-Mobile US Inc. and T-Mobile's customers. An inherent part of this was this idea called AI-RAN, that AI would be at the core of 6G networks and that it would be something that would be co-invented with T-Mobile's influence. We brought Jensen, we brought Nokia, we brought Ericsson, NVIDIA, and we laid out a future there. We did the same thing with how AI could transform subscription-based businesses. You can't just take all those models and implement them. You have to co-invent agents for every customer intention.
Speaker #7: And so that's what we did a year ago . We talked about the future of Six-g and that together . We intended with the world leaders to craft six G for the benefit of T-Mobile and T-Mobile's customers , and that an inherent part of this was this idea called AI ran , that AI would be at the core of six G networks , and that it would be something that would be co-invented with T-Mobile's influence .
Speaker #7: And so we brought Jensen . We brought Nokia , we brought Ericsson , Nvidia , and we laid out a future there . We did the same thing with how AI could transform subscription based businesses .
Speaker #7: You can't just take all those models and implement them . You have to co-invent agents for every customer intention . And when you can do that , you can serve customers where they are .
G. Michael Sievert: When you can do that, you can serve customers where they are, you can meet them with exactly what they're trying to accomplish, and solve their problem and create a deeper relationship faster and more efficiently than the old way. These are the things we do. We lay out a future. We then go put our heads down and do it. The question that you're asking, how are we doing it, the ones we laid out a year ago, we are so pleased with it. As I said, Intent CX is well on its way. In fact, it's starting to touch customers now, which is really great. It's starting to affect our actual results, as you saw in these upgrade rates. What we're doing in the labs together with OpenAI about how we can totally transform the customer experience is blowing our minds. We are really excited about that.
Speaker #7: You can meet them with exactly what they're trying to accomplish and solve their problem and create a deeper relationship faster and more efficiently than the old way .
Speaker #7: And so these are the things we do . We lay out a future . We then go put our heads down and do them .
Speaker #7: So the question that you're asking , how are we doing at the ones we laid out a year ago ? We are so pleased with it .
Speaker #7: As I said , intense is well on its way . In fact , it's starting to touch customers now , which is really great .
Speaker #7: It's starting to affect our actual results , as you saw in these upgrade rates and what we're doing in the labs , together with OpenAI , about how we can totally transform the customer experience is blowing our minds .
Speaker #7: So we are really excited about that . You also asked about what we see in the future as it relates to direct to cell and space , and you know , it's hard it's hard to predict right now .
G. Michael Sievert: You also asked about what we see in the future, as it relates to Direct to Sell and SpaceX. It's hard to predict right now, other than that it's going to get better. We see version two over the next few years is going to be backed, as you saw in recent transactions, by more spectrum. That means as an adjacent service to terrestrial, something that adds on and makes dead zones more of a thing of the past, it's going to get better. That's our whole goal here. I don't know if you want to comment on what you're seeing, Srini, working closely with them.
Speaker #7: Other than that , it's going to get better . We see version two over the next few years is going to be backed , as you saw in recent transactions , by more spectrum .
Speaker #7: That means as an adjacent service to terrestrial , something that adds on and makes dead zones , you know , more of a thing of the past .
Speaker #7: It's going to get better . And that's , you know , our whole goal here . So I don't if you want to comment on what you're seeing , Srini working closely with them .
Speaker #7: Yeah . So .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Yeah. I think there's this one remarkable thing about us as a company, right, which is this ability to have a clear vision, deliver stuff today, and then build for tomorrow. The same thing's true of satellite. We work very, very closely with SpaceX. I mean, the whole idea of, you know, flying towers in space, being able to communicate with a mobile device, which is also moving, that technology is something that people like Dr. John Saur have worked very closely with SpaceX to really invent. Our vision of this whole space started off with the end of dead zones. I think we're making huge progress on that. When I pull together everything from 6G to satellite and the rest of it, I'll draw a parallel to where we are in 5G. We've invented a lot of this space. We're continuing to work on that.
Speaker #8: I think there's this one remarkable thing about us as a company , right . Which is this ability to have a clear vision , deliver stuff today and then build for tomorrow .
Speaker #8: Now at the same thing is true of satellite . We work very , very closely with SpaceX . I mean , the whole idea of flying towers in space , being able to communicate with a mobile device , which is also moving that technology is something that people like John Saul have worked very closely with SpaceX to really invent .
Speaker #8: And our vision of this whole space started off with the end of dead zones . I think we're making huge progress on that .
Speaker #8: But when I pulled together everything from 6G to satellite and the rest of it, I'll draw a parallel to where we are in 5G.
Speaker #8: We've invented a lot of this space . We're continuing to work on that . We believe as this technology matures , we will be 2 to 3 years ahead of the rest of the industry , just as we are in 5G .
Srinivasan Gopalan: We believe, as this technology matures, we will be two to three years ahead of the rest of the industry, just as we are in 5G. That's the core of it, which is deliver things today that customers can actually use. We're seeing that in terms of upgrades to on our plans. We're seeing lots of customers being able to benefit from this. At the same time, we have this vision of the world where we will be two years ahead of everyone else as the technology evolves. I think the same thing is true of AI as well. AI today makes a massive difference. The stuff Mike Katz was talking about in terms of customer-driven coverage, that is AI in use today. At the same point, we're looking at what is everything we can do in the future.
Speaker #8: And that's the core of it , which is deliver things today that customers can actually use . We're seeing that in terms of upgrades on our plans .
Speaker #8: We're seeing lots of customers being able to benefit from this . And at the same time have this vision of the world where we will be two years ahead of everyone else .
Speaker #8: As the technology evolves , I think the same thing is true of AI as well . AI today makes a massive difference . The stuff my cats was talking about in terms of customer driven coverage , that is AI in use today , and at the same point , we're looking at what is everything we can do in the future .
Speaker #8: How does AI sit at the core of our network and drive everything we do with our network ?
Srinivasan Gopalan: How does AI sit at the core of our network and drive everything we do with our network?
Speaker #9: Great .
G. Michael Sievert: Great.
Speaker #6: Great . Thanks . Let's move on to the next question . Please .
Cathy Yao: Great. Thanks. Let's move on to the next question, please.
Speaker #5: The next question will come from Michael Rollins with Citi . Please go ahead .
G. Michael Sievert: The next question will come from Michael Rollins with Citi. Please go ahead.
Speaker #16: Thanks and good morning . My congratulations on your successful tenure at T-Mobile . Best wishes as you move on to your next role as Vice Chairman and Srini , congratulations on becoming CEO .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks, and good morning. Mike, congratulations on your successful tenure at T-Mobile. Best wishes as you move on to your next role as Vice Chairman. Srini, congratulations on becoming CEO.
Speaker #17: Thank you .
G. Michael Sievert: Thank you.
Speaker #16: So in terms of the switcher pool , can you discuss what you're seeing from that ? Do you expect it to be higher for longer ?
Srinivasan Gopalan: In terms of the switcher pool, can you discuss what you're seeing from that? Do you expect it to be higher for longer? Given that you use a two-year EIP for your devices, is there something about your customer cohorts that could result in a future increase in upgrade rates to sustain or enhance customer retention?
Speaker #16: And given that you use a two year IP for your devices , is there something about your customer cohorts that could result in a future increase in upgrade rates to sustain or enhance customer retention ?
Speaker #7: Yeah , I mean , let's start by pointing out that we're just ending now as an industry , a cycle where we did see industry churn , particularly at our two benchmark competitors , Supressed temporarily as they moved from two year to three year payment plans across the majority of their customers .
G. Michael Sievert: Yeah. I mean, let's start by pointing out that we're just ending now, as an industry, a cycle where we did see industry churn, particularly at our two benchmark competitors, suppressed temporarily as they moved from two-year to three-year payment plans across the majority of their customers. Now we're starting to round trip those three-year plans, and customers are rolling off those at a normal pace. What you're seeing across the industry in 2025 is industry churn kind of returning to normative rates based on that dynamic and lots of other dynamics, but based on that dynamic. You know, we haven't announced any plans to change our payment plans. You have a run rate happening now that has a little bit of elevated switching due to a number of different dynamics, but that's certainly one of them.
Speaker #7: And now we're starting to round trip those three year plans . And customers are rolling off those at a normal pace . And so what you're seeing across the industry in 2025 is industry churn kind of returning to normative rates based on that dynamic and lots of other dynamics , but based on that dynamic , you know , we haven't announced any plans to change our payment plans .
Speaker #7: So , you know , you have a run rate happening now that has a little bit of elevated switching due to a number of different dynamics , but that's certainly one of them .
Speaker #7: And just on the margin , this is really good because as you saw in this quarter's results , I mean , you know , as Srini likes to say , more jump balls is good for us as the net share taker .
G. Michael Sievert: Just on the margin, this is really good because, as you saw in this quarter's results, I mean, as Srini likes to say, more jumped balls is good for us as the net share taker. That's a dynamic that we really like. Maybe, John, you could talk about what you're seeing out in the marketplace as it relates to the state of competition. 'Cause I know.
Speaker #7: And so that's a dynamic that we really like . Maybe John , you could talk about what you're seeing out in the marketplace as it relates to the state of competition , because I know one of the things that's kind of implied in your question is that a lot of people look at our industry and they're , you know , they're concerned about , quote , Overinvesting in competition .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Yeah.
G. Michael Sievert: One of the things that's kind of implied in your question is that a lot of people look at our industry, and they're concerned about, you know, "overinvesting in competition." We've covered earlier that that's not what's happening, at least not at T-Mobile US Inc. We're really comfortable with what we're seeing. What are the dynamics driving our outsized performance out there in the marketplace?
Speaker #7: We've covered earlier that that's not what's happening , at least not at T-Mobile . We're really comfortable with what we're seeing . But what are the dynamics driving ?
Speaker #7: You know , our outsized performance out there in the marketplace ? Yeah . Thank you . Mike . And thank you , Mike Rollins .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thank you, Mike. Thank you, Mike Rawlins. The overall dynamics are pretty consistent relative to the overall promotional activities that are happening in the markets. What you're seeing with us is this overall widening differentiation that both Mike and Srini have talked about, that more and more people are realizing that there's a far better experience with the network at T-Mobile US Inc., in addition to our long-held fame of value. What we're seeing is more opportunities in our top 100 markets, and in our smaller markets, rural areas, where we have continued growth out there. This promotional construct that we've been using has been really resonating, which is our new plans and our experience, more experience beyond plans, some of our no-trade up to a certain value, in terms of what you're getting with us. All of those promotional constructs are working really, really well.
Speaker #7: You know , the overall dynamics is it's pretty consistent relative to the overall promotional activities that are happening in the market . So what you're seeing with us is this overall widening differentiation that both Mike and Srini have talked about , that more and more people are realizing that there's .
Speaker #9: A .
Speaker #7: Far better experience with the network at T-Mobile . In addition to our long held fame of value . And then , of course , what we're seeing is more opportunities in our top 100 markets .
Speaker #7: And then , of course , in our smaller markets , rural areas where we have continued growth out there . So , you know , this , this promotional construct that we've been using has been really resonating , which is , you know , our new plans and our experience more experience beyond plans .
Speaker #7: Some of our no trade up to a certain value in terms of what you're getting with us . All of those promotional constructs are working really .
Speaker #8: Really well . But the .
Speaker #7: Overall , you know , environment is just generally .
Srinivasan Gopalan: The overall environment is just generally being consistent. Like what Mike said just a few moments ago, more switching in the marketplace against that backdrop is definitely helping to fuel our overall momentum in the marketplace. With lower churn and better retention that you're seeing from T-Mobile US Inc., coupled with higher gross ads, that's producing the overall volume that you're seeing in the marketplace. We feel really good about what happened in Q3, obviously. We're seeing that momentum continue into Q4 so far, and that's reflected in the numbers and the guidance that you heard from both Srini and Peter just a few moments ago. All of that's going incredibly well. We're excited about it. It's going against our plans. That's what's really happening out there in the marketplace.
Speaker #8: Being consistent .
Speaker #7: And then like what Mike said , just a few moments ago , more switching in the marketplace against that backdrop is definitely helping to fuel our overall momentum in the marketplace .
Speaker #7: And of course , with lower churn and better retention that you're seeing from T-Mobile , coupled with higher gross ads , that's producing the overall volume that you're seeing in the marketplace .
Speaker #7: So we feel really good about what happened in Q3 . Obviously , we're seeing that momentum continue into Q4 so far , and that's reflected in the numbers and the guidance that you heard from both Srini and Peter .
Speaker #7: Just a few moments ago . So all of that's going incredibly well . We're excited about it . It's going against our plans and that's what's really happening out there in the marketplace .
Speaker #7: What about how is it affecting customer lifetime values ? The state of the competition out there ? Yeah . See , our selves have been very .
G. Michael Sievert: What about how is it affecting customer lifetime values, the state of the competition out there?
Srinivasan Gopalan: Yeah. See, our CLVs have been very, very resilient. When you look at this, we don't report, obviously, CLVs, and we don't look at this on a daily or a weekly basis. We certainly look at it and monitor these very, very carefully on a monthly and quarterly and ongoing basis. Overall, CLVs are holding very, very constant. As you're seeing, premium plan adoption, customers self-selecting up that rate card continuing to increase, churn continuing to decrease, relative to what others have seen in the marketplace. Overall, CLVs are holding very, very steady across the entire portfolio.
Speaker #8: Very resilient .
Speaker #7: So .
Speaker #8: You .
Speaker #7: Know , when you look at we look at this , we don't report obviously clvs and we don't look at this on a daily or weekly basis , but we certainly look at it and monitor these very , very carefully on a monthly and quarterly and ongoing basis .
Speaker #7: But overall , Clvs are holding very , very constant as you're seeing , you know , premium plan adoption , customers , self-selecting up that rate card , continuing to increase churn , continuing to decrease relative to what others have seen in the marketplace .
Speaker #7: So overall , covs are holding very , very steady across the entire portfolio . It's interesting because , you know , one of the critiques that some people have of the industry is they cherry pick one metric , such as a device promotion and a broad CLV picture for customers and talk themselves into saying , well , competition's overheated , but that's not our experience .
G. Michael Sievert: It's interesting because I, you know, one of the critiques that some people have in the industry is that they cherry-pick one metric, such as a device promotion and a broad CLV picture for customers, and talk themselves into saying, "Well, competition's overheated." That's not our experience. That might be an experience of some other companies I don't know, but it's not our experience. I think it's important to see because it's overall an equation of how long does the customer stay, what else do they buy from us, how deep does their relationship become, how do we monetize that relationship, how efficiently can we serve them, and so on. All those—even Peter has been forced to admit that our ARPA guidance needs to be increased yet again, you know, and that's saying something.
Speaker #7: That might be an experience that some other companies I don't know , but it's not our experience . And I think it's important to see because it's the overall , you know , an equation of how long does the customer stay ?
Speaker #7: What else do they buy from us , how deep does their relationship become ? How do we monetize that relationship ? How efficiently can we serve them ?
Speaker #7: And so on . And all those even , even Peter has been forced to admit that our Arpa guidance needs to be increased .
Speaker #7: Yet again . You know , and that's saying something . So .
Speaker #9: All right .
Cathy Yao: All right.
Speaker #7: Thank you .
Speaker #9: Mike .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thank you, Mike.
Speaker #6: Thanks , Mike . Next question .
Cathy Yao: Thanks, Mike. Next question.
Speaker #5: The next question will come from Craig Moffett with Moffett Nathanson. Please go ahead.
G. Michael Sievert: The next question will come from Craig Moffett with MoffettNathanson. Please go ahead.
Speaker #12: Hi . Thank you . Mike .
Peter Osvaldik: Hi. Thank you. Mike, let me be on the long list of people saying congratulations on a remarkable run. Srini, congratulations on stepping into the new role. While I have all of you, let me also say happy birthday to Cathy. Happy birthday, Cathy.
Speaker #16: Let me .
Speaker #12: Be on the long list of people saying congratulations on our remarkable run . And congratulations on stepping into the new role . And while I have all of you , let me also say happy birthday to Kathy .
Speaker #12: Happy birthday Kathy .
G. Michael Sievert: Aw.
Speaker #18: Thank thanks Greg .
Cathy Yao: Thanks.
G. Michael Sievert: Thank you.
Cathy Yao: Wow, thanks, Craig.
Speaker #12: I want to ask about the iPhone cycle . There's been a lot of talk about this being certainly not a super cycle , but at least a more normal and more robust cycle than than the last couple of years .
Peter Osvaldik: I want to ask about the iPhone cycle. There's been a lot of talk about this being, certainly not a super cycle, but at least a more normal and more robust cycle than the last couple of years. Are you seeing that? Do you think that that's likely to have carryover into the fourth quarter? If so, what kind of opportunities does that create, and what kind of cost does it create in terms of accelerated number of subsidies that you would have to give for retention as well as customer acquisition?
Speaker #12: Are you seeing that ? Do you think that that's likely to have carry over into the fourth quarter ? And if so , what kind of opportunities does that create and what kind of cost does it create in terms of accelerated number of subsidies that you would have to give for for retention as well as customer acquisition ?
Speaker #7: Okay , great .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Okay. Great. Srini?
Speaker #18: Yeah .
G. Michael Sievert: Yeah.
Speaker #8: Thanks for the question , Craig . So we're seeing this is a this has been our best iPhone performance . We're seeing a strong cycle .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thanks for the question, Craig. We're seeing this has been our best iPhone performance. We're seeing a strong cycle. Now, to your questions of what does that land up meaning for promotions and spend and the rest of it? Look, the heart of it is every time there's a new device, people sort of reassess their choice, and that's one of the big drivers to our momentum in the last quarter. When people reassess their choice and differentiation has widened, you see the kind of performance you saw in the last quarter. As we look at Q4, our momentum into Q4 is continuing to be strong, and that's driven our raise in our guide on postpaid phones. We're feeling really good about where we are in Q4.
Speaker #8: Now, to your question of what that lands up meaning for promotions and spend, and the rest of it. Look, the heart of it is that every time there's a new device, people sort of reassess their choice.
Speaker #8: And that's one of the big drivers to our momentum over the last quarter . And when people reassess their choice and differentiation has widened , you see the kind of performance you saw in the last quarter .
Speaker #8: As we look at Q4 , our momentum into Q4 is continuing to be strong , and that's driven our raise in our guide on postpaid phones .
Speaker #8: And so we're feeling really good about where we are in Q4 now . One of the one of the really nice things when you drive volume through widening differentiation rather than simply promoting , is you can drive volume at the same point as deliver the outsized financial results we've delivered this quarter .
Srinivasan Gopalan: One of the really nice things when you drive volume through widening differentiation rather than simply promoting is you can drive volume at the same point as deliver the outsized financial results we've delivered this quarter. We're feeling really good, and that's reflected in our guide for Q4, not just in terms of what we're saying on volumes, but also what we've said in EBITDA and, importantly, free cash flow.
Speaker #8: So we're feeling really good . And that's reflected in kind of our guide for Q4 , not just in terms of what we're saying on volumes , but also what we've said in EBITDA .
Speaker #8: And importantly , free cash flow .
Speaker #6: Great . Thank you so much . Operator . Let's do one more question on the phone , and then we'll turn to social .
Cathy Yao: Great. Thank you so much. Operator, let's do one more question on the phone, and then we'll turn to social.
Speaker #7: All right . I'm wondering too , could we make it a hard hitting question for John about the network ? You know , as I said in my opening remarks , by the way , you know , this is my 50th one of these .
Peter Osvaldik: All right. I'm wondering, too, could we make it a hard-hitting question for John about the network, you know? I said in my opening remarks, by the way, this is my 50th one of these. In the era where we had me and John and Braxton and Neville, Neville did all the talking because nobody could understand that we might actually be able to build a leading network. He was always explaining it. Poor John is going to sit here because everybody's like, "Yeah, yeah. You guys have the best network. We're convinced." Anyway, sorry.
Speaker #7: And in the era where we had me, John, Braxton, and Neville, Neville did all the talking because nobody could understand it.
Speaker #7: We might actually be able to build a leading network . So he was always explaining it . So poor John's going to sit here because everybody's like , yeah , yeah , you guys are you guys have the best network .
Speaker #7: We're convinced anyway , sorry .
Speaker #5: Next question will come from Eric Lukow with Wells Fargo .
G. Michael Sievert: I'm ready to ask a question about the network.
Peter Osvaldik: Eric Lubchow with Wells Fargo.
Speaker #19: Oh great . Well appreciate it and thanks , Mike and Srini . You know , for all the comments , I guess I will try to , you know , touch on the network .
Operator: Oh, great. Appreciate it. Thanks, Mike and Srini, for all the comments. I guess I will try to touch on the network, given that prompt. Maybe you could talk a little bit about your spectrum positioning today. Obviously, one of your competitors announced a large deal. There's another block of spectrum, AWS3, that's speculated out there. It certainly seems like they're coming with more spectrum soon. You talked about not just defending but extending your lead over the next couple of years. Can you talk about where you're still deploying spectrum, maybe where there are opportunities to add, given the balance sheet strength you have, and other things you're doing on the technology side within the network to help extend the lead? That'd be great. Thank you.
Speaker #19: Given that prompt . But , you know , maybe you could talk a little bit about , you know , you know , your spectrum positioning today .
Speaker #19: Obviously one of your competitors announced a large deal . There's another block of spectrum AWS three that's speculated out there . So certainly seems like there , you know , they're coming with more spectrum soon .
Speaker #19: You talked about , you know , not just defending but extending your lead over the next couple of years . So if you could talk about , you know , what , your where you're still deploying spectrum , maybe where they're opportunities to add given the balance sheet strength you have and other things you're doing on the technology side within the network to help extend the lead , that'd be great .
Speaker #19: Thank you .
Speaker #7: I love it , Eric . All kidding aside , that's actually that's really important question . And maybe we start with Srini . You know , characterize what you saw in those transactions .
G. Michael Sievert: I love it. Eric, all kidding aside, that's actually a really important question. Maybe we start with Srini. You know, characterize what you saw in those transactions, maybe what our thinking, our thought process is and was. Maybe we can hear from John, too, because while spectrum's the lifeblood, we're the leaders here and intend to remain the leaders and extend our leadership. There's a lot more to network leadership than spectrum. First and foremost on spectrum, Srini.
Speaker #7: Maybe what our thinking , our thought process is and was and then maybe we can talk hear from John too , because while spectrum is the lifeblood , we're the leaders here and intend to remain the leaders and extend our leadership .
Speaker #7: There's a lot more to network leadership than spectrum . But first and foremost , on spectrum , Serena .
Speaker #8: So we love our current spectrum position . We not only have more spectrum than anyone else , we have better spectrum than anyone else .
Srinivasan Gopalan: We love our current spectrum position. We not only have more spectrum than anyone else, we have better spectrum than anyone else. That drives a lot of decisions. We see ourselves as incredibly responsible caretakers of your investment in us. Therefore, the way we think when spectrum comes up, and there's been quite a few secondary market transactions on spectrum, we go through the rigorous analysis of what is better. Is it better to buy the spectrum, or is it better to densify? Our answer in all of those cases was it was cheaper for us to densify than pay the price that was being asked in those secondary market transactions. Other people might have to make different choices. In some sense, the fact that they have to make different choices is a reflection of the gap in our spectrum position.
Speaker #8: Now that drives a lot of decisions and we see ourselves as kind of incredibly responsible caretakers of your investment in us . And therefore the way we think when spectrum comes up .
Speaker #8: And there's been quite a few secondary market transactions on spectrum , we go through kind of the rigorous analysis of what is better .
Speaker #8: Is it better to buy the spectrum, or is it better to densify? And our answer in all of those cases was that it was cheaper for us to densify than pay the price that was being asked in those secondary market transactions.
Speaker #8: Now , other people might have to make different choices . And in some sense , the fact that they have to make different choices is a reflection of the gap in our spectrum position .
Speaker #8: And that's the way we've thought of a lot of the conversations that have happened to date . Now , let me be also kind of crystal clear on one thing .
Srinivasan Gopalan: That's the way we've thought of a lot of the conversations that have happened to date. Let me be also crystal clear on one thing. My intent is not just to defend our spectrum leadership but to grow it. The good news is we see several opportunities to do that in the coming years, whether that's other strategic secondary opportunities or whether it's the auctions that will come by. We feel in a very, very good place to go out and defend and even expand our spectrum lead. Like Mike said, building the world's best network is a lot more than spectrum. John, maybe you can talk a bit about that.
Speaker #8: My intent is not just to defend our spectrum leadership , but to grow it . And the good news is we see several opportunities to do that in the coming years , whether that's other kind of strategic secondary opportunities or whether it's the auctions that will that will come by and we feel in a very , very good place to go out and defend and even expand our spectrum lead .
Speaker #8: But like Mike said , building the building , the world's best network is a lot more than spectrum . And John , maybe you can talk a bit about that .
Speaker #8: Absolutely . First of all , you know , I'm glad that there's actually not .
[Analyst]: Absolutely. First of all, you know, I'm glad that there's actually not that many questions on the network because I think the network speaks for itself. It is our product, and you can see its impact on customer acquisition and customer retention. Absolutely pleased to be where we are. A couple of words on our network leadership. Srini, you're right that it's more than spectrum. It starts with our cell sites. We have more sites than the competition, and the grid of our sites is actually the densest as well, built like a layered cake with the right technology and with the best propagating low band and mid band spectrum. Now, we were also the first to roll out our standalone 5G standalone network, and our competition has just now started getting started on it.
Speaker #20: That many questions on on the network because I think the network speaks for itself . It is our product . And and you can see its impact on customer acquisition and customer retention .
Speaker #20: So absolutely , please be where we are . A couple of words on on our network leadership . And you're right , that , you know , it's more than spectrum .
Speaker #20: It starts with our cell sites . We have more sites than the competition . And the grid of our sites are actually the densest as well built , like a layered cake with the right technology and with the best propagating low band and mid-band spectrum .
Speaker #20: Now , we were also the first to roll out our standalone 5G standalone network and our competition is just now getting started on it , and with this standalone network , we have launched new capabilities like slicing that is actually powering new services like T priority for first responders and super mobile .
[Analyst]: With this standalone network, we have launched new capabilities like slicing that is actually powering new services like T-Priority for first responders and SuperMobile. We were also first to roll out a 5G Advanced network earlier this year, and with that, we have actually unlocked new capabilities ahead of our competition, like low latency, application aware, called L4S, better performance on uplink and downlink. It is not surprising at all to us that the latest smartphones released to the market performed best on our network. Like Srini said, 90% faster on the iPhone 17 than one of our competitors. Not to leave our Androids, the Samsung S25 is more than 100% faster than that same competitor. By the way, I can go on and on.
Speaker #20: We will also be the first to roll out a 5G Advanced network. Earlier this year, with that, we have actually unlocked new capabilities ahead of our competition, like low latency and application awareness called L-4s.
Speaker #20: Better performance on uplink and downlink. It is not surprising at all to us that, you know, the latest smartphones released to the market perform best on our network.
Speaker #20: Like Srini said , 90% faster on iPhone 17 than one of our competitors , and not to leave out Android . The Samsung S25 is more than 100% faster than than that same competitor , right ?
Speaker #20: And by the way , I can go on and on . But one thing the Apple Watch this year that was released this year actually runs on our 5G advanced network using a new format called 5G Rate Cap , which is actually , for the first time , 5G optimized for wearables , which means longer battery life , lower latency and higher throughput than those LTE watches that is running on our competitors network .
[Analyst]: One thing, the Apple Watch that was released this year actually runs on our 5G Advanced network using a new format called 5G RateCap, which is actually, for the first time, 5G optimized for wearables, which means longer battery life, lower latency, and higher throughputs than those LTE watches that are running on our competitors' network. I can go on and on, but, you know, Eric and Mike, this is, you know, we won't stop. With this asset and these capabilities, we are going to maintain and extend our lead for years to come.
Speaker #20: I can go on and on , but you know , Eric and Mike , this is , you know , we won't stop and with this assets and these capabilities , we are going to maintain and extend our lead for years to come .
Speaker #6: Great . Thanks so much , John . Operator . Let's actually take our final question from the phone , please .
Cathy Yao: Great. Thanks so much, John. Operator, let's actually take our final question from the phone, please.
Speaker #5: Yes , ma'am . That will come from canon Venkateshwar with Barclays . Please go ahead .
G. Michael Sievert: Yes, ma'am. That will come from Kannan Venkateshwar with Barclays. Please go ahead.
Speaker #21: Thank you . Maybe streaming one on the balance sheet . And Peter for you as well . But broadly , when we think about the differences between the different operators right now , one of the biggest advantages you guys have versus your peers is you have massive balance sheet capacity and your peers are now more constrained .
G. Michael Sievert: Thank you. Maybe Srini, one on the balance sheet, and Peter, for you as well. Broadly, when we think about the differences between the different operators right now, one of the biggest advantages you guys have versus your peers is you have massive balance sheet capacity, and your peers are now more constrained. It might be useful to get your perspective on how you could leverage that position. I mean, you could obviously drive a more aggressive go-to-market strategy using that. You could also use that balance sheet in other ways, like you mentioned, spectrum or fiber or something along those lines. It would be good to get some perspective on how you view your position from a balance sheet perspective and how you plan to use that. Thank you.
Speaker #21: There might be , you know , a useful to get your perspective on how you could leverage that position . I mean , you could obviously drive more aggressive , go to market strategy using that .
Speaker #21: But you could also use that balance sheet in other ways, like you mentioned, spectrum or fiber or something along those lines.
Speaker #21: So would be good to get some perspective on how you view your position from a balance sheet perspective and how you plan to use that .
Speaker #21: Thank you .
Speaker #18: Great .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Great, thanks, Kannan. Look, we're delighted we have the strength in the balance sheet. The way we think about it is strength in balance sheet does not take away our responsibility to be incredibly thoughtful stewards of your capital. We do have strength in the balance sheet. That doesn't translate into, therefore, let's go do a bunch of things which don't make sense from a capital allocation perspective. One of the most rigorous processes we follow is how we thoughtfully allocate capital. Right now, you've talked about fiber. We will continue to pursue a capital-light strategy in fiber because it brings us a bunch of other skills that our partners bring to the table. Go-to-market, we will focus that based on what CLVs make sense, not because we have more balance sheet strength.
Speaker #8: Thanks , Conan . Look , we're delighted we have the strength in the balance sheet and the way we think about it is strength and balance sheet does not take away our responsibility to be incredibly thoughtful stewards of your capital .
Speaker #8: So we do have strength in the balance sheet. That doesn't translate into... Therefore, let's go do a bunch of things which don't make sense from a capital allocation perspective.
Speaker #8: One of the most rigorous processes we follow is how we thoughtfully allocate capital . Right now , you've talked about fiber . We will continue to pursue a capital light strategy and fiber because it brings us a bunch of other skills that our partners bring to the table , go to market .
Speaker #8: We will focus that based on what clvs make sense , not because we have more balance sheet strength from a from a spectrum perspective .
Srinivasan Gopalan: From a spectrum perspective, we'll again follow the rigorous process of buying spectrum that makes sense from our portfolio perspective, buying spectrum where it passes our test of it's better to buy than to build. Love the balance sheet strength, but let's be clear, we're not going to be any less responsible because we're strong.
Speaker #8: We'll again follow the rigorous process of buying spectrum that makes sense from our portfolio perspective . Buying spectrum where it passes our test of it's better to buy than to build .
Speaker #8: So love the balance sheet strength . But let's be clear we're not going to be any less responsible because we're strong .
Speaker #7: I love that . And you .
G. Michael Sievert: I love that. You know, the other thing that didn't come out in our spectrum discussion is our speculation about the future. One of the things that has happened this year is that auction authority has been restored to the FCC by Congress, along with a mandate to make a large amount of spectrum available. Spectrum prices, as always, will be a function of supply and demand. We see a lot of supply coming. Prices right now in the market are a function of low supply and a function of a once-in-a-generation sort of existential threat faced by our benchmark competitors at the time of the C-band auction created by T-Mobile that pushed prices to unprecedented levels. That's where they stay. That will probably change over time. That's our bet.
Speaker #12: Know the .
Speaker #7: Other thing , we didn't come out in our spectrum discussion is sort of our speculation about the future . I mean , one of the things that has happened this year is that auction authority has been restored to the FCC by Congress , along with a mandate to make a large amount of spectrum available and spectrum prices , as always , will be a function of supply and demand .
Speaker #7: We see a lot of supply coming . Price is right now in the market are a function of low supply and a function of a once in a generation sort of existential threat faced by our benchmark competitors .
Speaker #7: At the time of the C-band auction created by T-Mobile that pushed prices to unprecedented levels . And that's where they stay . That will that will probably change over time .
Speaker #7: That's our that's our bet . And , you know the difference between us and others is that they might be in a business place where they need to act right now at these elevated prices , where we have the ability to be patient and pick our moments on spectrum , and we see those moments coming .
G. Michael Sievert: The difference between us and others is that they might be in a business place where they need to act right now at these elevated prices, where we have the ability to be patient and pick our moments on spectrum. We see those moments coming. As Srini says, we will not just defend but extend our lead over time and certainly, entering those with a strong balance sheet is an element of it. I just love your point that, then, like now, we will be thoughtful, and we will be great stewards of your capital. Hopefully, that helps.
Speaker #7: So we as says , we will not just defend but extend our lead over time . And certainly , you know , entering those with a strong balance sheet is an element of it .
Speaker #7: And I just love your point that , you know , then like now we will be thoughtful and we will be great stewards of your capital .
Speaker #7: So hopefully that helps .
Speaker #6: Thanks , Mike . All right . That's all the time we have today for questions . Mike , before I turn the call back over to you , I'm first going to hand the mic over to Srini for just a couple of brief comments .
Cathy Yao: Thanks, Mike. All right. That's all the time we have today for questions. Mike, before I turn the call back over to you, I'm first going to hand the mic over to Srini for just a couple brief comments.
Speaker #18: I don't know if you guys are watching .
G. Michael Sievert: I don't know if you guys are watching, I don't know if you're watching this instead of listening to it. They just brought us all champagne. Is that because of our quarter? I'm not sure. It's gotta be because of our quarter.
Speaker #7: I don't if you're watching this or of listening to it . They just brought us all champagne . Is that because of our quarter ?
Speaker #7: It's got to be because of our quarter ?
Speaker #22: Yeah . That's what we do . Mike . Look , I just wanted to say .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Yeah. Mike, I just wanted to say thank you so much. You've shown us what the T-Mobile spirit truly is like. You've shown us what it is to make bold bets. You've shown us the kind of grit that turns kind of ambitious goals into everyday wins. For me, thank you for everything. Thank you for everything you've done, for everything you've done for this team. Personally, thank you for being a great friend, thought partner, and also just a wonderful human being. I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with you in our next chapter.
Speaker #8: Thank you so much . You've shown us what the Uncarrier spirit truly is like . You've shown us what it is to make bold bets .
Speaker #8: You've shown us the kind of grit that turns kind of ambitious goals into everyday wins . And for me , thank you for everything .
Speaker #8: Thank you . Everything you've done , for everything you've done for this team . And personally , thank you for being a great friend .
Speaker #8: Thought partner and also just a wonderful human being . And I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with you in our next chapter .
Speaker #7: All right .
Speaker #22: Thanks man . Hopefully over the last thank you guys .
G. Michael Sievert: All right. Thank you.
Srinivasan Gopalan: Thank you, Mike.
G. Michael Sievert: Hopefully, over the last hour, what you saw is what I told you a month ago, that this company is in great hands. We heard mostly from Srini today. That wasn't accidental. We wanted you to hear his voice and his vision for the future. You are going to be an exceptional leader for us and for this company. Of course, you're going to have the benefit of being backed by the best management team in American business. You guys, it's been an honor and a privilege of a lifetime to be the CEO, and I look forward to continuing to support this team in my new role. I promise we don't plan to spend the day running your company day drinking. Thanks for joining the call, everybody. Cheers.
Speaker #7: Hopefully over the last hour , what you saw is what I told you a month ago that this company is in great hands .
Speaker #7: We heard mostly from Srini today that wasn't accidental . We wanted you to hear his voice and his vision for the future . You are going to be an exceptional leader for us and for this company .
Speaker #7: And of course , you're going to have the benefit of being backed by the best management team in American business . So you guys , it's been an honor and a privilege of a lifetime to be the CEO .
Speaker #7: And I look forward to continuing to support this team in my new role . I promise we don't plan to spend the day running your company , day drinking .
Speaker #22: Thanks for .
Speaker #7: Thanks for joining the call . Everybody . Cheers .
Speaker #23: Cheers , cheers , guys . Thank you . All right .
Srinivasan Gopalan: Cheers. Cheers.
Cathy Yao: Thanks, guys.
G. Michael Sievert: Thank you. All right.
Speaker #5: Ladies and gentlemen , this concludes the T-Mobile third quarter 2020 earnings call . Thank you for your participation . You may now disconnect and have a pleasant day .
Andre Almeida: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the T-Mobile US Inc. third quarter 2025 earnings call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect and have a pleasant day.