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Sprint (S) Q3 Loss Betters Estimates, Revenues Beat

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Sprint Corp. (S - Free Report) is an U.S. national wireless carrier. Headquartered in Kansas, Sprint is a telecommunication company that provides wireless services and is also an internet service provider. The company operates in two segments: Wireless and Wireline.

Sprint is on track with its network modernization and integration efforts, which has fortified its position in the wireless industry. We believe these efforts have helped the company witness substantial wireless customer addition in the last reported second quarter of fiscal 2017, in which the company had had 54.027 million (up 0.12% year over year) wireless connections. We also believe that efficient usage of capital, reduction of cell sites, elimination of dual networks, backhaul efficiencies, reduced churn, lower roaming charges and energy cost savings will act as major positives to fourth-quarter results.

We are also impressed with Sprint’s efforts to lure customers from rival carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Communications by offering attractive promotional plans and lucrative discounts. However, this has led to high cash burn and heavy losses for the company. Additionally, the company has a debt-laden balance sheet and negative operating cash flow. Moreover, it has been witnessing losses since 2007. Notably, such high debt levels, decreasing cash flows and liquidity pressure may adversely affect the company’s cost of capital while trying to raise new funds for network expansion.

Zacks Rank: Sprint currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings:  Sprint’s third-quarter fiscal 2017 net loss was 2 cents per share as against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents.  Investors should note that these figures take out stock option expenses.

Revenue:   Sprint reported total revenue of $8,239 million, down 3.6% year over year and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8,178.2 million.

Key States to Note:  In the reported quarter, Sprint witnessed net additions of 3,85,000 wireless customers, including postpaid net gain of 2,56,000, prepaid net additions of 63,000, and wholesale and affiliate net additions of 66,000. Sprint's focus on delivering the most attractive value proposition in wireless resulted in 1,84,000 postpaid phone net additions in the quarter, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of net additions. Quarterly total retail postpaid churn rate was 1.80% compared with 1.67% in the year-ago quarter. Total retail prepaid churn rate was 4.63% versus 5.74% in the year-ago quarter. Postpaid phone churn was 1.71% as against 1.57% in the prior-year quarter.

Sprint Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

Sprint Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Sprint Corporation Quote

Check back later for our full write up on this Sprint earnings report later!

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