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Can T-Mobile Sustain Its Strong Customer Growth Momentum?
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Key Takeaways
T-Mobile added 217,000 postpaid net accounts and more than 0.5 million broadband net additions in Q1 2026.
TMUS raised 2026 postpaid net account guidance and expects 2.5%-3% full-year postpaid ARPA growth.
Competition in the U.S. telecom market remains intense as rivals invest in wireless and broadband expansion.
T-Mobile, US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) continues to benefit from healthy demand trends across wireless and broadband services. In the first quarter of 2026, the company added 217,000 postpaid net accounts, up 6% year over year. Total postpaid accounts reached 34.4 million. Superior network quality, compelling value offerings and enhanced customer experience are driving customer addition.
Postpaid Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) increased 3.9% year over year to $151.93. Successful rate plan optimization, higher fee revenues, increased customer density per account and continued adoption of 5G broadband and T-Mobile for Business services are driving growth.
It continues to expand beyond traditional wireless offerings. The company added more than 0.5 million broadband net additions in the first quarter, supported by accelerating 5G broadband adoption and favorable customer experience metrics. Management highlighted that fixed wireless speeds remain ahead of peers while fiber partnerships and joint ventures are expanding the company’s addressable market in a capital-efficient manner.
Strong momentum prompted T-Mobile to raise guidance for 2026. The company expects postpaid net account addition of 950,000 to 1.05 million, up from prior guidance of 900,000 to 1.0 million. It expects full-year postpaid ARPA growth of 2.5-3%.
How Are Competitors Faring?
T-Mobile faces competition from AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) and Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ - Free Report) in the U.S. telecom market. AT&T continues to invest in fiber and 5G to expand advanced Internet reach and drive more households to buy wireless and home Internet together. In first-quarter 2026, the company reported 584,000 total fiber and fixed wireless advanced Internet customer net additions, including 512,000 consumer advanced home Internet net adds. Within that, AT&T added 273,000 fiber net adds and 239,000 AT&T Internet Air net adds. Postpaid phone net adds were 294,000, and postpaid phone churn was 0.89%.
In first-quarter 2026, Verizon added 55,000 postpaid phone net additions, the first positive first-quarter total since 2013, and management tied the year-over-year swing of more than 340,000 to a higher mix of new-to-Verizon gross additions and a shift away from relying on heavy promotions. Verizon’s broadband build continues to broaden its addressable market and create more room to sell converged offers over time. In first-quarter 2026, Verizon delivered 341,000 broadband net additions, including 214,000 fixed wireless access net additions and 127,000 fiber broadband net additions, bringing fixed wireless access and fiber broadband connections to about 16.8 million.
TMUS’ Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
T-Mobile has declined 19.6% over the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 16.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 15.78, higher than the 11.06 for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TMUS’ earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have declined over the past 60 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Can T-Mobile Sustain Its Strong Customer Growth Momentum?
Key Takeaways
T-Mobile, US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) continues to benefit from healthy demand trends across wireless and broadband services. In the first quarter of 2026, the company added 217,000 postpaid net accounts, up 6% year over year. Total postpaid accounts reached 34.4 million. Superior network quality, compelling value offerings and enhanced customer experience are driving customer addition.
Postpaid Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) increased 3.9% year over year to $151.93. Successful rate plan optimization, higher fee revenues, increased customer density per account and continued adoption of 5G broadband and T-Mobile for Business services are driving growth.
It continues to expand beyond traditional wireless offerings. The company added more than 0.5 million broadband net additions in the first quarter, supported by accelerating 5G broadband adoption and favorable customer experience metrics. Management highlighted that fixed wireless speeds remain ahead of peers while fiber partnerships and joint ventures are expanding the company’s addressable market in a capital-efficient manner.
Strong momentum prompted T-Mobile to raise guidance for 2026. The company expects postpaid net account addition of 950,000 to 1.05 million, up from prior guidance of 900,000 to 1.0 million. It expects full-year postpaid ARPA growth of 2.5-3%.
How Are Competitors Faring?
T-Mobile faces competition from AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) and Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ - Free Report) in the U.S. telecom market. AT&T continues to invest in fiber and 5G to expand advanced Internet reach and drive more households to buy wireless and home Internet together. In first-quarter 2026, the company reported 584,000 total fiber and fixed wireless advanced Internet customer net additions, including 512,000 consumer advanced home Internet net adds. Within that, AT&T added 273,000 fiber net adds and 239,000 AT&T Internet Air net adds. Postpaid phone net adds were 294,000, and postpaid phone churn was 0.89%.
In first-quarter 2026, Verizon added 55,000 postpaid phone net additions, the first positive first-quarter total since 2013, and management tied the year-over-year swing of more than 340,000 to a higher mix of new-to-Verizon gross additions and a shift away from relying on heavy promotions. Verizon’s broadband build continues to broaden its addressable market and create more room to sell converged offers over time. In first-quarter 2026, Verizon delivered 341,000 broadband net additions, including 214,000 fixed wireless access net additions and 127,000 fiber broadband net additions, bringing fixed wireless access and fiber broadband connections to about 16.8 million.
TMUS’ Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
T-Mobile has declined 19.6% over the past year compared with the industry’s decline of 16.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 15.78, higher than the 11.06 for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TMUS’ earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have declined over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
T-Mobile currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.