T-Mobile US 8-K
PositiveEarningsGuidance raised
Higher fees and plan changes lift postpaid ARPA as churn rises; FY2026 Adjusted Free Cash Flow outlook increases to $18.7B–$18.8B.
Filed 2026-10-28 16:02 ET
- 2.02 Results of Operations
- 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
Summary
Q3 2026 results with revised FY2026 guidance. T-Mobile’s postpaid account and ARPA growth supported higher service revenue, net income and adjusted cash flow, while operating cash flow declined slightly year over year. The company raised its 2026 Core Adjusted EBITDA, operating cash flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow outlooks, lowered its effective tax-rate outlook, and left postpaid net-addition and capital-expenditure outlooks unchanged.
Key Figures
| Metric | Q3 2026 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $23.6B, +7.4% Y/Y | $69.5B, +8.6% Y/Y |
| Service revenue | $19.4B, +6.2% Y/Y | $57.2B, +8.7% Y/Y |
| Operating income | $5.66B, +25.0% Y/Y | $15.6B, +7.6% Y/Y |
| Net income (GAAP) | $3.46B, +27.3% Y/Y | $9.20B, +3.5% Y/Y |
| Core Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) | $9.62B, +10.8% Y/Y | $28.4B, +11.5% Y/Y |
| Diluted EPS | $3.22, +33.6% Y/Y | $8.47, +8.3% Y/Y |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $7.34B, -1.6% Y/Y | $22.1B, +3.6% Y/Y |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP) | $5.07B, +5.3% Y/Y | $14.5B, +4.8% Y/Y |
- Postpaid net additions were 274,000, down from 396,000 a year earlier; postpaid accounts reached 35.0M, up 3%. Postpaid ARPA, average monthly postpaid service revenue per account, rose 4% to $155.73, while churn increased to 1.09% from 0.97%. T-Mobile attributed higher churn and lower additions primarily to more high-churn broadband-only accounts and the temporary effect of rate-plan modernization; ARPA benefited from higher fees, plan changes and more customers per account.
- Core Adjusted EBITDA growth reflected higher service revenue and equipment revenue excluding lease revenue, partly offset by higher equipment and service costs. Equipment revenue rose 13%, driven by higher prices and a greater mix of high-end phones, partly offset by fewer devices sold.
- Q3 stockholder returns totaled $3.5B, including $2.4B to repurchase 13.6M shares and $1.1B in dividends. Shares outstanding fell 44.1M from year-end through 9M 2026. Total debt excluding tower obligations was $86.0B and net debt on that basis was $80.3B; cash and cash equivalents were $5.62B. The company declared a $1.17-per-share dividend, payable 12/10/2026 to holders of record 11/25/2026.
Guidance
| Metric | Period | Guidance | Prior | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postpaid net account additions | FY2026 | ≈1.0M | 950,000–1.05M | Reaffirmed |
| Effective tax rate | FY2026 | 24%–25% | 25%–26% | Lowered |
| Core Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) | FY2026 | $37.35B–$37.45B | $37.1B–$37.5B | Raised |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, including net payments for UScellular merger-related costs | FY2026 | $28.7B–$28.8B | $28.4B–$28.8B | Raised |
| Capital expenditures, including capitalized interest | FY2026 | ≈$10.0B | ≈$10.0B | Reaffirmed |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP), including net payments for UScellular merger-related costs | FY2026 | $18.7B–$18.8B | $18.4B–$18.8B | Raised |
Investor Takeaways
- FY2026 postpaid net additions versus the ≈1.0M outlook, alongside postpaid ARPA and churn, will show whether customer growth and account monetization remain durable.
- FY2026 Core Adjusted EBITDA of $37.35B–$37.45B and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $18.7B–$18.8B will test whether customer and service-revenue growth translates into the raised profitability and cash-flow outlooks.
The summary is written by an AI model reading the filing.
Model 005 · prompt v111 · 2026-10-30 19:20:45Z