Now that the pandemic boom is behind us, we can’t expect wireless carriers to turn in results as good as those achieved during the Covid-19 pandemic, but they will likely still impress.
The big wireless operators are expected to collectively gain 1.62 million postpaid customers during Q1 2024, a decline of 236,000 compared to the same period last year. The silver lining is that the drop was projected to be much worse.
This sentiment is echoed by Wolfe Research, which expects the operators to add 7.6 million new postpaid phone subscribers during the year, which is above the historical norms of 6 million.
T-Mobile is predicted to be the best performer during Q1
Analysts at TD Cowen predict that T-Mobile will sign up 473,000 postpaid phone customers during the first quarter of 2024. The company has been expanding its business in rural areas and also growing its sales among corporate customers.
AT&T is expected to add 251,000 new postpaid customers – considerably lower than last year’s 424,000 figure. This can partially be attributed to the network outage and cybersecurity incident the company suffered from during the quarter.
Verizon is predicted to lose 201,000 postpaid phone customers but the carrier seems to be on the right path, improving its business by taking steps such as expanding the midband 5G network.
Verizon will be the first one to report its first-quarter financials on April 22. AT&T will announce its Q1 results on April 24, followed by T-Mobile on April 25.
