Q3 FY2026
Filed Oct 28, 2026T-Mobile Delivers Strong Account and ARPA Growth, Translating into Industry-Leading Service Revenue, Profitability and EPS Growth
Q3 service revenue, postpaid service revenue, net income, diluted EPS and Core Adjusted EBITDA all increased year-over-year, while postpaid ARPA and postpaid accounts also rose. The company raised the midpoints of Core Adjusted EBITDA, net cash provided by operating activities and Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total service revenues, Q3 2026GAAP | $19.38B | 2.1 % | 6.2 % |
| Postpaid service revenues, Q3 2026GAAP | $16.27B | 2.6 % | 9.3 % |
| Total revenues, Q3 2026GAAP | $23.58B | 3.5 % | 7.4 % |
| Operating income, Q3 2026GAAP | $5.66B | – | – |
| Net income, Q3 2026GAAP | $3.46B | 6.7 % | 27.3 % |
| Diluted EPS, Q3 2026GAAP | $ 3.22 | 7.7 % | 33.6 % |
| Adjusted EBITDA, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $9.62B | 0.9 % | 10.8 % |
| Core Adjusted EBITDA, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $9.62B | 0.9 % | 10.8 % |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, Q3 2026GAAP | $7.34B | (2.1) % | (1.6) % |
| Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, Q3 2026GAAP | $2.27B | (16.0) % | (14.0) % |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $5.07B | 5.7 % | 5.3 % |
| Net cash provided by operating activities margin, Q3 2026non-GAAP | 37.9 % | – | – |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow margin, Q3 2026non-GAAP | 26.2 % | – | – |
| Postpaid net account additions, Q3 2026other | 274K | – | – |
| Total postpaid accounts, end of period, Q3 2026other | 34.97M | – | 3% |
| Postpaid account churn, Q3 2026other | 1.09 % | – | – |
| Postpaid ARPA, Q3 2026other | $ 155.73 | – | 4% |
| Total service revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $57.19B | – | 8.7 % |
| Postpaid service revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $47.75B | – | 12.2 % |
| Total revenues, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $69.48B | – | 8.6 % |
| Net income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $9.20B | – | 3.5 % |
| Diluted EPS, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 8.47 | – | 8.3 % |
| Core Adjusted EBITDA, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $28.40B | – | 11.5 % |
| Net cash provided by operating activities, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $22.06B | – | 3.6 % |
| Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $7.60B | – | 1.5 % |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $14.47B | – | 4.8 % |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postpaid service revenuesPostpaid ARPA of $ 155.73 and postpaid net account additions of 274 thousand. | $16.27B | 2.6 % | 9.3 % |
2026 outlook
- Tax ratebetween 24% and 25%
- NotePostpaid net account additions: approximately 1.0 million
- NoteCore Adjusted EBITDA: between $37.35 billion and $37.45 billion
- NoteNet cash provided by operating activities, including net payments for UScellular merger-related costs: between $28.7 billion and $28.8 billion
- NoteCash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest: approximately $10.0 billion
- NoteAdjusted Free Cash Flow, including net payments for UScellular merger-related costs: between $18.7 billion and $18.8 billion
- NoteAdjusted Free Cash Flow guidance does not assume any material net cash inflows from securitization.
Capital returns
- Stockholder Returns of $3.5 billion in Q3 2026.
- Common stock repurchases of $2.4 billion in Q3 2026.
- Cash dividends of $1.1 billion in Q3 2026.
- Current stockholder return authorization of up to $18.2 billion through December 31, 2026.
- Cumulative stockholder returns of $58.1 billion since program inception, split across stock repurchases of $46.7 billion and cash dividends of $11.5 billion.
What drove it
- Postpaid ARPA of $ 155.73 grew 4% year-over-year.
- Postpaid net account additions were 274 thousand, and total postpaid accounts were 34,974 thousand at period end.
- Total service revenues increased 6.2 % year-over-year and postpaid service revenues increased 9.3 % year-over-year.
- Core Adjusted EBITDA increased 10.8 % year-over-year to $ 9,620 million.
- Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, decreased 14.0 % year-over-year.
Concerns
- Postpaid account churn was 1.09 %, compared with 0.97 % in Q3 2025 and 0.99 % in Q2 2026.
- Net cash provided by operating activities decreased (1.6) % year-over-year and (2.1) % sequentially.
- Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, increased 1.5 % for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
- The filing identifies substantial indebtedness, competition, costs, regulatory matters, cybersecurity, acquisition execution and macroeconomic conditions among its forward-looking risks.
What to watch
- Progress toward approximately 1.0 million postpaid net account additions for 2026.
- Delivery against Core Adjusted EBITDA guidance of between $37.35 billion and $37.45 billion.
- Delivery against net cash provided by operating activities guidance of between $28.7 billion and $28.8 billion.
- Delivery against Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance of between $18.7 billion and $18.8 billion.
- Postpaid account churn and the continuation of postpaid ARPA growth.
- UScellular merger-related costs, which were $ 129 million in Q3 2026 and $ 717 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Net cash provided by operating activities was $ 7,341 million in Q3 2026.
- Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, were $ 2,270 million in Q3 2026.
- Adjusted Free Cash Flow was $ 5,071 million in Q3 2026.
- Cash and debt balances were not reported in the filing text.
Analysis
T-Mobile reported broad Q3 growth across its service, profitability and subscriber-account measures. Total service revenues were $ 19,375 million, up 6.2 %, while postpaid service revenues were $ 16,269 million, up 9.3 %. Total revenues were $ 23,584 million, up 7.4 %. The customer relationship metrics were also positive: postpaid ARPA was $ 155.73, up 4% year-over-year, postpaid net account additions were 274 thousand, and total postpaid accounts reached 34,974 thousand, up 3% year-over-year.
Profitability growth exceeded service-revenue growth in the quarter. Net income was $ 3,455 million, up 27.3 %, diluted EPS was $ 3.22, up 33.6 %, and operating income was $ 5,661 million. Core Adjusted EBITDA was $ 9,620 million, up 10.8 %, with the same reported value as Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 2026. The company also reported $ 129 million of UScellular merger-related costs, $ 38 million of network restructuring initiative costs, and $ 131 million of Other, net in its Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation.
Cash generation remained substantial, although operating cash flow declined from both comparison periods. Net cash provided by operating activities was $ 7,341 million, down (1.6) % year-over-year and down (2.1) % sequentially. Lower cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, at $ 2,270 million supported Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $ 5,071 million, up 5.3 % year-over-year. Net cash provided by operating activities margin was 37.9 %, while Adjusted Free Cash Flow margin was 26.2 %.
Capital allocation included $3.5 billion of Q3 stockholder returns, comprising $2.4 billion in common stock repurchases and $1.1 billion in cash dividends. The company cited a current stockholder return authorization of up to $18.2 billion through December 31, 2026. The filing did not provide quarter-end cash or debt balances, limiting balance-sheet assessment from this release.
The company raised guidance at the midpoint for Core Adjusted EBITDA, net cash provided by operating activities and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, while lowering its effective tax rate range. Core Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be between $37.35 billion and $37.45 billion, net cash provided by operating activities between $28.7 billion and $28.8 billion, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow between $18.7 billion and $18.8 billion. Postpaid net account additions remain expected to be approximately 1.0 million. The main operating datapoint requiring attention is postpaid account churn of 1.09 %, above both Q3 2025 and Q2 2026 levels.
Management, verbatim
Q3 marked another strong quarter and is further proof that our winning formula of the best network, best value, and best experiences drives durable and profitable growth.
Srini Gopalan, CEO of T-Mobile
More families and businesses are choosing T-Mobile, fueling our industry-leading financial growth.
Srini Gopalan, CEO of T-Mobile
We have a tremendous growth runway ahead across core wireless, broadband, and smart adjacencies, and we’re just getting started.
Srini Gopalan, CEO of T-Mobile
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Gross profit and gross margin were not reported in the filing text.
- Operating expenses were not reported as a consolidated line item in the filing text.
- GAAP effective tax rate for Q3 2026 was not reported in the filing text.
- Cash balance was not reported in the filing text.
- Debt balance was not reported in the filing text.
- Prior-release outlook was not separately provided; therefore, no reported-period comparison against prior guidance is included.
- No revenue, gross margin or operating-expense guidance was reported.
Written by an AI language model from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure is checked against the filing text, and a metric the filing does not print, or whose value, prior period and change do not add up, is dropped from the metrics. The model can still misread a table, in the metrics or in the text, so check a number in the filing before you rely on it. Consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.