Analyst(s): Ron Westfall
Publication Date: April 25, 2025
T-Mobile’s Q1 2025 earnings showcased strong financial performance with $20.89 billion in revenue, industry-leading customer growth of 1.3 million postpaid net additions, and raised full-year guidance, driven by its agile 5G network and strategic broadband expansion.
What is Covered in this Article:
- T-Mobile’s Q1 FY 2025 financial results
- Added 1.3 million postpaid net customers, including 495K postpaid phone additions and 463K high-speed internet customers, reaching over 6 million broadband subscribers.
- Rolls out nationwide 5G Advanced network, leveraging its standalone 5G core.
- T-Satellite is now ready for prime time.
- T-Fiber to expand fiber services in mid-Atlantic states, strengthening T-Mobile’s broadband market presence, augmenting its 5% service revenue growth to $16.9 billion.
The News: T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) reported Q1 FY 2025 revenue of $20.89 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $20.62 billion and is an increase over revenue of $19.59 billion from the same period last year, including quarterly earnings of $2.58 per share. Service revenues of $16.9 billion grew 5% year-over-year, enabling T-Mobile to assert best-in-industry growth, while postpaid service revenues of $13.6 billion grew 8% year-over-year, also best-in-industry growth.
Net income of $3.0 billion grew 24% year-over-year, indicating the best ever Q1. Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $2.58 grew 29% year-over-year, the best ever Q1, and core adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 billion grew 8% year-over-year. Net cash provided by operating activities of $6.8 billion grew 35% year-over-year, alongside adjusted free cash flow of $4.4 billion, which grew 31% year-over-year, best Q1.
“T-Mobile delivered big yet again with outstanding Q1 results across wireless and broadband, including our best ever Q1 total postpaid customer gross and net additions—proof that our consistent customer-first focus has put us in the best position to succeed in this dynamic environment,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “A record number of customers chose the Un-carrier in Q1 — we grew postpaid gross additions year-over-year across the board, and our High Speed Internet business led the industry in net customer additions for the 13th straight quarter. And all of this customer growth drove fantastic financial growth with strong net cash provided by operating activities and our highest-ever Q1 Adjusted Free Cash Flow. This is a great start to 2025, and we’re excited about what’s to come as we continue to deliver innovative experiences, our best-in-class network, and unmatched value to customers.”
T-Mobile Q1 FY 2025: Delivers Wireless and Broadband Milestones
Analyst Take: T-Mobile’s Q1 2025 earnings showcased robust financial and operational performance, reinforcing its competitive edge in the U.S. wireless industry. The company reported $20.89 billion in revenue, a 6.6% year-over-year increase, surpassing estimates of $20.62 billion, while EPS of $2.58 beat consensus forecasts of $2.46. Net income rose 24% to $2.95 billion, and adjusted EBITDA grew 7.9% to $8.26 billion, exceeding expectations.
T-Mobile also raised its full-year guidance for adjusted free cash flow to $17.5-$18 billion, reflecting confidence in sustained growth. Customer growth was highlighted, with 1.3 million postpaid net additions, including 495,000 postpaid phone additions and 463,000 high-speed internet customers, pushing its broadband base past 6 million. This performance was underpinned by low churn rates and a leading 5G network, recognized by Ookla and Opensignal for superior speed, video quality, and latency.
Strategically, T-Mobile continues differentiating itself through network excellence, value, and customer experience, driving momentum in a moderating industry. The company announced a joint venture to expand its fiber service (T-Fiber) in the mid-Atlantic states, signaling deeper broadband market penetration. Service revenues grew 5% to $16.9 billion, with postpaid service revenues up 8% to $13.6 billion, both leading the industry. T-Mobile returned $4.3 billion to stockholders in Q1, aligning with its $80 billion investment and return plan through 2027. With raised guidance and a record-setting outlook for 5.5-6 million postpaid net additions in 2025, T-Mobile remains well-positioned for continued growth.
T-Mobile Dazzles with 5G Advanced Network Breakthrough
T-Mobile’s nationwide rollout of a 5G Advanced network, leveraging its standalone (SA) 5G core, is a transformative move to enhance customer experiences by delivering unprecedented speed, reliability, and tailored connectivity. The SA core, first launched by T-Mobile in 2020, enables advanced carrier aggregation, achieving a record-breaking 6.3 Gbps downlink speed in a March 2025 field test with Nokia and Qualcomm on a Samsung Galaxy S25, supporting data-heavy applications such as AR/VR, 4K streaming, and cloud gaming.
Dynamic network slicing enables T-Mobile to allocate resources for specific needs, such as low-latency slices for autonomous vehicles or high-capacity slices for fixed wireless, while AI-driven management and Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput (L4S) technology reduce latency by up to 40%, improving real-time applications like XR and video conferencing. From my view, these capabilities can ensure customers experience high-performance connectivity, even in congested areas, while efficient IoT throughput through Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology supports billions of devices for smart homes, healthcare, and industrial automation, driving innovation across sectors.
This rollout is critical for the mobile industry as it sets a new benchmark for network performance and accelerates the adoption of next-generation technologies. It gives T-Mobile a competitive edge over rivals, especially AT&T and Verizon, which trail in SA 5G deployment. The 5G Advanced network’s scalability, covering over 330 million people, supports emerging use cases like smart cities and remote surgeries, fostering economic growth and enabling developers to create immersive, responsive applications.
Dynamic slicing and high-speed connectivity create monetization opportunities through customized services, while low-latency and IoT efficiency attract enterprises pursuing AI automation and digital transformation. As noted in T-Mobile’s Q1 2025 earnings, with 1.3 million postpaid net additions and 6 million broadband customers, this network leadership drives market share and positions T-Mobile as a mobile ecosystem pacesetter, shaping the industry’s evolution toward 5GA and 6G and a more connected, innovative ecosystem.
T-Satellite: Unbound and Profound
In partnership with Starlink, T-Mobile’s beta launch of T-Satellite introduces the lone-standing U.S. space-based mobile network that connects most modern smartphones to satellite networks, delivering a direct-to-cell experience without requiring specialized hardware. This initiative leverages over 565 Starlink satellites to cover more than 500,000 square miles of U.S. terrain, equivalent to twice the size of Texas, where terrestrial cell towers cannot reach.
From my perspective, the mobile ecosystem impact of T-Satellite is profound, as it redefines connectivity standards, cultivates competition, and drives innovation across consumer and enterprise applications. T-Mobile’s T-Satellite beta, offering free satellite texting to all enrolled users regardless of carrier (with a planned $10/month fee for non-T-Mobile users unveiled by CEO Mike Sievert on the Q1 2025 call), shakes up the mobile market, compelling AT&T and Verizon to hasten their lagging satellite initiatives, which rely on just six AST SpaceMobile satellites as of early 2025. This open-access strategy boosts T-Mobile’s market reach, potentially drawing competitors’ customers to its terrestrial network, as reflected in its Q1 2025 earnings with 1.3 million postpaid net additions.
The direct-to-cell capability facilitates vital applications, such as emergency messaging during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, while opening new avenues for IoT, remote work, and connectivity in previously unreachable areas, with plans to expand T-Satellite to include picture messaging, voice, and data, alongside global roaming agreements, T-Mobile pioneers a hybrid terrestrial-satellite framework, steering the industry toward agile, universal coverage. Nonetheless, hurdles like signal latency and FCC disputes over emissions, flagged by AT&T and Verizon, could hinder progress if unresolved. Still, T-Mobile’s early lead and synergy with its 5G Advanced network cement its role in transforming the mobile landscape.
T-Fiber: Lighting Up Broadband Competition
T-Mobile’s T-Fiber program is advancing swiftly in 2025, extending its fiber-optic internet to 32 markets in eight U.S. states through strategic acquisitions and partnerships, positioning it as a formidable competitor to traditional broadband providers. By collaborating with EQT to acquire Lumos, which serves 475,000 homes, and with KKR to acquire Metronet, covering over 2 million homes, T-Mobile targets 12 to 15 million households by 2030, with Lumos planning to reach 3.5 million homes by 2028. Its open-access approach, working with partners such as Intrepid Fiber, Tillman FiberCo, and SiFi Networks, supports rapid rollout and attractive pricing, starting at $55 for 500 Mbps and reaching $110 for 2 Gbps, with promotions like the T-Fiber Founders Club offering a 2 Gbps plan for $70/month.
Evercore analysts forecast T-Fiber could attract 5 million subscribers and generate $5 billion in revenue by 2030, achieving a 40% market penetration rate within two years, fueled by T-Mobile’s strong brand and customer-focused strategy. This fiber expansion enhances T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet, serving over 6.4 million customers, by alleviating capacity issues and bolstering its convergence strategy, driving 1.3 million postpaid net additions in Q1 2025.
T-Mobile Shows Discipline with Partnerships Aimed at Pushing Innovation Envelope
T-Mobile unveiled a significant step forward in its partnership with NVIDIA, announcing the expansion of its AI-RAN Innovation Center development goals. At GTC 2025, the joint effort is now focused on pioneering AI-native 6G network capabilities. This next chapter brings in key collaborators such as MITRE, Cisco, ODC, and Booz Allen Hamilton to help shape a next-generation wireless network stack built on NVIDIA’s AI Aerial platform. T-Mobile’s expanded efforts include researching advanced 6G use cases such as integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), dynamic spectrum sharing, and agentic network orchestration. These features require a ground-up redesign of wireless networks with AI embedded from inception.
Moreover, T-Mobile has extended its multi-year strategic partnership with Nokia to enhance and expand its nationwide 5G network, which already covers over 98% of the U.S. population. The agreement aims to boost network coverage and capacity using Nokia’s next-generation AirScale RAN portfolio, including Habrok Massive MIMO and Levante Ultra-Performance baseband solutions, powered by energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology for optimal performance, efficiency, and reliability. Nokia will also provide its AI-driven MantaRay SON and AutoPilot for network optimization, automation, hardware, software, maintenance, and support services. I find that the deal confirms the ability of Nokia’s RAN portfolio to meet T-Mobile’s stringent 5G SA/5GA networking demands, assuring competitive diversity in the North American and global mobile network market.
Market Outlook: T-Mobile Provides Positive Outlook
Based on its Q1 2025 earnings, T-Mobile’s market outlook for 2025 is highly optimistic, forecasting industry-leading growth fueled by its 5GA network innovations, ambitious broadband expansion, and pioneering satellite connectivity solutions. T-Mobile boosted its 2025 guidance, projecting 5.5-6 million postpaid net additions and core adjusted EBITDA of $33.1-$33.6 billion, signaling strong demand for its premium 5G plans and fixed wireless offerings. The T-Fiber program, aiming to reach 12-15 million households by 2030, and the T-Satellite beta, serving hundreds of thousands through Starlink, enhance T-Mobile’s ability to gain market share in underserved regions and compete with AT&T and Verizon Overall, I believe T-Mobile’s emphasis on network superiority, rural market penetration, and a $14 billion stockholder return plan reinforces its promising growth path.
See the complete T-Mobile Q1 FY 2025 earnings press release on the T-Mobile website.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
T-Mobile Q4 FY 2024: Sustained Growth and 5G Leadership
GTC25: T-Mobile NVIDIA Prep 6G Blueprint for AI-Native Wireless Networks
T-Mobile Starlink, New Nokia CEO & Qualcomm Results – Six Five Webcast: The 5G Factor
Author Information
Ron is an experienced, customer-focused research expert and analyst, with over 20 years of experience in the digital and IT transformation markets, working with businesses to drive consistent revenue and sales growth.
He is a recognized authority at tracking the evolution of and identifying the key disruptive trends within the service enablement ecosystem, including a wide range of topics across software and services, infrastructure, 5G communications, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytics, security, cloud computing, revenue management, and regulatory issues.
Prior to his work with The Futurum Group, Ron worked with GlobalData Technology creating syndicated and custom research across a wide variety of technical fields. His work with Current Analysis focused on the broadband and service provider infrastructure markets.
Ron holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from University of Nevada — Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Arts in political science/government from William and Mary.
