T-Mobile just dropped its third-quarter numbers, and the Un-carrier is once again flexing on its rivals. More accounts, more money per account, and a big jump in profit all add up to what T-Mobile calls industry-leading growth across the board.
T-Mobile shared its results in its newsroom, reporting 274,000 postpaid net account additions in the quarter, bringing total postpaid accounts to 35 million, up 3% from a year ago. Average revenue per postpaid account rose 4% to $155.73, and postpaid account churn came in at 1.09%. T-Mobile said both account growth and ARPA came in ahead of its original expectations.
The money side looked strong, too. Service revenue grew 6% to $19.4 billion, and postpaid service revenue jumped 9% to $16.3 billion. Net income climbed 27% to $3.5 billion, earnings per share rose 34% to $3.22, and Core Adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $9.6 billion. Adjusted free cash flow grew 5% to $5.1 billion, and T-Mobile returned $3.5 billion to shareholders during the quarter through buybacks and dividends.
T-Mobile now expects about 1 million postpaid net account additions for the year, right in the middle of its earlier range, and it raised the midpoint of its guidance for Core Adjusted EBITDA, operating cash flow, and adjusted free cash flow. On the network side, T-Mobile pointed to a stack of recent awards, including PCMag naming it the best and fastest mobile network and P3 sweeping all 13 categories in its Q3 U.S. benchmark. CEO Srini Gopalan said more families and businesses are choosing T-Mobile, with the network as a big reason why. It’s a solid step up from earlier this year, when T-Mobile added more accounts in Q1 and raised its 2026 outlook.
For customers, the takeaway is that T-Mobile is winning, especially with families and businesses, and it has the cash to keep investing in the network. The next big test is T-Mix, which launches in November. If the new plans keep accounts and ARPA climbing, expect T-Mobile to be bragging about it again come Q4.
Source: T-Mobile