Sprint Q4 less bleak than prior quarters, still not good

By on Feb 11, 2010 at 6:09 AM
News February 11, 2010

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It is pretty indicative of the shape Sprint is in when reporting a net loss of $980 million and 69,000 net retail subscribers is considered an improvement. The number three carrier in the U.S. lost $0.34 per share — $0.23 per share when you factor out $306 million in deferred taxes — which did not meet Wall Street expectations of a $0.19 loss per share. It wasn’t all bad though; fourth quarter churn was 2.11%, down from 2.16% year-over-year, and free cash flow was up at $666 million for the quarter. Here are a few other numbers from Sprint’s earnings call yesterday: average revenue per user $55, down $1 YOY, pre-paid churn was 5.56%, down from 8.1% the year prior, and $427 million was spent on capital expenditures, up from $304 million last year.

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42 Comments

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  • mrdpr

    maybe is time to Sprint kill nextel. And use the towers for the CDMA.

    • rockstar323

      They would lose even more buisness. I have multiple clients that stay with them just because of Nextel. If it wasnt for Nextel they would have already moved all their lines to Verizon. Before anyone says “well verizon has push to talk”. That’s true but it doesnt even come close to working as well as Nextel’s PTT.

    • Jerry Marcus

      I keep my company services with Nextel for the PTT. All 750 lines are still activate and we get great coverage and service. And we save a hell of alot. I had a verizon business give me a proposal adn after seeing it I wouldnt even contact the rep back. And, Yes I have a big budget. But, Because I save money on this for the company it has allowed me to hire 10 additional techs. I have to admit I love LOVE SPRINT NEXTEL.

  • me too

    I just joined Sprint with a Touch Pro 2 because their coverage and prices are good in my area.

  • webby

    Something is eventually gonna have to give. This company cannot bleed red ink indefinitely.

    Sprint will either go out of bidness or get bought out by another carrier at some point.

    • imjustme

      The FCC wont allow verizon or at&t to purchase sprint due to the monopoly it would give them

  • http://www.bgr.com Abercrombie & Fitch

    They will eventually get bought out by T-Mobile UK…

    • Lawd Mouf

      Why so now they have to manage GSM, CDMA, and IDEN? WTF? T-Mobile is already hurting dude, use your head.

  • eddie

    as a sprint customer, I’ve certainly be waiting for their next android phone and some real movement on 4G…but I have to say i’m losing hope. sure they have that overdrive 4g hotspot thing, but if there was any time to announce or hint at some really cool (4g or other) phones coming anytime soon, you would think a red Q4 results report would be the time to do it to keep investors interested in the brand.

  • http://www.bgr.com Abercrombie & Fitch

    They will eventually get bought out by T-Mobile UK. Its only a matter of time.

  • codered22

    @A&F
    If anything it would be DT out of Germany and would be modeled after the T-Mobile UK merger. T-Mobile UK like T-Mobile USA is owned by DT which is headquartered in Germany.

  • DukeBX

    I’ve had the top 3 carriers since I’ve started having cell phone service. Sprint was the longest carrier I was with (5 yrs) and never had a problem. I just found their plans boring,along with their phones. Since then, their phones have gotten better (like most) and their plans are so-so. I too can’t see them losing money and customers,without doing something to stop the loss. So many customers have left.

    • The Truth

      I never realized anyone could get “excited” over a cell phone plan

    • Marcus Bravo

      Sprint has the best plans in the wireless industry(non prepaid) dollar for dollar..I have no clue how anyone could say they are “so-so”..for all of Sprints problems, their cell phone plans are NOT one of them.

  • Nelly

    What a damn shame. In this economy Sprint should be gaining, they have imho the best rates with any mobile any time. At&t is gaining 2 million each quarter with shitty and smaller 3g network.

    • Fernando

      The problem is that while yes, their top tier plans are the best (the ones that include data and messaging), their lower plans are the same as all the others. So anyone who is trying to cut spending would be looking at the same rate across all 4 carriers (even t-mo) only difference is a couple more anytime minutes here or there. So the ones hurting are going either prepaid or with a service like metropcs, while the people who have money and can afford messaging and data go with either verizon or att because they are percieved as “quality” carriers.

    • Jerry Marcus

      Nelly amazing isnt it. Makes you think they just inflat the numbers to impress the stock holders.

    • imjustme

      at&t has the best 3g network in the business actually… their 3g is nearly as fast as Sprints 4g. as far as vzw’s ads about their 3g being so much better than at&t’s why is it that my phone running on 2g is faster than my gf’s on vzw’s 3g?

  • Homer

    Maybe they should start making immature commercials and start making all sorts of false claims based on nothing then jack heir prices up, then maybe they’ll start gaining customers… it seems to work for everyone else.

  • Christopher Cox

    Sprints problem is their phone offerings. They suck compared to Verizon and Att. Sure they have the Pre, but compared to iPhone or the numbers of Android device out there, and Palms history of terrible marketing and strategy … Did we really expect it to go anywhere?

    Sprint is bleeding. And with hot phones coming to the other carriers, there doesn’t seem to be any hope for them. If verizon gets iPhone like some think, it’s certainly curtains for Sprint.

    • Homer

      I see people say this all the time and I don’t get it… What does Verizon have that everyone else doesn’t? The Blackberry storm and that’s about it. Besides that Sprint has the same Blackberrys. Their Android line up is basically the same as Sprints, the Eris is essentially the same thing as the Hero, and the Droid is basically the same as the Moment except the Droid comes with 2.0 (which the moment will be getting). They both have the Pre now, about the only thing Verizon seems to have more of is their 85 envy re-releases/copycats, which all suck and stop working every 3 weeks or so.

      And AT&T, all they have is the iphone, that’s just about it.

      • http://thegadgetgurus.net Vic

        The DROID is a MUCH faster, MUCH sleeker Moment with 2.0, soon to be 2.1. The problem is that though Sprint has comparable phones, Verizon’s versions are better (DROID vs. Moment, Pre vs. Pre Plus, Windows Mobile lineup, BlackBerry lineup) with a what the majority perceive to be a much better network (which is true). Sprint only has a price advantage, but with better phone offerings, coverage, and customer service from Verizon, that doesn’t hold much weight.

      • Homer

        The DROID may have a little bit more hardware-wise but it is still comparable… plus it is made by Motorola and after owning a couple Motorola phones not too long ago I can personally say I wouldn’t ever want to own another… the only difference with the Pre and Pre plus is the amount of storage, and the Blackberry curves, and the tour are the same on both carriers, Verizon has no advantage there, and the Storm has proven itself to be the worst Blackberry ever made… and coverage is roughly the same being that Verizon and Sprint roam off eachother’s networks, Verizon covers about 307 million people including roaming and Sprint bout 306 million including roaming. And Verizon doesn’t have great customer service either… Plus the prices are practically rape.

  • Lawd Mouf

    Sprint’s problems is not just the lack of cool phones, or calling plans, because they have cool phones and the best calling plans. Its primarily their nextel brand. They should have never discontinued QChat and more or less discontinued IDEN. They need to actively move people to CDMA, and off of IDEN as well as acquire US Cellular which would give them a customer boost. They also need to be more public and enhance their marketing a little bit more. They need to prove to people that its not the same shady sprint that was under the control of Gary Forsee, because bottom line its not. It’s no where near as shady as ATT and Verizon.

    • Raider

      Iden is great for field service type businesses. Verizons PTT cannot even compare. This is why they have not given up on that piece of their business.

  • Average User

    This is more bad news. I’m really feeling bad for this company. I too think it maybe time to shut down Nextel and use those SMR licenses for something else. Maybe WiMax, better CDMA coverage. It also maybe time to do what VZW has done years ago and get a partner in their company.

    Companies like NTT DoCoMo, America Movil, etc….. can help with their financial wallets. And hopefully that can help them get better phones, get a new Marketing dept to compete.

  • Todd

    Sprint is one company that fully earned going belly up. One day they suddenly started billing me for somebody else’s line and told me I’m lying that I’m not that person. Then on my own real line they have owed me a credit for over 2 years and refuse to answer my request to pay me. Best of all, though, is a letter I received from them that I am not making enough calls (huh???). If I don’t make more they will drop my service. Nice business move, Sprint, you are going bankrupt and you want FEWER paying customers! Their so-called “management” must live in the chimp cage at the zoo. By the way, I accepted their offer and now do business with a real cell provider. Paying less, getting more.

    • Marcus B

      Yeah and I’m um the Queen of England.. I’m not buying any of that, sorry.

  • http://thegadgetgurus.net Vic

    You said post-paid churn was at 5.56%, when in fact it that was pre-paid churn.

    • Andrew Munchbach

      Thank you for that. Fixed!

  • Christopher Cox

    @Homer: sure they get them. Just later than everyone else. AT&T consistently has had the newer Blackberry devices first with the exception of Bold and Tour. If you look at the phones as a snapshot of what they currently offer only, your right … They do look similar. But if you have followed the carriers for a long time you see trends. And the trend is … Sprint will EVENTUALLY get phones the other guys do. It may be a year from now … But it will happen. The gap has been narrowing recently however, with Sprint actually somewhat keeping up now a days. But … I feel it’s too late. They should have been pacing like this YEARS ago.

  • Christopher Cox

    @Vic: You are right. Sprint may have similar phones, but the versions on VZW are better. Tmobile used to be like that, and the reason I switched from them years ago. MDA and Dash? Examples of phones that were out that tried to match popular phones by other carriers, but were underpowered versions. At least tmobile fixed that problem a year or two ago and now they are rocking. Sprint? Not so much … Sometimes I feel as it’s the same braindead management staff as the one that drove Palm to shit.

  • Joe the Plumber

    No 666 jokes so far? What a disappointment

  • Travis

    If they would stop cutting off SERO users from the cool new phones… that would help them out a lot! I know many people that have left the SERO plan and went to other carriers because we are not allowed to upgrade to any webOS or Android phone. My two cents.

    • Javy

      you can still keep your so called SERO plan but it wont be the same price. and its still a good price to pay for all the stuff that is included. People are so cheap sometimes.

    • Average User

      Sorry but I have to ask this. I’m just curious. The people who left Sprint that had SERO plans and went elsewhere, are they paying more now? If so, why not just upgrade with Sprints plans? Did they find plans on other carriers plans just like their SERO plans?

  • Rich

    been a sprint customer since my first cell phone 10 years ago i think by now. Problem is marketing. I remember many commercials with old man Hesse talking to a camera, boring. The wife and I have unlimited text/data and way more minutes than we’ll ever use, and we pay less than my buddy with his iPhone. I have an HTC Diamond I use and the wife has a Curve…can’t wait to see what this “HTC Supersonic” does for Sprint when it comes out.

  • Michael

    I’ve been a long time customer as well and I think they’ve gotten a lot better over the years. I just renewed when I bought my Moment, so I’ll be hanging on a bit longer. The biggest annoyance for me lately is the way they’ve handled getting updates out for this phone. Still waiting on the major 2.1 upgrade, and in the meantime they had a horrible time trying to get a minor firmware update out. Users are still having trouble finding stores to do their upgrades, and their reps are just clueless.

  • James

    If Sprint stays as crappy as they are now, they will soon be passed by T-Mobile. Eventually, Sprint will be bought out by Verizon.

  • jacob237

    I swear when is this ridiculous FAIL of a company going to go out of business already? T-Mobile with their fewer customers and fewer phones puts out a VERY nice profit each quarter. There’s NO excuse!

  • eb50

    Just wait for Q1 results with all the “Get out of jail free” customers with their fee increase on Jan 1.

    They need to allow android phones on SERO if they want to keep those customers for the long term!

  • Sprintman

    OK so just wanted to say to the person that said that att 3g is almost as fast as sprints 4g where did you get your numbers. One thing is boy genius reports already put out that sprint was faster when tested compared to att and verizon. Second if you think that att puts up 7.4mbs persecond you are mistaken. Listen if you look at the fine print that is 7.4 megabits not megabytes which is a bigger amount. Don’t look at the numbers look at the real test like the ones done buy this website.

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