T-Mobile deal to take center stage as Sprint reports Q2 results

Telecom carrier Sprint Corp. (S) is set to report its second-quarter results on Wednesday before the bell. Analysts expect the company to lose some of its subscribers in this quarter due to a higher price tag on the unlimited plans. Meanwhile, the progress of Sprint’s merger with T-Mobile (TMUS) remains the highlight during this quarter.

Analysts, on an average, expect Sprint to post a loss of $0.01 per share on a revenue of $7.97 billion for the second quarter. In comparison, during the prior-year quarter, the company reported a loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of $7.93 billion. Majority of the analysts recommended a “hold” rating on the stock with an average price target of $5.79.

Experts are glued to the company’s results as Sprint is likely to disclose the progress of its merger with T-Mobile. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo and Cowen believe the probability of the merger to complete has gone down due to various headwinds such as a potential blockage by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission; rising government concern/rivalry with China; and the company’s unclear period on 5G investment without government persuade.

During the second quarter, Sprint is likely to post a loss as a slump in demand for services as well as a rise in the costs and expenses could drag the top line down as well. Sprint is expected to launch the first mobile 5G network in the first half of 2019 across the major cities in the country.

Sprint stock gains after Q1 results beat estimates

For the full year 2018, the company had expected adjusted EBITDA in the range of $12 billion to $12.5 billion and cash capital expenditures in the range of $5 billion to $6 billion.

Among the competitors, Verizon (VZ) last week reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, while AT&T (T) missed earnings estimates for the quarter. T-Mobile US (TMUS) is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Tuesday after the market closes.

Shares of Sprint opened higher and remained in the green territory on Monday. The stock has fallen over 15% in the past year, while it has risen over 7% in the past three months.

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