T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) shares jumped Wednesday after the wireless carrier delivered fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations and demonstrated it's still winning the customer acquisition battle, even as rivals turned up the heat with aggressive holiday promotions.

The Numbers That Matter

T-Mobile reported earnings of $2.14 per share, topping the analyst consensus of $2.06. Revenue came in at $24.33 billion, surpassing estimates of $24.18 billion and marking a significant jump from the $21.87 billion the company brought in during the same quarter last year.

The real story, though, is in the customer metrics. T-Mobile added 2.4 million postpaid net customers in the quarter, the best performance in the industry. Within that figure, the company picked up 962,000 postpaid phone net customer additions, again leading all competitors.

Postpaid net account additions totaled 261,000, down 0.8% year-over-year but still the strongest showing among major carriers. Total broadband net customer additions reached 558,000, up 29.2% from a year earlier and once again industry-leading. That includes 495,000 new 5G broadband customers (up 15.7% year-over-year) and 63,000 fiber net additions.

Service revenues tell an equally compelling story. Quarterly service revenues of $18.70 billion climbed 10.5% year-over-year, representing the best growth rate in the industry. Postpaid service revenues specifically jumped 13.9% to $15.38 billion, another industry-best performance.

Calling Out The Competition

Here's where things get interesting. Finance chief Peter Osvaldik told CNBC that one major competitor ramped up device-focused offers to generate headline postpaid growth. He didn't name names, but the implication was clear: some rivals are buying customers with steep device discounts rather than winning them on network quality and service value.

The comment comes after rival carriers pushed aggressive device and plan discounts around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, intensifying competition across the telecom sector. While T-Mobile still led in postpaid phone additions with 962,000, the figure fell slightly short of the 981,330 analysts had expected, suggesting those promotional battles did have some impact.

Revenue performance was strong enough to beat expectations anyway, helped by customers gravitating toward premium plans that bundle services like Netflix (NFLX). Osvaldik highlighted that new customer accounts are choosing premium plans at a 60% rate, a sign that T-Mobile's strategy of competing on value rather than just price is working.

How The Rest Of The Field Performed

Looking at how T-Mobile's competitors fared helps contextualize these results. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) reported 372,000 broadband net additions in the quarter. AT&T Inc. (T) continued expanding its fiber footprint in its Consumer Wireline segment, adding 283,000 AT&T Fiber net subscribers and 221,000 AT&T Internet Air net additions.

On the cable side, things looked rougher. Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) lost 181,000 broadband customers during the quarter, reflecting mounting pressure from telecom rivals. Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) shed 119,000 internet customers in the same period.

Profit Squeeze And Cash Flow Strength

Net income of $2.10 billion declined from $2.98 billion a year ago. That drop reflected the impact of severance and related costs associated with the company's 2025 workforce transformation and reinvestment initiative, so it's not a reflection of underlying business weakness.

Cash generation remained robust. Net cash provided by operating activities increased 20% year-over-year to $6.65 billion. Adjusted free cash flow rose to $4.19 billion from $4.08 billion in the prior-year period.

What's Ahead

Looking to fiscal 2026, T-Mobile expects postpaid net account additions between 900,000 and 1.0 million. Net cash provided by operating activities, including payments for UScellular merger-related costs, is projected to land between $28.0 billion and $28.7 billion.

Adjusted free cash flow, also accounting for UScellular merger-related costs, is expected to range from $18.0 billion to $18.7 billion. Those are healthy figures that suggest the company can maintain its competitive position without sacrificing financial performance.

T-Mobile shares traded up 2.81% at $205.03 following the earnings release, with investors seemingly appreciating both the customer growth story and the company's discipline in maintaining service revenue growth rather than chasing subscriber numbers at any cost.