Sprint reports Q2 results, sheds almost 1 million postpaid subs
Still managing to skirt the ever-present how many Palm Pres has the company sold question, Sprint reported its Q2 2009 results this morning. While the company did post a slightly bigger loss than expected, it wasn’t the bone crushing declines we’ve seen from Old Yeller in recent history. Operating revenue came in at $8.1 billion, down 10 percent YoY and just short of the Street’s $8.12 billion projection, and it posted a net loss of $384 million or $0.13 per share, down 12 percent from $344 million in the same quarter last year. The part that’s really hard to swallow here is that despite the release of the Palm Pre, one of the most highly anticipated handsets of the year, Sprint still managed to shed 257,000 subscribers net in the quarter, up from 187,000 in Q1. Its subscriber count now stands at 48.8 million. The shocking part — Sprint lost 991,000 postpaid subscribers this past quarter, meaning the bleeding has barely slowed in this crucial category. If the Palm Pre, endless time spent improving customer service, vastly improved network quality and some amazingly attractive plans can’t keep subscribers on board, what can?
Hee Hee, this company bleeds money like the government. Difference is, of course, that the government bleeds our money…
When I dropped my $15.00 SERO plan 5 months ago to get an Iphone I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing I wanted to wait for the Touch Pro 2 but I had lived with crappy sprint phones for sooo long and the Touch Pro was such a cheaply built phone that I JUST COULDN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE! And here we are 5 months later and no release date yet for the Touch Pro 2. Thanks Sprint I feel much better. Don’t change.
I love the armchair analysts on the internet. They’re almost as stupid as the real analysts.
@drbyers: Yeah. The only thing worse are the armchair critics of the comments rather than making a relevant one yourself.
@qwer: I don’t argue that they aren’t trying. However, I don’t think the hero worship of Hesse that Sprint guys seem to have is making much difference. I went to Sprit and grabbed a Pre to try out on launch day and I didn’t see any difference in the service. I was on roaming at my house only a mile from the COR store and, the friendly service was no where to be found when I called to complain about it. When I took the phone back, the smiling faces that sold it to me turned into faces that looked like I’d just ran over their dogs. They were very short and rude and didn’t seem to care about the lack of coverage at my home.
I think “trying” only gets you so far. In the words of Master Yoda, “Either DO or DO NOT… There is no TRY”. They either need to do it and do it fast or look for a buyer. Corporate America is not the Special Olympics. You don’t win people’s hearts and dollars by trying. You get them by delivering.
mattyboy81 has hit all the points except for the way off base coverage one, the rebate system that’s still in place for all carriers and the store designs because as long as the reps are attentive and helpful it doesn’t matter what the store looks like. drbyers has the best comment here
The good news for Sprint is that if they just lose a few million more customers no one will be asking about revenue anymore. . .because the company will no longer exist.
Bummer.
Until they get decent coverage in smaller communities throughout the U.S. they will continue to bleed customers and fail to attract new ones.
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Visalia United States
If the Palm Pre, endless time spent improving customer service, vastly improved network quality and some amazingly attractive plans can’t keep subscribers on board, what can?
Ummmm, A network that isnt perceived as being ghetto.
Like sumone else said, unless sprint looses 5 million customers a quarter theres no reason 2 panic. Second, Stil with nearly 50 Million subscribers theyre 3rd in the US. Tmobile is 4th, nobody is sayin They will fail or theyll get baught….heres a wake up call, you think AT&T would have 80 million customers without all of its Acquisitions and the IPhone? No, theyd be @ 50 mill jus like sprint. And again, give it up with Sprint getting baught….Itd be a Cold day in Hell if the FCC Allowed one dominant CDMA provider….
RTon20s, if you don’t have the service, that’s an assumption because you posted from an iphone, how can you reasonably comment on coverage without having it for the last year. JD Power rated voice and data as either 1 or 2 throughout the country, I live north but have been south, east and west with a few hiccups but that is expected with any carrier especially when using old phones. Sprint needs to improve thier image through the stores and telephone reps, that’s what’s killing them. There are so many horror stories about C.S. that need to be combated, actual voice and data service is not the problem
I think Sprint customer service has improved a lot. And I think the Pre is a compelling phone. But I live dead in the center of the Atlanta metro area, where there are about 6 million people. The service quality is terrible. Sometimes the only way to keep a call connected in my house is to step out onto the deck. I could improve this by getting the Airave, but Sprint would charge me a monthly fee. I’m not going to pay extra to get acceptable service. I’m dropping Sprint next month.
Sprint needs high-end flagship phone that appeals to teenagers. People under 20. I dont ever hear my friends talking about the Pre….
@ Bjones
Thats because children like yourself depend on Mommy and Daddy to buy their devices. There are phones for people under 20, they are called dumbphones. No-one under 18 should ever have a smartphone, for the most part.
LOL, now I see they’re buying Virgin Mobile too? Riiight–that’s exactly what Sprint needs, more pre-paid leeches on the network.
To all the douches that are hoping for a Sprint demise, consider this. If Sprint is bought out by Verizon, that’s one less competitor. Fewer competitors, means higher the prices and the more draconian policies. It also means millions more users on an already over crowded network. Poor call quality will ensue and since there is less competion, there will be little you could do about it.
@ gquaglia
Agreed, Im not a fan of Sprint but less competition is bad for us all. I just wish Sprint would get on board with LTE and improve their overall image. If that happens then they become a realistic alternative to most customers.
Sprint should consider rebranding. Take the Sprint name out altogether since it’s tainted. And a new catch phrase like “We aren’t ghetto anymore”.
But isn’t Sprint the “Now Network”?
How many quarters have they had more losses than customer gains?
This is both sad and comical.
Spent over ten hours with customer service last month. Their customer service is a joke. Three different reps told me they would call the next day, none of them did. Even the person checking on how the reps did never called me back. I am pretty sure this is the main reason they are bleeding accounts.
No one knows what will happen. No one on here is a CEO of ANY of these wireless carriers. Love all the experts here. I will be honest, I don’t know what it will take to turn Sprint around. Everyone talks about how their in store CS people need, maybe but how do you expect to get good people on those salaries.
And I agree with gquaglia, less choices means higher prices for us all.
drop sprint u will wish u never left srint is the cheapest. what will help sprint is qchat or up grade iden. sprints c.s. is better. what will really help sprint is to have phone specials like buy one get one free there phones are very over priced. sprint is here to stay so don’t sleep
Sprint needs to fix their billing issues. Everyone I talk to who switches from sprint does it because they are tired of calling customer care about false charges on their bill
Think of it this way. You had a good run with a great deal. The Pre is a new leaf of sorts and allows them to, maybe, actually make some money. You wanted it for free. They said no. They need subscribers, not leeches.
As for not getting a cheap plan, you just didn’t try hard enough. SERO is dead but my wife and I still got a discount.
ARE YOU SERIOUS? SPRINT AND VERIZON ARE BOTH CDMA… THAT MEANS SPRINT USES VERIZONS TOWERS AND VICE VERSA… SPRINT HAS BASICALLY THE SAME COVERAGE AS VERIZON…
@Frank
sprint gets there phones from the same ppl verizon and at&t do… they get them from the same samsung, lg, blackberry, and htc companies as everyone else. so to say they get cheap phones doesnt make any sence. they all get them from the sama manufacturers.
im so SICK of sprint haters. last i checked they have the CHEAPEST plans, and the only phones they dont have are the iphone and the storm which are exclusives…