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?

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Tags: 2009, Earnings, Financials, Nextel, Q2, Q209, results, Sprint, sprint nextel

Zach Epstein