U.S. Cellular (USM) Reports Q4 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Group 1 - U.S. Cellular reported $970 million in revenue for Q4 2024, a year-over-year decline of 3%, with an EPS of$ 0.05 compared to $0.16 a year ago [1] - The revenue exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 944.89 million by 2.66%, while the EPS surprise was 150.00% against a consensus estimate of - $0.10 [1] - The stock has returned +6.6% over the past month, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.2% change, and currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) [3] Group 2 - Net additions for Retail Connections - Postpaid were -14 million, significantly better than the estimated -42.5 million [4] - Gross additions for Retail Connections - Postpaid were 140 million, exceeding the average estimate of 116.51 million [4] - Total connections stood at 4.43 million, slightly below the average estimate of 4.45 million [4] Group 3 - ARPU for Prepaid was$ 30.59, lower than the average estimate of $31.43, while the Prepaid churn rate was 3.7%, matching the average estimate [4] - ARPU for Postpaid was$ 51.73, also below the average estimate of $52.16 [4] - Operating revenues from equipment sales were$ 228 million, surpassing the average estimate of $205.61 million, but represented a year-over-year decline of 6.9% [4] - Operating revenues from service were$ 742 million, slightly above the average estimate of $739.28 million, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 1.7% [4]