T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have announced their financial results for Q3 2025. This article compares their ARPU, revenue, Capex, subscribers, 5G and fiber broadband strategy.
ARPU
T-Mobile’s Postpaid ARPA grew 3.8 percent to $149.44, excluding the dilutive impacts from recent acquisitions including U.S. Cellular, Metronet, and Lumos. T-Mobile’s Prepaid ARPU was $33.93 in Q3 2025 vs $34.63 in Q2-2025 vs $34.67 in Q1-2025.
T-Mobile expects full-year ARPA growth of at least 3.5 percent, and around 4 percent when adjusted for acquisitions. Postpaid ARPU is projected to rise about 2 percent for the full year, driven by strong premium plan adoption and sustained customer lifetime values
AT&T said its Postpaid phone ARPU was $56.64 (down 0.8 percent), reflecting strong competition and AT&T’s strategy to expand into underpenetrated customer segments such as those aged 55 and older. AT&T’s broadband ARPU increased 4.4 percent to $71.23. AT&T’s fiber ARPU rose 4.4 percent to $73.48.
Verizon reported postpaid ARPA of $147.91 in Q3-2025 against $147.50 in Q2-2025. Verizon’s prepaid ARPU was $32.70 in Q3-2025 vs $32.56 in Q2-2025.
Revenue
T-Mobile reported 9 percent increase in service revenue to $18.2 billion.
T-Mobile’s postpaid service revenue was $14.9 billion, increasing 12 percent, leading the U.S. wireless industry.
AT&T posted revenue growth of 1.6 percent to $30.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025. AT&T’s mobility service revenues rose 2.3 percent to $16.9 billion. AT&T’s consumer fiber broadband revenues grew 16.8 percent to $2.2 billion. AT&T’s business wireline revenues fell 7.8 percent to $4.248 billion. Consumer wireline revenues rose 4.1 percent to $3.555 billion.
Verizon’s third-quarter revenue was $33.821 billion, a 1.5 percent increase. Wireless equipment revenue grew by 5.2 percent to $5.619 billion. Wireless service revenue rose 2.1 percent to $28.202 billion. Prepaid revenue also saw growth for the first time since the TracFone acquisition. Fios revenue was $3.237 billion. FWA revenue was $758 million. Annualized FWA revenue surpassed $3 billion. Future revenue growth will prioritize expanding the customer base alongside continued value-driven pricing actions.
Subscribers:
T-Mobile added 506,000 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) customers and 54,000 fiber customers in Q3. T-Mobile’s broadband added 560,000 customers. T-Mobile’s broadband segment (FWA and fiber combined) showed strong momentum, with FWA growing 22 percent. T-Mobile increased its postpaid additions guidance to between 7.2 million and 7.4 million for 2025, with postpaid phone additions expected to reach 3.3 million.
AT&T added 405,000 postpaid phone customers in the quarter, slightly above last year’s performance. Postpaid phone churn was 0.92 percent, up 14 basis points due to increased switching activity and device upgrade cycles. Broadband performance was particularly strong, with over 550,000 total new broadband subscribers, including 288,000 AT&T Fiber and 270,000 AT&T Internet Air (fixed wireless) net adds. This marked AT&T’s highest broadband net additions in over eight years.
Verizon’s wireless connections ended Q3 2025 at 115.1 million in the consumer segment, with retail postpaid at 94.9 million and prepaid at 19.1 million.
Net additions for wireless retail postpaid were 74,000 in Q3 2025, slightly down from 90,000 in Q2 2025 and up from 68,000 in Q3 2024.
Verizon’s Postpaid phone additions were 7,000 for Q3 2025, down from 51,000 the previous quarter and lower than 18,000 a year back, indicating a modest uptick in non-phone devices driving additions.
Verizon’s FWA broadband (5G Home/Business Internet) posted strong growth with 121,000 additions in Q3 2025, though this was down from 164,000 in Q2 and 199,000 in Q1 2025.
Verizon’s broadband additions reached 168,000 for Q3 2025, with wireline broadband contributing 47,000 and Fios internet 59,000.
Verizon’s Business segment FWA grew by 140,000 net additions in Q3 2025, up from 114,000 in Q2 2025.
Verizon’s core prepaid segment gained 47,000 net additions in Q3 2025, compared to 50,000 in Q2 and 137,000 in Q1 2025.
Verizon’s Fios video connections declined by 70,000 in Q3 2025, continuing secular trends away from traditional linear video.
Retail wireless additions stood at 108,000 in Q3 2025 for the consumer segment, indicating steady, but modest growth amidst competitive market dynamics.
On an aggregated basis, including both consumer and business segments, Verizon posted 2,000 retail connection additions in Q3 2025, with 36,000 postpaid and 44,000 postpaid phone additions.
5G Network Expansion:
T-Mobile said its 5G standalone and 5G Advanced networks now deliver up to 90 percent faster iPhone download speeds and over 100 percent faster Android performance compared to competitors. T-Mobile launched 5G features such as network slicing and RedCap for wearables, and is expanding Ultra Capacity 5G to more rural and smaller markets.
AT&T accelerated its 5G rollout by beginning deployment of 3.45 GHz spectrum from EchoStar under a temporary lease, covering nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population by mid-November 2025. The EchoStar spectrum acquisition is expected to strengthen 5G performance and expand AT&T Internet Air availability in 2026. The company also emphasized its strategy of building an “AI-ready” network with superior 5G and fiber integration to lower marginal costs and improve efficiency
Verizon is focused on completing its C-band 5G network build-out as a capital priority. 5G is integral to supporting both mobility and FWA growth. The strategy emphasizes leveraging 5G to provide bundled offerings, supporting convergence between broadband and mobility, and thereby reducing churn and enabling new revenue opportunities.
Fiber and Broadband Strategy:
T-Mobile expanded its fiber footprint with the T-Fiber rollout, raising annual fiber additions guidance to 130,000 up from 100,000. Through joint ventures with Metronet and Lumos, T-Mobile aims to reach 12–15 million homes with fiber while maintaining a capital-light structure. T-Mobile views FWA and fiber as complementary technologies supporting long-term broadband growth.
AT&T’s fiber buildout reached more than 31 million locations by the end of Q3 2025, with a target to pass over 60 million by 2030. The company reported over 10 million AT&T Fiber subscribers, more than doubling its base in under five years. Fiber and fixed wireless now form the core of AT&T’s broadband expansion strategy, complemented by its convergence approach—over 41 percent of fiber households also subscribe to AT&T wireless services.
Verizon is aggressively expanding its fiber footprint through both organic build and acquisitions, notably the pending purchase of Frontier. Verizon expects to serve about 29 million fiber passings post-acquisition, substantially increasing cross-sell opportunities. Partnerships, like with Tillman, are designed to bring Fios and fiber broadband to more markets beyond Verizon’s and Frontier’s existing territories.
Capex
T-Mobile’s Capex for 2025 is expected around $10 billion, up by $500 million mainly due to the U.S. Cellular integration. The merger is projected to deliver USD 1.2 billion in total synergies ($950 million in Opex and $250 million in Capex) within two years. T-Mobile is incurring about $300 million in merger-related costs and $160 million in cell-site optimization expenses in Q4.
AT&T’s capital investment during Q3-2025 totaled $5.3 billion, down $200 million. AT&T expects full-year Capex of $22-22.5 billion, implying roughly $7 billion to $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter. These investments are focused on network modernization, fiber expansion, and 5G deployment. AT&T plans to complete its wireless network modernization by the end of 2027.
Verizon’s year-to-date capital expenditure (Capex) totaled $12.3 billion, up slightly from $12 billion year-over-year. Verizon remains committed to achieving its investment goals while driving greater Capex efficiency. The capital allocation will focus on completing the C-band network build and expanding the fiber footprint, including the proposed acquisition of Frontier, and partnerships such as with Tillman to accelerate Fios expansion beyond traditional geographies.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
