Who is Bigger AT&T or Verizon?

PUBLISHED Aug 28, 2024, 1:40:01 AM        SHARE

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Who has More Customers, AT&T or Verizon?

As of Q2 2024, Verizon has more customers than AT&T in the United States. Verizon has 114 million wireless retail connections[1], while AT&T has approximately 100 million[2]. This difference is partly due to Verizon’s extensive network coverage and strong customer loyalty.

T-Mobile is now in the running as the largest telecom service provider in the U.S. with 120 million subscribers, having gained significant ground after its merger with Sprint[3].

Read More: T-Mobile Stock Analysis

On a global scale, China Mobile leads with over 985 million subscribers, making it the largest mobile network operator in the world[4].

Vodafone has around 323 million subscribers across its various markets[5]. Vodafone (VOD) operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania, making it the most diverse telecom service provider by regions. Its services21 countries across these regions.

1. Verizon Fact Sheet
2. AT&T investor profile
3. T-Mobile Quarter 1 2024 earnings summary
4. China Mobile August 2024 Interim Results
5. Vodafone about page

Who is the largest cell phone carrier?

The best way to measure the size of a carrier is by their revenue. This is because total customers isn’t a consistent measure between the carriers. The quality of a single customer could dramatically be different between each carrier. For example, some carriers may boast more 5G customers than others, while other carriers may mix in other packages like cable or streaming.
By revenue, the largest cell phone carrier is China Mobile with revenue of $141 Billion. Verizon is larger than AT&T with a slightly higher annual revenue.

Here are the revenues of the biggest carriers:

China Mobile

  • $141 billion annual revenue[1]
  • $38 billion, Q2 2024[2]
1). China Mobile 2023 Annual Report
2). China Mobile 2024 Interim Results
conversion rates as of Q3 2024 from Yuan to U.S. Dollars

Verizon

  • $132 Billion annual revenue[3]
  • $32.8 Billion Q2 2024[4]
3). Verizon Fact Sheet
4). Verizon Q2 2024 Results

AT&T

  • $118 Billion 2023 Annual Revenue[5]

  • $29.8 Billion in Q2 2024[6]

5). AT&T 2023 Annual Revenue
6). AT&T Q2 2024 Quarterly Report

T-Mobile

  • $63.2 Billion 2023 Annual Revenue[7]

  • $16.4 Billion in Q2 2024[8]

7). T-Mobile 2023 Annual Revenue
8). T-Mobile Q2 2024 Quarterly Report

Vodafone

  • $33.4 billion 2023 Annual Revenue[9]

  • $8.3 Billion in Q2 2024 (estimated, see notes)[9]

9). Vodafone investor Fact Sheet, note: European Union companies report semi-annually, Conversion rates from Euros to USD as of Q3 2023

Overall, China Mobile is the largest telecom by revenue. This relates directly to its shear customer base as China has roughly 1.2 billion citizens compared to the U.S have 333 million as of 2022.

Interestingly, China Mobile has a lob-sided market share in China to its competitors like China Unicom, allowing the company to overtake U.S. telecom companies in size. Verizon is the result of a merger of the “baby bells” in 2000. These baby bells were created due to the breakup of the AT&T in 1982 after several antitrust lawsuits.

Now, over 30 years later, Verizon has slightly overtaken AT&T as the largest telecom in the U.S. At the same time, a new competitor has risen, T-Mobile, which was established as a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation. After T-Mobile’s merger with sprint, the company solidified itself as the third biggest carrier in the U.S. by revenue while threatening to take more market share into the 2020s.

Who is more profitable AT&T or Verizon?

AT&T and Verizon effectively are equally profitable based on their Q2 2024 results. While Verizon can boast more profit, AT&T is technically more profitable when comparing EBITDA margins. However, the difference in EBITDA margins are so small that they are effectively negligible.

VERIZON:

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $12.3 Billion in Q2 2024

  • Free cash flow of $5.8 Billion

  • 37.5% EBITDA Margin

Source: Verizon Q2 2024 report

AT&T

  • Adjusted EBITDA: $11.3 Billion in Q2 2024

  • Free cash flow of $4.6 Billion

  • 38% EBITDA Margin

Source: AT&T Q2 2024 Report

Final Thoughts

While Verizon holds a slight edge over AT&T in terms of customer base and revenue, the competition remains fierce. T-Mobile has emerged as a formidable contender, surpassing both in subscriber count. Globally, China Mobile dominates with unparalleled revenue and subscriber numbers, followed by Vodafone with its extensive international presence. As the telecom landscape continues to evolve, these giants will undoubtedly keep pushing the boundaries of innovation and service quality.

Further Reading:

**POSITION UPDATE**

VZ, Buy

Verizon Communic...
Return: 4.40%

VZ, Buy

Return: 4.40%


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