TracFone adds just 13K subs in Q3, with 'legacy brands' losing customers

América Móvil's U.S. MVNO, TracFone Wireless, added around 13,000 total customers in the third quarter, ending with 25.726 million total subscribers. TracFone is by far the largest U.S. MVNO and offers wireless service through several brands including TracFone, Straight Talk, Total Wireless, Telcel America, Net10 and SafeLink. "Our brands Straight Talk, SafeLink and our new brand Total Wireless have shown solid growth whereas our legacy brands registered client disconnections," América Móvil said, indicating that the TracFone, Telcel America and Net10 brands are underperforming in the market as a result of more intense competition.

TracFone posted $1.7 billion in revenue for the third quarter, down 0.2 percent from a year ago, with service revenues practically flat year-over-year. TracFone's EBITDA was $105 million, down sharply by 33.1 percent compared to a year ago "as a result of higher subscriber acquisition and retention costs in what has been a more competitive environment." Release