2024 guidance reaffirmed CHICAGO, Aug. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As previously announced, UScellular will hold a teleconference on August 2, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. CDT. Listen to the call live via the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com. United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) reported total operating revenues of $927 million for the second quarter of 2024, versus $957 million for the same period one year ago. Service revenues totaled $743 million, versus $760 million for the same period one year ago. Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $17 million and $0.20, respectively, for the second quarter of 2024 compared to $5 million and $0.05, respectively, in the same period one year ago. 2Q 2024 Highlights* Announced sale of wireless operations and select spectrum assets Now reporting Wireless and Towers segments Wireless Sequential improvement in postpaid gross additions and postpaid net losses Postpaid ARPU grew 2%; service revenues decreased 2% Towers Third-party tower revenues increased 1% Fixed wireless customers grew 40% to 134,000 Strong cost management across the enterprise led to increased operating income, net income and Adjusted OIBDA * Comparisons are 2Q'23 to 2Q'24 unless otherwise noted "Solid postpaid ARPU growth and continued strong expense discipline is keeping us on track to deliver on our financial guidance," said Laurent C. Therivel, UScellular President and CEO. "We have taken actions to improve subscriber results that have led to sequential improvement in postpaid handset net additions in the second quarter. While postpaid handset net additions remained negative, we are encouraged by the positive momentum. "Finally, I would also like to thank all of our associates for their hard work in these dynamic times. 2024 has been a year of unprecedented change for the organization, but our team has remained focused on our mission of connecting customers to what matters most." Announced Transaction and Exploration of Strategic Alternatives for UScellularOn May 28, 2024, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS) and UScellular announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell UScellular's wireless operations and select spectrum assets to T-Mobile. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. UScellular retains its nearly 4,400 owned towers, its equity method investments, and approximately 70% of its spectrum assets. The strategic alternatives review process is ongoing as UScellular seeks to opportunistically monetize its spectrum assets that are not subject to the T-Mobile transaction.  2024 Estimated Results UScellular's current estimates of full-year 2024 results are shown below. Such estimates represent management's view as of August 2, 2024 and should not be assumed to be current as of any future date. UScellular undertakes no duty to update such estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from estimated results. 2024 Estimated Results Previous Current (Dollars in millions) Service revenues $2,950-$3,050 Unchanged Adjusted OIBDA1, 2 $750-$850 Unchanged Adjusted EBITDA1, 2 $920-$1,020 Unchanged Capital expenditures $550-$650 Unchanged The following table reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measures, Net income or Income before income taxes. In providing 2024 estimated results, UScellular has not completed the below reconciliation to Net income because it does not provide guidance for income taxes. Although potentially significant, UScellular believes that the impact of income taxes cannot be reasonably predicted; therefore, UScellular is unable to provide such guidance. Actual Results 2024 EstimatedResults2 Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 Year EndedDecember 31, 2023 (Dollars in millions) Net income (GAAP) N/A $42 $58 Add back: Income tax expense N/A 41 53 Income before income taxes (GAAP) $60-$160 $83 $111 Add back: Interest expense 185 91 196 Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense 660 329 656 EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1 $905-$1,005 $503 $963 Add back or deduct: Expenses related to strategic alternatives review — 21 8 (Gain) loss on asset disposals, net 15 11 17 (Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net — 7 (2) Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1 $920-$1,020 $542 $986 Deduct: Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities 155 80 158 Interest and dividend income 15 6 10 Adjusted OIBDA (Non-GAAP)1 $750-$850 $456 $818 1          EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are defined as net income adjusted for the items set forth in the reconciliation above. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are not measures of financial performance under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP) and should not be considered as alternatives to Net income or Cash flows from operating activities, as indicators of cash flows or as measures of liquidity. UScellular does not intend to imply that any such items set forth in the reconciliation above are infrequent or unusual; such items may occur in the future. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA as measurements of profitability, and therefore reconciliations to Net income are deemed appropriate. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are useful measures of UScellular's operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, nonrecurring expenses, gains and losses, and other items as presented above as they provide additional relevant and useful information to investors and other users of UScellular's financial data in evaluating the effectiveness of its operations and underlying business trends in a manner that is consistent with management's evaluation of business performance. Adjusted EBITDA shows adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, gains and losses, and expenses related to the strategic alternatives review of UScellular while Adjusted OIBDA reduces this measure further to exclude Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities and Interest and dividend income in order to more effectively show the performance of operating activities excluding investment activities. The table above reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measure, Net income or Income before income taxes. Additional information and reconciliations related to Non-GAAP financial measures for June 30, 2024, can be found on UScellular's website at investors.uscellular.com. 2 2024 Estimated Results do not reflect any anticipated costs, expenses or results of the strategic alternatives review referenced above. Conference Call InformationUScellular will hold a conference call on August 2, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. Access the live call on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com or athttps://events.q4inc.com/attendee/870908711 Access the call by phone at (888)330-2384 conference ID: 1328528. Before the call, certain financial and statistical information to be discussed during the call will be posted to investors.uscellular.com. The call will be archived on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com. About UScellularUnited States Cellular Corporation provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to customers with 4.5 million retail connections in 21 states. The Chicago-based company had 4,300 full- and part-time associates as of June 30, 2024. At the end of the second quarter of 2024, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned approximately 82 percent of UScellular. For more information about UScellular, visit uscellular.com. Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company's plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: whether the announced transaction whereby UScellular has agreed to sell its wireless operations and selected spectrum assets to T-Mobile will be successfully completed or whether UScellular will be able to find buyers at mutually agreeable prices for its spectrum assets that are not subject to the agreement with T-Mobile; whether any such strategic alternative will result in additional value for UScellular and its shareholders and whether the process will have an adverse impact on UScellular's business; strategic decisions regarding the tower business; intense competition; the ability to attract people of outstanding talent throughout all levels of the organization; UScellular's smaller scale relative to larger competitors; the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers on acceptable terms and changes in roaming practices; the ability to obtain access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated future needs, including participation in FCC auctions; changes in demand, consumer preferences and perceptions, price competition, or churn rates; advances in technology; impacts of costs, integration problems or other factors associated with acquisitions, divestitures or exchanges of properties or wireless spectrum licenses and/or expansion of UScellular's businesses; the ability of the company to successfully construct and manage its networks; difficulties involving third parties with which UScellular does business; uncertainties in UScellular's future cash flows and liquidity and access to the capital markets; the ability to make payments on UScellular indebtedness or comply with the terms of debt covenants; conditions in the U.S. telecommunications industry; the value of assets and investments; the state and federal regulatory environment, including changes in regulatory support received and the ability to pass through regulatory fees to customers; pending and future litigation; cyber-attacks or other breaches of network or information technology security; potential conflicts of interests between TDS and UScellular; disruption in credit or other financial markets; deterioration of U.S. or global economic conditions; and the impact, duration and severity of public health emergencies. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other risks and uncertainties that are more fully described under "Risk Factors" in the most recent filing of UScellular's Form 10-K, as updated by any UScellular Form 10-Q filed subsequent to such Form 10-K. For more information about UScellular, visit: www.uscellular.com United States Cellular CorporationSummary Operating Data (Unaudited) As of or for the Quarter Ended 6/30/2024 3/31/2024 12/31/2023 9/30/2023 6/30/2023 Retail Connections Postpaid Total at end of period1 4,027,000 4,051,000 4,106,000 4,159,000 4,194,000 Gross additions 117,000 106,000 129,000 128,000 125,000 Handsets 73,000 63,000 80,000 84,000 83,000 Connected devices 44,000 43,000 49,000 44,000 42,000 Net additions (losses)1 (24,000) (44,000) (50,000) (35,000) (28,000) Handsets (29,000) (47,000) (53,000) (38,000) (29,000) Connected devices 5,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 1,000 ARPU2 $        51.45 $        51.96 $        51.61 $         51.11 $         50.64 ARPA3 $      130.41 $      132.00 $      131.63 $       130.91 $       130.19 Handset upgrade rate4 4.1 % 4.5 % 5.8 % 4.5 % 4.8 % Churn rate5 1.16 % 1.22 % 1.44 % 1.30 % 1.21 % Handsets 0.97 % 1.03 % 1.22 % 1.11 % 1.01 % Connected devices 2.47 % 2.52 % 3.03 % 2.64 % 2.65 % Prepaid Total at end of period1 439,000 436,000 451,000 462,000 462,000 Gross additions 50,000 41,000 43,000 52,000 50,000 Net additions (losses)1 3,000 (13,000) (11,000) — (8,000) ARPU2, 6 $        32.37 $        32.25 $        32.32 $         33.44 $         33.86 Churn rate5 3.60 % 4.06 % 3.87 % 3.68 % 4.18 % Market penetration at end of period Consolidated operating population 32,550,000 32,550,000 32,350,000 32,350,000 32,350,000 Consolidated operating penetration7 15 % 14 % 15 % 15 % 15 % Capital expenditures (millions) $            165 $           131 $           148 $            111 $            143 Total cell sites in service 6,990 6,995 7,000 6,973 6,952 Owned towers 4,388 4,382 4,373 4,356 4,341 1         First quarter 2024 connections were adjusted to remove subscribers that could no longer access the UScellular network due to the CDMA shutdown. This resulted in 11,000 and 2,000 subscribers removed from the postpaid and prepaid base, respectively, that are not included in Net additions (losses) for the quarter. 2         Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) - metric is calculated by dividing a revenue base by an average number of connections and by the number of months in the period. These revenue bases and connection populations are shown below: • Postpaid ARPU consists of total postpaid service revenues and postpaid connections. • Prepaid ARPU consists of total prepaid service revenues and prepaid connections. 3         Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) - metric is calculated by dividing total postpaid service revenues by the average number of postpaid accounts and by the number of months in the period. 4         Handset upgrade rate calculated as total handset upgrade transactions divided by average postpaid handset connections. 5         Churn rate represents the percentage of the connections that disconnect service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period. 6         Fourth quarter 2023 Prepaid ARPU excludes a $6 million reduction of prepaid revenue related to an adjustment to correct a prior period error recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023. 7         Market penetration is calculated by dividing the number of wireless connections at the end of the period by the total estimated population of consolidated operating markets.   United States Cellular CorporationConsolidated Statement of Operations Highlights(Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 2023 2024 vs. 2023 2024 2023 2024 vs. 2023 (Dollars and shares in millions, except per share amounts) Operating revenues Service $      743 $      760 (2) % $  1,497 $  1,527 (2) % Equipment sales 184 197 (6) % 380 415 (9) % Total operating revenues 927 957 (3) % 1,877 1,942 (3) %