Cost of 4G LTE upgrade, iPhone help send Sprint’s stock tumbling

By Andrew Couts October 10, 2011

Sprint‘s stock price fell another 8 percent in early trading today after a variety of Wall Street brokerage houses downgraded the company’s market outlook due to worries that Sprint would not have enough free cash flow to pay for debts over the next two years, reports Reuters. Today’s stock price drop follows a 20 percent dip on Friday.

Currently the third largest wireless provider in the US, Sprint told investors on Friday that it needs to raise new capital in order to update its network to 4G LTE over the next two years. During the same period, the company is also expected to face significant costs from subsidizing sales of Apple’s iPhone.

While the addition of the iPhone to Sprint’s lineup is widely seen as a step in the right direction, the move is quite a gamble for the company, which just became the newest carrier to offer Apple’s coveted handset. Last week, it was revealed that Sprint paid about $20 billion to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhone units from Apple over the next four years.

So far, Sprint’s wager is starting to pay off. The company sold out of the $199 (16GB) version of the new iPhone 4S this weekend, tho both the $299 and $399 versions were still available via its online store at the time of this writing. Both Verizon and AT&T also offer the iPhone 4S.

To stay competitive with Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Sprint must also upgrade its network to offer faster 4G LTE service. Sprint currently only offers WiMAX 4G, but it is LTE that is quickly becoming the industry standard for 4G. Verizon currently offers 4G LTE in the most areas, and AT&T recently began to roll out its LTE network. Market analysts expect that Sprint must raise as much as $3.5 billion to pay for its 4G LTE expansion.

As it stands now, Sprint remains a wild card for investors. If the company is able to bridge the gaps in its finances over the next two years, investors who purchase the stock at its current low price should see a significant profit.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Mobile

How to transfer photos from an iPhone to a computer

The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

As the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you always have with you. If you're like most iPhone users, that means you've likely amassed a sizeable collection of photos on your device. However, while Apple's Photos app is a great way to manage and view your photo library, it's never a good idea to keep all your eggs in one basket. After all, suffering a lost or broken iPhone is painful enough without also losing all your precious digital memories in the process.

Even if you're backing up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer, it's a good idea to keep your photos backed up separately. After all, opening a folder or a photo management app is a much easier way to get at your photos than trying to extract them from an iCloud or iTunes/Finder backup, which requires either restoring them to another iPhone or relying on special software tools.

Mobile

How to schedule a text message on your iPhone

Close-up photo of the Messages app on an iPhone.

Do you often send text messages to a friend or family member across the pond? Or do you want to message someone when you know they’re off work and are able to get to you in a reasonable manner? Maybe you want to send a message every day at the same time, to let your significant other know you’re on the way home and to ask if they need you to pick up anything.

If you said yes to any of these scenarios (or other ones you have in your head), you may be looking for a way to schedule text messages on your iPhone. After all, this is a feature that Android users have, and it can often prove incredibly convenient.

Mobile

iPhone SE deals: Refurbished 2nd and 3rd Gen iPhones

apple iphone se 2020 news new black camera and touch id 04152020

Apple’s iPhone is one of the most popular phones on the planet, and whatever its current model happens to be almost always ranks among the best phones. This makes the iPhone an expensive purchase, which is where the iPhone SE comes in. Apple launched the iPhone SE in order to make an iPhone affordable to more people. The SE utilizes technology that’s a generation or two old and will often take the form factor of a previous iPhone model. Right now the it's a great phone to turn to for even more savings. There are some iPhone SE deals to take a look at out there, and while it’s difficult to find newer iPhone SE models, you can shop refurbished knowing the big retailers are likely backing the purchase with warranties and solid return windows. So whether you’re looking for some great iPhone deals or phone deals in general, below you’ll find the best iPhone SE deals to shop right now.
iPhone SE 2nd Gen deals

The second generation of the iPhone SE was initially launched in 2020, but it still manages to keep up with the needs of many phone users today. It utilizes the body of the Apple iPhone 8, which means it will have a home button and fingerprint ID instead of the Face ID technology in current iPhone models. That’s not much to give up, however, as the second generation iPhone SE still has a great display, a 12-megapixel camera with the ability to shoot 4K video, and wireless charging capability.