T-Mobile US postponed a Q2 earnings call with investors, in an apparent attempt to allow the Department of Justice (DoJ) more time to issue a ruling on its proposed merger with Sprint.

The DoJ was originally expected to rule on the merger on Thursday (25 July) ahead of T-Mobile earnings, after federal regulators reportedly approved an asset divestiture deal between the operators and Dish Network.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported the DoJ put its announcement on hold while it tries to persuade state officials to back the transaction.

In June, more than a dozen states joined a lawsuit to block the merger, citing concerns about its impact on competition and pricing. It is unclear whether the proposed divestitures to Dish will allay those fears.

Metrics
The uncertainty overshadowed T-Mobile’s strong Q2 results, which it released as planned despite putting the executive call on hold.

Record Q2 profit of $939 million jumped 20 per cent year-on-year from $782 million, while revenue of $11 billion grew 4 per cent from $10.6 billion in Q2 2018.

Postpaid net additions of 1.1 million (which included 710,000 postpaid phone net additions) were up 9 per cent year-on-year. The operator also recorded 131,000 prepaid net additions, a figure up 44 per cent from 91,000 in Q2 2018.

On Twitter, T-Mobile CEO John Legere (pictured) hailed the results as “incredible,” citing them as proof that “we can, and do get even better all the time. Customers are coming and customers are staying.”