Sprint's User Growth Comes at a Price, Company Posts Losses

Sprint (S) added 1.2 million new customers in its fourth quarter but paid a high price to acquire them. The wireless carrier reported larger-than-expected losses of $224 milliom or $0.06 per share. Revenue also came in below estimates, falling almost 7 percent to $8.28 billion. The growth in subscribers helped Sprint regain its position as third largest carrier, over T- Mobile (TMUS). The company cut user bills and offered promotions to tempt customers away from Verizon and AT&T contracts. But the current rate of cash burn at Sprint has caused some concern among analysts as the company raced through $914 milliom this quarter. Sprint stock has gained about 24 percent this year, behind T Mobile, which is up around 27 percent.