Data as of:
LIVE
USM
United States Cellular Corporation · Communication Services - Rural Wireless
N/A
N/A this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
TMUS
T-Mobile US, Inc. · Communication Services - Wireless
$168.18
-7.78% this month
Comparison scoreboard
MIXED SETUPAI Scorei
USM N/A
TMUS 51.0
1Y Returni
USM N/A
TMUS -29.58%
Fwd P/Ei
USM N/A
TMUS 12.56
Target Up.i
USM N/A
TMUS +34.19%
Op. Margini
USM N/A
TMUS 25.22%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/19/2026
Quick take
USM vs TMUS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
USM (UScellular) is a small rural wireless carrier that has agreed to be acquired by T-Mobile, while TMUS (T-Mobile) is the U.S. wireless industry's growth leader that revolutionized the market with Un-carrier positioning and mid-band 5G deployment. UScellular's strategic value was ultimately validated by T-Mobile's acquisition interest in its rural spectrum assets.
USM vs TMUS is rural wireless carrier exit (UScellular's spectrum assets being absorbed by T-Mobile) versus dominant wireless growth leader (T-Mobile's continued subscriber share gains and fixed wireless access expansion) — an acquirer and acquiree comparison in the wireless industry.
Live analysis · updated 9/19/2026
USM and TMUS are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.
Want a full valuation workup? 46-section report — AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, bull/bear case, DCF, and more.
Normalized 1Y performance
USM
TMUS
Not enough data to chart yet.
Recent returns
USM
TMUS
Analyst price targets & sentiment
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
USM
Price target data unavailable
N/A
TMUS · 27 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.1/5.0)
22 Buy / 5 Hold / 0 Sell
Price target range
analyst low$202.99
analyst high$305.00
analyst mean$243.38
current price$168.18
+34.2% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
USM may suit investors who:
- Want to participate in the T-Mobile acquisition of UScellular's wireless operations and spectrum assets as a pending corporate transaction
- Value UScellular's rural spectrum holdings as strategically valuable to national carriers seeking to expand rural 5G coverage
- Note that UScellular as an independent wireless carrier may cease to exist as a public entity after the T-Mobile deal closes
TMUS may suit investors who:
- Want the wireless growth leader that has consistently taken the most postpaid phone net adds in the U.S. while expanding into fixed wireless broadband using 5G infrastructure
- Value T-Mobile's mid-band 5G spectrum advantage (from Sprint merger) as providing a faster network experience that supports premium subscriber acquisition and retention
- See fixed wireless access as a major long-term revenue expansion opportunity as T-Mobile captures home broadband customers from cable companies
Performance & AI score
| Metric | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | N/A | 51.0 |
| AI ranki | N/A | #486 |
| Latest closei | N/A | $168.18 |
| 1M returni | N/A | -7.78% |
| 6M returni | N/A | -18.59% |
| 1Y returni | N/A | -29.58% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | N/A | $7.04K (-29.6%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | N/A | $14K (+40.0%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | N/A | $38.29K (+282.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | N/A | $194.55B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 18.97 |
| Forward P/Ei | N/A | 12.56 |
| Price/Salesi | 1.74 | 3.38 |
| EV/Revenuei | N/A | 3.39 |
| Analyst targeti | N/A | $243.38 |
| Target upsidei | N/A | +34.19% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | N/A | 7.90% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 5.30% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +5.30% |
| FCF margini | N/A | +12.30% |
| Operating margini | N/A | 25.22% |
| Profit margini | N/A | 11.46% |
| ROIC proxyi | N/A | 17.99% |
| Return on equityi | N/A | 17.99% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 2.30% |
| Payout ratioi | N/A | 41.21% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | -0.27 | 0.33 |
| Debt/equityi | N/A | 214.03 |
| Current ratioi | N/A | 0.92 |
| Quick ratioi | N/A | 0.58 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
USM max drawdowniN/A
TMUS max drawdowni30.50%
USM max wkly dropiN/A
TMUS max wkly dropi11.63%
5Y risk snapshot
USM max drawdowniN/A
TMUS max drawdowni38.99%
USM max wkly dropiN/A
TMUS max wkly dropi11.63%
10Y risk snapshot
USM max drawdowniN/A
TMUS max drawdowni38.99%
USM max wkly dropiN/A
TMUS max wkly dropi14.58%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | N/A | -29.58% |
| CAGRi | N/A | -29.60% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 30.01% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | -1.17 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | -1.53 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 30.50% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 29.78% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 16.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 18.37% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 10.75% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 11.63% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | N/A | +36.89% |
| CAGRi | N/A | +6.49% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 25.39% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | 0.20 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | 0.28 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 38.99% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 38.36% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 9.96% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 14.08% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 11.22% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 11.63% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | N/A | +274.44% |
| CAGRi | N/A | +14.12% | |
| Volatilityi | N/A | 26.61% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | N/A | 0.46 | |
| Sortino ratioi | N/A | 0.67 | |
| Max drawdowni | N/A | 38.99% | |
| Current drawdowni | N/A | 38.36% | |
| Avg drawdowni | N/A | 8.66% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | N/A | 12.12% | |
| Max daily dropi | N/A | 11.22% | |
| Max wkly dropi | N/A | 14.58% |
Business comparison
| Category | USM | TMUS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | United States Cellular Corporation | T-Mobile US, Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services - Rural Wireless | Communication Services |
| Industry | N/A | Telecom Services |
| Core business | UScellular (formerly US Cellular) is a regional wireless carrier primarily serving rural and smaller-market customers in the Midwest, Southeast, and Pacific Northwest — focusing on markets that the three national carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) underserve or deprioritize. | T-Mobile is the largest U.S. wireless carrier by postpaid phone net adds — having taken #1 subscriber growth status through its Un-carrier strategy (eliminating contracts, hidden fees), the Sprint merger, and aggressive 5G mid-band network deployment that has created a significant speed advantage over AT&T and Verizon's initial 5G builds. |
| Investor focus | Investors track UScellular's subscriber count, ARPU, rural market competitive dynamics, and the T-Mobile spectrum sale process — UScellular agreed to sell its wireless operations and spectrum to T-Mobile, pending regulatory approval. | Investors track T-Mobile's postpaid phone net adds (the industry growth leader), service revenue per account, EBITDA margin, free cash flow conversion, and the fixed wireless access (FWA) subscriber additions that have transformed T-Mobile into a significant home broadband provider. |
USM strengths
- Rural wireless positioning in markets with less direct competitive pressure from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile's densest network builds
- Long-standing relationships with rural and small-town customers in markets where the carrier has served communities for decades
- Spectrum assets across rural geographies have value to national carriers seeking to fill coverage gaps — the T-Mobile acquisition reflects this strategic value
TMUS strengths
- Industry-leading subscriber growth through the Un-carrier positioning and price competitiveness that has consistently taken share from AT&T and Verizon in postpaid phone
- Mid-band 5G spectrum advantage — T-Mobile acquired substantial 2.5 GHz spectrum through the Sprint merger, enabling significantly faster 5G coverage than competitors' initial millimeter wave builds
- Fixed wireless access (FWA) leadership — T-Mobile is the fastest-growing home internet provider in the U.S. using excess 5G capacity to offer competitive broadband service
Risks to watch — USM
- UScellular agreed to sell its wireless operations and spectrum to T-Mobile — the company is in an acquisition process and may no longer be an independent public company upon deal close
- Rural wireless markets face increasing competition from T-Mobile's expanded coverage and fixed wireless access from satellite internet (Starlink) reducing urban-rural digital divide
- UScellular is a much smaller scale company than the three national carriers — cost structure and spectrum efficiency disadvantages have been challenging
Risks to watch — TMUS
- T-Mobile must evolve its disruptor brand identity as it has become the largest-subscriber wireless carrier in some metrics — maintaining the scrappy challenger positioning while being a market leader is challenging
- Subscriber growth tailwind from Sprint integration is largely captured — future growth must come from market-level growth, upgrades, and further share gains rather than the post-merger synergy opportunity
- AT&T's fiber build and Verizon's continued network investments mean T-Mobile's network advantage may narrow as competitors close the 5G coverage and speed gap
Frequently asked questions
Free public comparison
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
In-Depth Reports
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.
Related comparisons
More comparisons
Browse all 1,000 comparisons