Some analysts less bullish on Sprint's future
The 2004 Sprint Nextel merger faced skepticism from industry analysts in regards to the compatibility of the seemingly disparate services. Executives at the time relayed excitement at the future prospects the merger would created.
Almost three years later, analysts have more to evaluate regarding Sprint Nextel's performance and they are not impressed. Most experts remain critical and have downgraded the value of Sprint Nextel's stock. They cite that that Sprint Nextel merger has not attracted new customers at the rate they had hoped. Better performance was seen before the merger, when the companies each held roughly 500,000 subscribers each, compared to the presently combined 660,000 customers.
The reaction in 2004 as a result of the merger was not laudatory. Some analysts still hold a buy rating on the Sprint Nextel stock, and hope that the companies new marketing campaign and customer service offers will stimulate growth.