The No. 2 U.S. mobile provider said Thursday that it added 319,000 subscribers in the quarter, compared with the average expectation for almost 422,000 from six analysts whose estimates ranged from 300,000 to 800,000.

The operator, which is looking for regulatory approval to buy T-Mobile USA, posted a profit of $3.6 billion, or 61 cents per share, compared with a profit of $12.32 billion or $2.07 per share in the same quarter the year before, when it had a big gain from an asset sale. Operating revenue fell to $31.48 billion from $31.58 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $31.60 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.