SiriusXM reported third-quarter revenue of $2.16 billion, above analyst expectations but down 1 percent from the prior-year period, and net income of $297 million, after reporting a net loss of $2.96 billion a year ago.
The company reported earnings per share of $0.84, above analyst expectations and compared to a loss of $8.74 in the third quarter of 2024. The year ago net loss included a $3.36 billion noncash goodwill impairment related to the Liberty Media transaction.
The satellite radio company reported 33 million total subscribers, down 40,000 paid subscribers from a year ago. Monthly churn improved slightly year-over-year, reaching 1.6 percent. The lower subscriber base led to a $13 million decrease in subscriber revenue this quarter.
In the prior quarter, the company extended its agreement with Andy Cohen, renewed its agreement with Megyn Kelly and saw Stephen A. Smith debut on the platform. SiriusXM also recently signed popular podcasts Morbid and The MrBallen Podcast. Podcasting advertising was again a bright spot, with the company seeing ad revenue in that sector up 50 percent, while overall ad revenue grew just 1 percent year over year. The podcast segment helped offset declines in music streaming ad revenue (SiriusXM also owns music-streaming site Pandora).
Asked about the possibility of additional advertising for podcasts on video, Scott Greenstein, chief content officer at SiriusXM said the company has seen “enormous growth” on YouTube and pointed to the Spotify announcement with Netflix.
“With our lineup of content, there’s no shortage of opportunity where we’ll go in video right now,” Greenstein said. “We like the way we’re monetizing. We’re flexible. We can have video behind the paywall. We can have video with YouTube or any distribution partner.”
“Most of our engagement, of course, is in the car, right? And we believe we still have lots of opportunity with audio in the car, but that video is a great compliment. And to the extent we can work, like Scott said, with other partners, especially where we’ve seen success with YouTube, it gives us a real opportunity to build complementary engagement outside of the car, and even promote back to SiriusXM content in audio in the car,” said Jennifer Witz, chief executive officer of SiriusXM.
The company increased its 2025 guidance for revenue to $8.525 billion and its adjusted EBITDA to about $2.625 billion and free cash flow to approximately $1.225 billion.
“This was a quarter of meaningful progress for SiriusXM,” Witz said. “We’re enhancing the subscriber experience through new content, deeper personalization, and continued innovation across every stage of the customer journey, driving greater engagement and value for our listeners. At the same time, we’re scaling our digital advertising business and strengthening our leadership in podcasting. Across each of these areas, we’re leveraging our unique assets to deliver sustainable profitability and long-term value for our shareholders — a strategy that is already delivering as we raise our full year guidance.”
Updated 10/30 7 AM PT: A previous version of this story misstated the net loss number from Q3 2024. It has been corrected.