Sirius XM Stock Rises On Q4 Beat, Self-Paying Subscriber Growth: Retail Eager To Lap Up Shares
CFO Tom Barry said the company expects to generate free cash flow of $1.15 billion in 2025 and achieve an additional $200 million in run-rate savings exiting the year.
FollowNew York-based broadcasting company Sirius XM Holdings, Inc. (SIRI) reported forecast-beating fiscal year 2024 fourth-quarter results and issued an in-line guidance for 2025, sending its stock higher on Thursday.
The company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.83 compared to the year-ago quarter’s $0.67 and the consensus of $0.71, according to Yahoo Finance.
Revenue fell 4% year-over-year (YoY) to $2.19 billion versus the $2.17 billion consensus estimate.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 4% to $688 million, with declines in subscriber revenue partially offset by the benefits from lower costs. EBITDA margin remained stable at 31%.
Sirius CEO Jennifer Witz said, “By prioritizing our core in-car subscription business, leveraging our streaming capabilities, and growing our leadership in ad-supported audio, we are well-positioned to deliver long-term value.”
CFO Tom Barry said the company expects to generate free cash flow of $1.15 billion in 2025 and achieve an additional $200 million in run-rate savings exiting the year.
Sirius XM’s namesake audio entertainment business had 33 million subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter. Its self-pay subscribers climbed 18,000 during the quarter to 149,000 but paid promotional subscribers fell by 79,000.
Self-pay subscribers for Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium services fell by 101,000 in the fourth quarter, ending the year at 5.8 million.
Sirius XM guided full-year revenue to $8.5 billion, adjusted EBITDA to $2.6 billion and free cash flow to $1.15 billion. Analysts, on average, expect revenue of $8.55 billion.
Retail investors on Stocktwits jumped on the bullish bandwagon following the earnings release.
A stock watcher lauded the company’s results, adding that the stock is trading at a “great price.
Another said they bought some shares at $21.50, primarily relying on Warren Buffett’s interest in the stock. The Oracle of Omaha has been accumulating the stock for a while.
Sirius XM stock traded up 5.36% to $23.01 by late morning trading. The stock has lost over 4% in January after slumping 57% in 2024.
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