Sirius XM Rises on Record Revenues

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) reported its first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company said it had $0.03 in earnings per share (EPS) on a quarterly record of $1.2 billion in revenue, which compares to consensus estimates of $0.03 in EPS on revenue of $1.18 billion. In the same period of last year, Sirius posted EPS of $0.02 and $1.08 billion in revenue.

Revenue climbed 11% to $1.2 billion, a record high for a first quarter. The increase was driven by an 8% increase in subscribers and a 3% increase in average revenue per user to $12.66.

The company added 465,000 net new subscribers by the end of the first quarter, to nearly 30.1 million subscribers, an increase of 8% from 27.7 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter from last year. Self-pay net additions were 348,000 during the first quarter, resulting in self-pay subscribers of 24.6 million, up 8% versus the prior year period.

In terms of guidance for the full year, the company expects to add 1.6 million net new total subscribers, an increase from the previous level of 1.4 million. Sirius also expects revenues of $4.9 billion for the year, which measures up to the consensus estimate of $4.95 billion in revenue.
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Jim Meyer, CEO of Sirius XM, commented:

SiriusXM’s results exceeded our expectations in the first quarter, and I’m especially pleased we were able to add 465,000 net new subscribers, leading to an 8% increase in subscribers over the prior year. With excellent subscriber growth so early in the year, we are raising our guidance for full year net subscriber additions to 1.6 million. We set first quarter records for revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow, and we are on track to achieve all of our financial goals this year.

He added:

With a new full time music channel from Kenny Chesney, live broadcasts from major music festivals, special popup channels for David Bowie and Billy Joel, as well as new talk shows, and unmatched coverage of the presidential primaries, SiriusXM continues to be the leader in audio entertainment. We are always looking to deliver new, compelling content to our subscribers.

Shares of Sirius XM were up 1.3% to $4.04 Thursday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $4.53 and a 52-week trading range of $3.29 to $4.20.