SiriusXM lost subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 but improved net income to $317 million — or 8 cents per share — on revenue of $2.19 billion, the company announced Thursday morning. Analysts expected earnings per share of 8 cents on revenue of $2.15 billion, according to FactSet.
SiriusXM self-pay subscriptions fell by 25,000 subscribers from the previous quarter to 32.01 million, although that was still a 3.6% improvement from the first quarter of 2021. The average self-pay monthly churn rate fell from 1.7% to 1.6% in the quarter, equaling the rate in the prior-year period. Paid promotional subscribers fell by 54,000 subscriptions to 1.94 million. Pandora, SiriusXM’s internet music streaming platform, lost 65,000 self-pay subscribers in the quarter, its third consecutive decline. That left Pandora with 6.32 million subscribers, its lowest since the second quarter of 2020.
“Overall, the first quarter marked a great start to the year, even as SiriusXM’s near-term subscriber growth remains limited by supply constraints in the automotive industry,” CEO Jennifer Witz said in a statement. “We are making substantial investments to grow our advertising platform through new podcast agreements and to grow SiriusXM digital with enhanced brand and performance marketing.” SXM Media, the company’s sales organization, has the top podcast advertising network — including Crime Junkies, Office Ladies and Dateline NBC — by weekly U.S. listeners, according to Edison Research.
Despite the drop in subscribers, SiriusXM shares did what other subscription services have failed to do in 2022 following the company’s first-quarter earnings release on Thursday: rise. Last week, Netflix disappointed Wall Street and dropped 35% in a single day. On Wednesday, Spotify shares fell 12.4% after softer-than-expected subscriber growth. SiriusXM shares rose 4.9% to $6.26 before settling at $6.14 in Thursday morning trading. The stock is down 3% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq is off 19.5% and the NYSE composite is down 11.0%.
The company left its 2022 guidance unchanged. SiriusXM expects to add about 500,000 subscribers and generate approximately $9 billion in revenue and $2.8 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Financial metrics
Revenue: $2.19 billion, up 6.2% y/y
Adjusted EBITDA: $690 million, up 1.2% y/y
Net income: $317 million, up 41.1% y/y
SiriusXM revenue: $1.72 billion, +6.4% y/y
Pandora revenue: $467 million, +5.7% y/y
Listener metrics
SiriusXM self-pay subscribers: 32.01 million, +3.2% y/y and flat sequentially
Pandora subscribers: 6.32 million, -2.8% y/y and flat sequentially
Pandora monthly active users: 50.6 million, -9.5% y/y
Pandora ad-supported listener hours: 2.68 billion, -6.6% y/y
