Despite a 4% year-over-year decline of quarterly revenue to $2.19 billion, SiriusXM attained an increase in net income in its most recent financial earnings report. The company garnered $287 million in this category on the quarter, up 25.9% from the same period last year, while earnings per share rose to $0.83. Adjusted EBITDA on the quarter finished at $688 million, representative of a 4% decline from the $715 million it had generated during the same quarter in the last fiscal year.
The company primarily attributed a 2% decrease in the $2.73 billion of adjusted EBITDA for the full year to declines in subscriber revenue that were partially offset by lower costs of services, sales and marketing and various other disciplines. Nonetheless, the company was able to maintain an adjusted EBITDA margin of 31%.
Earlier in the week, SiriusXM eliminated approximately 100 roles across the company as the audio provider aims to focus its business towards car distribution rather than streaming. The company has been looking to find $200 million in annualized cost savings by the end of the year, planning to move resources away from “high-cost, high-churn audiences in streaming” and prioritize growing its “core-revenue generating segments.”
“At the end of 2024, we took significant steps to refocus on SiriusXM’s core strengths and enhance operational efficiency,” Jennifer Witz, chief executive officer of SiriusXM, said in a statement. “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. Looking ahead, we are energized by the opportunities to build on this strategy and continue offering unparalleled audio experiences through our platforms.”
SiriusXM added about 149,000 self-pay subscribers in the quarter, a gain of 18,000 compared to the fourth quarter in FY 2023, while self-pay monthly churn diminished 1.5%. Although the company registered the quarterly increase in this category, self-pay subscribers decreased by 296,000 on the year, still representative of a year-over-year improvement after losing 445,000 self-pay subscribers in the year before. The company currently has a total of approximately 33 million total subscribers to its service as it offers an array of live programming to its listeners; however, it ascribed a 3% year-over-year increase in subscriber acquisition costs.
SiriusXM highlighted live sports as “a key differentiator,” which was highlighted by coverage of the 12-team College Football Playoff and the ongoing NBA season. The company also announced an agreement with ESPN+ in the fourth quarter that offers new and existing customers of both services the option to enter into bundles to access the services.
“I’m proud of the progress we made in 2024 to sharpen our strategy and strengthen our financial foundation,” Tom Barry, chief financial officer of SiriusXM, said in a statement. “We met our 2024 guidance targets, including adjusted EBITDA of approximately $2.73 billion with a solid margin of 31%, making strategic investments supported by disciplined cost management.
“In 2025, we are focused on generating $1.15 billion in free cash flow and achieving an additional $200 million in run-rate savings exiting the year, enabling us to continue investing in the business and returning capital to stockholders while reducing leverage. Our focus will remain on operational efficiency and ROI-driven decisions to ensure value creation going forward.”
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