SiriusXM has revealed its Q1 2022 financial results, showcasing a further slide for Pandora active users. SiriusXM subscribers have also stagnated. Here’s why.
SiriusXM reported an increase of 6% ($2.19 billion) compared to 2021. The company recorded net income of $309 million in Q1 2022, compared to $219 million in the same quarter of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA reached $690 million in 2022, climbing 1% from $682 million in Q1 2021.
“SiriusXM delivered a record first quarter churn rate of just 1.6%, and we drove a 9% increase in average revenue per user to a new all time high,” shares Jennifer Witz, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM. “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.”
Witz continues, “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. In the first quarter, we returned $1.3 billion to our stockholders through regular and special dividends and common stock repurchases. We remain on track to attain our full-year subscriber and financial guidance.”
SiriusXM says its hardware was incorporated in around 83% of new vehicles sold in the US in Q1 2022. That’s up from 81% in Q1 2021. SiriusXM’s enabled fleet grew to nearly 146 million vehicles – a rise of 9% year-over-year.
The company also expects to continue growing its talk, entertainment, sports, and comedy categories. It has introduced new limited-time artist channels for Joni Mitchell, Avril Lavigne, Maren Morris, and a year-long channel featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers.
SiriusXM Q1 2022 Financial Guidance
- SiriusXM self-pay net subscribers grew 500,000
- Total revenue of approximately $9 billion
- Adjusted EBITDA of $2.8 billion
- Free cash flow of $1.55 billion
SiriusXM self-pay subscribers remain stagnant at 32 million. The quarter saw a modest drop by 25,000 and paid promotional subscribers decreased by 54,000. SiriusXM says the continuing impacts of new vehicle trial structures with certain automakers contributed to the negative paid promotional churn. So how many subscribers does SiriusXM have? Total subscribers are at 34 million for March 31, 2022.
Self-pay monthly church remained flat during the quarter but notched a first-quarter record at 1.6%. Self-pay subscribers for Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium increased by 4,000 in Q1 2022 to end the period at 6.3 million. Pandora had 50.6 million monthly active users in Q1 2022, down from 55.6 million just a year before. However, advertising revenues are growing and are up 8% year-over-year at $336 million.