Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) reported a complex finish to fiscal 2025 on Thursday, as the satellite radio giant managed to edge past revenue expectations while its bottom line was severely crimped by non-cash charges and a shrinking satellite subscriber base.
The New York-based company posted fourth-quarter revenue of $2.19 billion, flat compared to the previous year but slightly ahead of the $2.17 billion analyst consensus.
However, GAAP net income fell to $99 million ($0.24 per share), a 65% decline from the $287 million reported in the year-ago period.
This massive EPS miss—coming in 69% below the $0.77–$0.78 expected by the Street—was primarily driven by higher subscriber acquisition costs and non-cash impairment charges.
On an "adjusted" basis, which strips out these one-time items, EPS reached $0.80, narrowly beating estimates and highlighting the underlying stability of the business.
Operationally, SiriusXM is in the midst of a pivot toward its 360L hybrid platform and new ad-supported tiers to combat the gradual decline in satellite-only subscribers.
The company lost 301,000 self-pay subscribers over the full year, ending 2025 with 31.35 million.
To bridge this gap, the firm launched SiriusXM Play in mid-2025—a lower-cost, ad-supported plan designed to capture price-sensitive listeners.
This initiative helped drive a 3% increase in advertising revenue to $491 million this quarter, providing a critical buffer as subscription revenue dipped 1%.
For 2026, SiriusXM issued a "stabilization" outlook, projecting revenue of approximately $8.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.6 billion.