In the first quarter of 2025, SiriusXM lost over 303,000 self-pay subscribers due to a decline in total subscriber and advertising revenue.
In contrast, the audio behemoth lost 359,000 self-pay customers during the same period last year, while SiriusXM had 33 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter. The media and satellite radio company finished spinning out from Liberty Media, its largest investor, in September.
Revenue as a whole dropped 5% to $2.06 billion from $2.16 billion the previous year. Compared to $241 million in the first quarter of 2024, net income fell to $204 million. Due to a decline in self-pay audio users, subscriber revenue decreased to $1.6 billion from $1.68 billion in the previous year.
Additionally, compared to the same period last year, when it was $402 million, advertising revenue dropped to $394 million. Due to lower ad revenue, Pandora’s revenue dropped by 2% to $487 million.
In a morning analyst call, Jennifer Witz, the CEO of SiriusXM, talked about how a weaker U.S. economy could affect auto sales as consumer confidence declines and inflation increases. In prepared remarks to investors, she stated, “Our business remains resilient even in the face of economic uncertainty, buoyed by our industry leading customer satisfaction and the essential nature of our service to our core subscriber base.”
READ MORE: SiriusXM’s Subscriber Count Plateaus At 34 Million, While Pandora’s Decline Continues
As the audio firm concentrates on in-car subscribers, Tom Barry, CFO of SiriusXM, discussed challenges on new auto sales during the analyst call in the midst of the global trade war initiated by the Trump administration. “Overall, we have a good night’s sleep. As SiriusXM faces declining automobile sales in the U.S. market due to new auto parts tariffs that are driving up prices, he stated, “We have modeled multiple scenarios and we do not expect any material tariff-related impact on subscriber results this year.”
Prior to tariffs and concerns about increased consumer pricing, sales of new cars soared. The Trump administration also lessened the impact of its trade war on automakers by lowering charges on specific vehicle parts. However, SiriusXM executives are watching for possible effects on its in-car subscriber base in the future due to fewer expected sales at auto dealerships.
“In general, we would believe that the new car sales reduction would be in part offset by used car sales,” Witz told investors, referring to 2026 and beyond. We remain confident in the subscriber and financial figures for this year and probably next year even without that.
By the end of 2025, SiriusXM executives also reaffirmed that they are on track to save $200 million annually.
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