Sirius XM Holdings today reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.15 billion, slightly below the $2.16 billion of a year earlier, and raised each of its three full-year financial targets by $25 million for the second quarter running, as cost cuts lifted profit on flat sales. The advertising business that runs through Pandora, podcasts and the SiriusXM Media sales operation did not grow. Consolidated ad revenue was $456 million against $455 million, podcast advertising rose 20% after 30% in the second quarter, and Pandora ended September with 2.75 million fewer monthly users than a year before. Net income rose 7% to $317 million.

In Short

SiriusXM, which runs the satellite radio service, the Pandora music app and a large podcast ad-sales business in the US, took in about as much money between July and September 2026 as a year earlier but spent less, so its profit went up. Its advertising sales stopped growing: podcast ads still rose, though more slowly than earlier in the year, while fewer people listened to Pandora, which left fewer music ads to sell. The company is counting on ads it sells on other companies' audio, such as YouTube, to make up the difference, but it has not said how much the YouTube business earns.

The quarter in numbers

Revenue for the three months to September 30, 2026 was $2,153 million against $2,159 million, according to SiriusXM's earnings release. Subscriber revenue was $1,630 million, essentially unchanged from $1,629 million. Advertising revenue was $456 million against $455 million. The decline came from hardware. Equipment revenue fell to $36 million from $43 million, which the company attributes to "higher memory costs" in the modules it supplies for satellite radios. Other revenue was $31 million, against $32 million.

Net income rose 7% to $317 million from $297 million. Diluted earnings per share moved the other way, falling 7% to $0.78 from $0.84. That gap is an accounting effect rather than an operating one. SiriusXM carries $575 million of 3.75% convertible senior notes due March 15, 2028, which it measures at fair value, and the quarter's $46 million of other income included unrealized gains on that debt. For diluted earnings, the company assumes the notes convert: it removes $35 million of after-tax gains from the numerator and adds 19 million shares to the denominator, according to its earnings per share calculation. Basic earnings per share rose to $0.94 from $0.88.

Operating income fell 3% to $479 million from $493 million, mostly because depreciation and amortization rose 18% to $166 million. Interest expense fell to $109 million from $115 million, which the quarterly report on Form 10-Q, signed today by chief financial officer Zac Coughlin, attributes to a lower average debt balance. The effective tax rate was 23.8%.

Adjusted EBITDA, the measure SiriusXM uses to set operating goals and employee incentives, rose 3% to $694 million from $676 million. The margin reached 32.2%, up from 31.3%, according to the company's trended quarterly results. Free cash flow rose 14% to $293 million from $257 million, which the company credits to higher adjusted EBITDA, favorable working capital, lower interest expense and reduced capital expenditure. Over nine months, free cash flow reached $1,057 million, up 48% from $715 million.

Guidance raised again

SiriusXM now expects full-year 2026 revenue of about $8.55 billion, adjusted EBITDA of about $2.65 billion and free cash flow of about $1.40 billion, each $25 million above the previous outlook. The company first set its 2026 targets in February at $8.5 billion, $2.6 billion and $1.35 billion, and raised all three by $25 million in July. The investor presentation repeats a target of about $1.5 billion of free cash flow in 2027.

"Our third-quarter performance reflects the progress we're making in building a stronger, more durable SiriusXM," said Jennifer Witz, chief executive officer, according to the release. "We're stabilizing our subscriber base, deepening engagement through differentiated content and experiences, and expanding the reach and capabilities of our advertising platform."

Coughlin put the emphasis on cost. "Disciplined cost management and structural operating improvements drove Adjusted EBITDA growth, margin expansion and stronger profitability in the third quarter," he said, according to the release.

Advertising: $456 million and no growth

Advertising made up about 21% of SiriusXM's revenue in the quarter, on PPC Land's calculation. It is split unevenly between the company's two segments: $419 million came from Pandora and Off-platform, which houses Pandora's ad-supported service, podcasts, AdsWizz and the third-party inventory SiriusXM Media resells, and $37 million from the satellite and streaming service that carries the SiriusXM name.

The investor presentation describes the quarter as "stable advertising revenue of $456M." Set against the rest of the year, stable means a stop. Consolidated ad revenue rose 3% in the first quarter, to $407 million from $394 million, and 5% in the second, to $454 million from $432 million, according to the trended results. In the third quarter it rose by $1 million. Over nine months, advertising reached $1,317 million, up 3% from $1,281 million.

Podcasting slows to 20%

Pandora and Off-platform ad revenue rose 1% to $419 million from $416 million. Three categories grew: podcasting, programmatic advertising and technology fees. According to the presentation, growth came from "20% growth in podcasting, 21% growth in programmatic advertising and 11% growth in technology fees," partly offset by a decline in streaming music advertising "reflecting lower listener hours." None of the three growth categories carries a dollar figure.

The podcast number is the one that has moved most. PPC Land has tracked SiriusXM's podcast advertising growth quarter by quarter: nearly 50% in the third quarter of 2025, 41% for the full year 2025, 37% in the first quarter of 2026 and 30% in the second. The third quarter's 20% is the lowest rate in that run. Growth now comes on a larger base, and because SiriusXM does not disclose podcast revenue in dollars, the slowdown in percentage terms cannot be translated into a change in dollars added.

Programmatic advertising grew slightly faster than podcasting. The company has disclosed programmatic figures before in different cuts: in the fourth quarter of 2025, it said podcast programmatic revenue rose 92%. The third-quarter 21% covers programmatic advertising in the segment as a whole, so the two figures are not comparable.

Technology fees are not defined in the quarter's materials. The quarterly report describes AdsWizz as "a comprehensive digital audio and programmatic advertising technology platform, which connects audio publishers and advertisers with a variety of ad insertion, campaign trafficking, yield optimization, programmatic buying, marketplace and podcast monetization solutions." The release, for its part, says AdsWizz "powers one in four audio advertisements across the global open ecosystem," without defining that ecosystem or naming a source for the share.

Other audio sellers reported faster growth over the same months, though in different currencies and on different bases. Spotify's ad-supported revenue rose 9% at constant currency to €482 million in its third quarter, with automated channels adding €91 million and direct sales losing €53 million. Acast, a podcast specialist, reported net sales up 25%, with North America up 54% and organic growth of 18%. Audioboom's third-quarter revenue rose 17% to $23.8 million.

Pandora's audience keeps shrinking

Pandora had 38.812 million monthly active users at September 30, down 7% from 41.562 million a year earlier. The quarterly report attributes the decline to "lower new user acquisition and continued attrition among existing listeners." SiriusXM counts distinct registered users, including subscribers, who consumed content in the trailing 30 days, and states that the figure "may overstate the number of unique individuals" because one person can hold several accounts.

The trend is longer than one year. The trended results show 45.023 million monthly users in the first quarter of 2024; the count has fallen in eight of the ten quarters since, by about 6.2 million or 14% in total, on PPC Land's arithmetic.

Ad-supported listener hours, the inventory Pandora sells, fell 10% to 2,248 million from 2,494 million. Over nine months they fell 8%, to 6,823 million from 7,425 million. The company measures listener hours from bytes served for each track requested, "whether or not a listener listens to the entire track," and splits podcast episodes into roughly track-length parts. It notes that third-party measurements built differently may not match.

Pricing did not offset the volume loss. Advertising revenue per thousand listener hours (RPM) was $91.63 against $91.24, essentially flat. The quarterly report credits the small increase to "improved monetization on programmatic and non-programmatic advertising." Over nine months, RPM fell to $87.82 from $88.14, which the company attributes to "lower streaming music advertising demand amid increased competition for digital advertising spending, partially offset by growth in programmatic advertising." Two years earlier, in the third quarter of 2024, Pandora's RPM was $104.50, according to the trended results.

Pandora's paid tiers are shrinking too. Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium ended the quarter with 5.514 million self-pay subscribers, down 3% from 5.691 million, and subscriber revenue fell 2% to $130 million. The company nonetheless expects that line to grow, "with higher pricing offsetting declines in the number of average subscribers."

Off-platform now carries the segment

SiriusXM does not say how much of the segment's $419 million comes from Pandora's own app and how much from the podcasts, AdsWizz and third-party platforms it sells. Its definitions allow an estimate. RPM is calculated by "dividing advertising revenue, excluding AdsWizz and other off-platform revenue, by the number of thousands of listener hours on our Pandora advertising-based service." Multiplying RPM by listener hours therefore gives back Pandora's own advertising revenue.

On PPC Land's calculation, 2,248 million hours at $91.63 per thousand imply about $206 million of advertising sold against Pandora listening in the third quarter, down from about $228 million a year earlier, a fall of roughly 9%. The remainder of the segment's $419 million, about $213 million, came from AdsWizz and other off-platform sources, against about $188 million a year earlier, a rise of roughly 13%. Over nine months, the same arithmetic gives about $599 million on Pandora, down from $654 million, and about $605 million off it, up from $511 million.

Applied to the trended quarterly figures, the off-platform share rose from about 37% of segment advertising in the first quarter of 2024 to about half in the first quarter of 2026, and to roughly 51% in the third quarter. These are estimates: listener hours in the trended tables are rounded to hundredths of a billion, which moves the results by a few million dollars, and the off-platform residual includes everything SiriusXM classifies as off-platform, not podcasts alone.

The shift has a cost. Pandora and Off-platform revenue share and royalties, which include payments to third-party publishers "based on advertising impressions delivered or click-through actions," were $334 million against $337 million. The quarterly report says the decline reflected lower listening hours, "partially offset by higher podcast revenue share," and expects the line to rise "with the growth in our off-platform monetization, including through podcasts and new partnerships." Revenue share paid to SoundCloud alone was $13 million in the quarter, the same as a year earlier. Transmission costs rose 29% to $9 million on higher cloud costs. Segment gross profit still rose 2% to $173 million, for a margin of 32% against 31%, excluding share-based payment expense.

Podcast supply also carries fixed obligations. As of September 30, SiriusXM had future fixed commitments of $1,597 million under music royalty and podcast agreements, $235 million of it payable in 2026, and some podcast agreements contain minimum guarantees, according to the quarterly report.

SiriusXM's own ad inventory

Advertising on the satellite and streaming service fell 5% to $37 million from $39 million. The release cites "softer demand across news programming and direct-to-consumer advertisers, partially offset by continued strength in sports." The quarterly report describes the cause more generally, as "the mix of advertising demand across channels."

The line has swung through the year. In the first quarter it fell 10% to $35 million on weaker news demand; in the second it rose 8% to $41 million with the FIFA World Cup and college sports. The company's outlook is flat. "We expect our SiriusXM advertising revenue to remain relatively flat as co-selling initiatives across our brands and platforms offset broadcast demand headwinds," the quarterly report states.

The quarter also covered the run-up to the US midterm elections. Audioboom said September brought the first meaningful wave of political advertising on its politics and news network. SiriusXM's third-quarter materials do not mention political advertising.

SiriusXM sells ads on non-music channels and on select music channels within ad-supported plans, including SiriusXM Play, the under-$7 plan launched in July 2025. The third-quarter materials give no subscriber count for ad-supported plans.

YouTube Audio, AdsWizz and 255 million listeners

The advertising pitch rests on reach. According to the release, "With YouTube Audio, its platform now reaches approximately 255 million unduplicated monthly listeners, up from 170 million a year ago and representing nearly 90% of Americans ages 13 and older." The quarterly report describes the arrangement behind that figure: Sirius XM Holdings "is the exclusive audio advertising representative for YouTube audio advertising inventory in the U.S."

SiriusXM and YouTube announced the deal on April 22, 2026. At SiriusXM Media's Built With Audio event on October 6, the company said adding YouTube Audio had expanded advertisers' unique reach by up to 91% across beta campaigns, without a campaign count, a measurement provider or a methodology. The quarter's release repeats that "early campaigns have increased advertisers' unique reach by as much as 91%," and the presentation describes it as "up to 91% incremental unique reach." Incremental reach depends on what a plan already covered, so a ceiling from unnamed campaigns says little about a typical buy. The third-quarter materials add no detail on method.

They add no revenue figure either. On the second-quarter call in July, Coughlin said the company did not expect meaningful financial contribution from the deal for the rest of 2026 or the first half of 2027. Witz returned to the partnership in today's release: "partnerships like YouTube Audio are expanding our premium advertising inventory and creating new opportunities to connect advertisers with audiences at scale."

The quarterly report sets out where SiriusXM expects segment advertising growth to come from: "We expect Pandora and Off-platform advertising revenue to increase due to growth in off-platform monetization, including through podcasts and new partnerships, as well as higher technology fees." Pandora's own audience is not on that list.

The YouTube agreement sits alongside other resale and technology arrangements. The quarterly report lists SoundCloud, for which SiriusXM is exclusive ad sales representative in the US and certain European countries, and "arrangements to serve as the ad sales representative for certain podcasts." AdsWizz renewed its SoundCloud and Sonos exclusivity across 14 European markets in July. SiriusXM Media and AdsWizz brought LiveRamp's RampID to programmatic audio in May, and in 2025 connected Pandora and SoundCloud inventory to Amazon DSP. In September, SiriusXM put ad technology under Sean Gibbons, its chief product and technology officer. SiriusXM also holds a $75 million investment in SoundCloud made in February 2020, with two seats on its ten-member board of managers.

Subscribers, churn and prices

SiriusXM added about 5,000 self-pay subscribers in the quarter, against a loss of 40,000 a year earlier. The presentation says the result exceeded "our internal expectations." According to the release, companion subscriptions contributed 107,000 incremental self-pay net additions, with further help from the continuous service initiative, which keeps a subscription active when it is no longer tied to a vehicle, and from automotive dealer extended-duration plans. "These gains more than offset lower conversion rates," the release states. Over nine months, self-pay net additions were minus 84,000, against minus 411,000.

Self-pay monthly churn improved to about 1.5% from 1.6%, on lower vehicle-related and non-pay churn, partly offset by slightly higher voluntary churn. Over nine months it was 1.4%.

The paid promotional base, where automakers pay for trials, moved the other way within the quarter. It fell by 20,000, against a gain of 51,000 a year earlier, which the quarterly report links to lower vehicle sales and trial starts and to "shifts to unpaid or shorter-duration trials" in automaker programs. Year over year, paid promotional subscribers were still up 21,000 at 1.594 million. Total net additions were minus 15,000, and the company ended the quarter with 32.854 million subscribers. The trial funnel stood at 7.4 million, against 7.5 million at the end of June. Sirius XM Canada, not included in those counts, had 2.437 million subscribers, down 2%.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) was $15.18 against $15.19. According to the release, rate increases on certain self-pay plans and an improved discount mix, as customers move "from deeply discounted promotional offers to more sustainable pricing within our modular content packages," were offset by a growing share of "value-add and more affordable subscription offerings." SiriusXM's ARPU includes net advertising revenue as well as subscriber revenue.

Memory costs reach the car

The same memory costs that cut equipment revenue raised the cost of getting radios into new vehicles. Subscriber acquisition cost per installation rose 15% to $22.36 from $19.37. The quarterly report lists three causes: "higher memory costs, increased production from certain automakers with higher subsidy rates, and migration to higher cost chipsets with enhanced technology." Installations fell to 3.24 million from 3.35 million, while total subscriber acquisition costs were unchanged at $107 million.

The company expects both pressures to continue. It anticipates equipment revenue will decline "primarily due to higher memory costs associated with our hardware," and subscriber acquisition costs will rise on "contractual increases of subsidy rates with certain automakers." Memory prices have reached consumer hardware elsewhere this year: Apple's 2026 price rises on MacBook models were tied by Bloomberg to the cost of memory and storage.

Listening, sports and creators

Average listening time per listener rose about 5% year over year, with growth across all subscriber tenure groups, according to the release. The presentation breaks that down: 55% of the incremental listening among existing subscribers came from discovering new channels, with Morgan Wallen Radio accounting for about 20% of the overall increase, and 45% from more listening to familiar channels. Year-to-date app trends are on pace for the highest average listening time and most active days per listener since the new app launched in late 2023. Listening to SiriusXM's original news and issues content rose 6%.

On music, the Dolly Parton Tribute Channel became the most-listened-to artist pop-up channel of 2026, and Life with John Mayer became the number one streamed artist channel. More than 110,000 fans entered for a chance to attend John Mayer's Stephen Talkhouse performance, according to the presentation.

Sports drew most of the commercial attention. Monthly active sports listeners rose 4%, and average sports listening time among subscribers with 360L, the in-car interface that combines satellite and streaming, rose 7%. Listening to WWE Radio, which took over channel 156 on July 27, has grown nearly 20% since launch. SiriusXM now carries 24 local sports channels; about 22% of its 360L sports audience already tunes in, and more than 80% of those listeners are outside the channels' home markets. Taken together, the channels would rank as SiriusXM's third-largest sports destination, behind NFL Radio and ESPN Radio, according to the presentation.

The count differs slightly from the summer announcement. SiriusXM's July agreement with Audacy listed 23 sports stations in 29 markets from September 1. The third-quarter materials count 24 local sports channels without naming partners or explaining the additional one.

In September, SiriusXM launched Sports Pass, described in the release as "a more affordable subscription combining live play-by-play, national coverage and local programming across all four major professional leagues." PPC Land reported the $5 a month price when it was announced in July, and SiriusXM later added every 2026-27 NBA game. The quarter's materials give no Sports Pass subscriber figure. Sports is also the one category the release names as a source of strength in SiriusXM's own ad sales.

Creator content runs through the same advertising machinery. Howard Stern's programming has expanded to HBO Max, which the release says introduces him to new audiences "while preserving the exclusive live experience for SiriusXM subscribers." SiriusXM added Giggly Squad, Serialously and The Bald and the Beautiful to its podcast portfolio, and cited Giggly Squad's sold-out, multi-night run at Madison Square Garden as evidence of "the opportunity to monetize premium content across audio, video and live experiences." No financial terms were disclosed for any of the deals.

Costs and the $100 million program

Cost reductions explain most of the margin gain. Through September, SiriusXM realized $96 million in gross cost savings, $64 million in operating expenses and $32 million in capital expenditure, against a full-year 2026 target of $100 million, according to the presentation. Cash operating expenses fell about $24 million, or 2%, year over year.

Excluding share-based payment expense and legal settlements, programming and content costs fell 6% to $136 million on favorable contract renewals, and customer service and billing fell 6% to $108 million on more automation and lower call volumes. Sales and marketing fell 4% to $169 million, reflecting "more targeted in-car subscriber acquisition spending." General and administrative costs fell 4% to $110 million. Product and technology rose 4% to $56 million on data center and personnel costs, and revenue share and royalties rose 1% to $726 million. Impairment, restructuring and other costs were $10 million, half restructuring and half severance and other employee costs.

Not all of those lines are expected to keep falling. The quarterly report expects sales and marketing to rise "as we invest in brand and content marketing to support long-term subscriber acquisition and retention," and product and technology to rise "primarily due to higher cloud infrastructure costs, investments in artificial intelligence, as well as targeted investments to grow revenue." General and administrative costs, excluding litigation recoveries and settlement reserves, are expected to decline.

Satellites, debt and buybacks

Capital expenditure fell 5% to $166 million from $175 million. Non-satellite capital expenditure was flat at $103 million, which puts satellite spending at about $63 million in the quarter, on PPC Land's arithmetic. The presentation charts satellite capital expenditure at $262 million in 2024 and $204 million in 2025, with about $115 million expected in 2026, about $50 million in 2027 and "near zero" in 2028. Non-satellite capital expenditure is expected at $400 million to $415 million this year.

The fleet changed during the quarter. SXM-11 was placed into service on September 10, 2026, replacing XM-5, which remains an in-orbit spare. SXM-12, under construction, is expected to launch in 2027 and replace Sirius FM-5. SiriusXM brought forward the retirement of Sirius FM-6 to December 2026 from November 2028, which added $19 million of depreciation in the quarter and $41 million over nine months, and is expected to add $60 million in 2026, according to the quarterly report.

Total debt stood at $9,323 million at September 30, against $9,717 million at the end of 2025. The company retired its delayed draw term loan on June 30, and $1,250 million of 5.00% senior notes due August 1, 2027 are now classified as current. Nothing was drawn on the $2 billion revolving credit facility. Fixed-rate debt of $9,325 million carried a weighted average interest rate of 4.6%. The ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 3.3 times, down from about 3.6 times at the end of 2025, when the company set a low-to-mid 3 times target for the fourth quarter of 2026. "We delivered approximately $1.1 billion in free cash flow for the first nine months of the year, achieved our long-term leverage target and strengthened our financial flexibility," Coughlin said.

Shareholders received $124 million in the quarter: $91 million in dividends and $33 million in buybacks. SiriusXM repurchased 1,137,116 shares at an average of $29.04, paying $30.63 in July, $28.96 in August and $27.79 in September, according to the quarterly report. Of the $1.166 billion authorization approved on September 9, 2024, $963 million remains. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share on October 21, payable on November 23 to holders of record on November 6. Coughlin said "our more efficient operating model and declining satellite capital expenditures position us to meaningfully accelerate share repurchases in 2027."

What the guidance leaves for the fourth quarter

The raised targets imply a softer final quarter. Subtracting nine-month results from the full-year guidance, on PPC Land's arithmetic, leaves about $2.15 billion of revenue for the fourth quarter, against $2.19 billion a year earlier; about $600 million of adjusted EBITDA, against $691 million; and about $343 million of free cash flow, against $541 million. For the year as a whole, the guidance points to revenue roughly level with 2025's $8,558 million, adjusted EBITDA slightly below 2025's $2,665 million, and free cash flow about 11% above 2025's $1,256 million.

Because each target is approximate, the implied quarter is rough. SiriusXM gave no fourth-quarter outlook. Its quarterly report expects higher sales and marketing, product and technology and subscriber acquisition costs, but the materials do not say whether the implied decline in adjusted EBITDA reflects those plans or caution in the targets. Is the fourth quarter a step down, or is the guidance conservative? The company has now raised its targets twice this year, and the answer arrives with the full-year results.

Litigation around royalties and subscriptions

Several cases in the quarterly report bear on the economics of the inventory SiriusXM sells.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective sued Pandora on February 12, 2024 in the Middle District of Tennessee over alleged underpayment of royalties on Pandora's free radio service. The MLC contends that various Pandora offerings and ancillary features convert the free, noninteractive radio service into an interactive one that owes mechanical royalties, and that Pandora Plus should also pay more. Such a finding "would require Pandora to have paid and continue to pay significantly higher royalties," the quarterly report states. On September 30, 2026, the court denied both sides' motions for summary judgment, and no new trial date has been set. The MLC asked the court on October 14 to reconsider, or to allow new, shorter motions, or to certify the order for interlocutory appeal. Pandora responded on October 28, opposing summary judgment for the MLC but not opposing reconsideration if the court also revisits Pandora's own motion. The free radio service is the ad-supported inventory at the center of the Pandora advertising business.

In New York, the state attorney general's case over SiriusXM's cancellation practices continues. A court found in November 2024 that the practices violated the "simple mechanism requirement" of the federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, while granting SiriusXM summary judgment on the other claims; the Appellate Division affirmed on November 6, 2025. On April 1, 2026, the court granted the attorney general's motion for an injunction and an accounting on the ROSCA claim. The Appellate Division on May 14, 2026 granted the attorney general leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals, where the question is whether relief can extend to customers outside New York. SiriusXM says it has substantial defenses.

On the U.S. Music Royalty Fee, SiriusXM says over half of about 70,000 mass arbitration claims have been withdrawn or closed, and a settlement entered on January 13, 2026 and effectuated in the second quarter resolved most of the rest along with five lawsuits. The remaining putative class action, Stutsman, was remanded to Washington state court on August 20, 2026. A rate-setting trial with Broadcast Music, Inc. over 2023-2027 performance royalties is set to begin on January 11, 2027.

Why this matters for the marketing community

SiriusXM sells a large share of US audio advertising. On the July call, Coughlin put that share at roughly 10% of a US audio market of about $18 billion. The third quarter shows a business in which the inventory SiriusXM owns outright, Pandora's ad-supported listening and the satellite service's ad-supported channels, is shrinking or flat, while the inventory it sells for others, podcasts, SoundCloud and now YouTube, carries the growth.

For buyers, that changes what a SiriusXM Media plan contains. A growing share of the audience behind the 255 million figure sits on platforms SiriusXM does not own, and the company pays revenue share on that inventory. The flat RPM, against $104.50 two years ago, also indicates that Pandora's falling hours have not made the remaining inventory more expensive. The company's own explanation points to competition for digital ad budgets.

For podcasters and rival networks, the slowdown from nearly 50% to 20% in podcast advertising growth over a year sits beside 54% growth in Acast's North American sales. SiriusXM is still signing creators, from MrBallen in 2025 and The Bald and the Beautiful in July, both with exclusive ad rights across audio and video, to Giggly Squad this quarter on undisclosed terms, and it still carries $1,597 million of fixed music royalty and podcast commitments.

The programmatic figure fits a broader pattern. SiriusXM's 21% programmatic growth came in the same quarter that Spotify reported automated channels adding €91 million while its direct sales fell €53 million. The YouTube deal is the variable that could change SiriusXM's advertising trajectory, and the company has placed its financial contribution in the second half of 2027.

Timeline

Summary

Who: Sirius XM Holdings Inc., the Nasdaq-listed owner of the SiriusXM satellite and streaming service, Pandora, a podcast network, AdsWizz and the SiriusXM Media advertising sales operation, led by chief executive Jennifer Witz and chief financial officer Zac Coughlin.

What: Third-quarter 2026 revenue was $2,153 million, against $2,159 million. Net income rose 7% to $317 million, adjusted EBITDA rose 3% to $694 million and free cash flow rose 14% to $293 million, and the company raised full-year guidance by $25 million each to about $8.55 billion of revenue, $2.65 billion of adjusted EBITDA and $1.40 billion of free cash flow. Advertising revenue was flat at $456 million: Pandora and Off-platform rose 1% to $419 million, with podcasting up 20%, programmatic up 21% and technology fees up 11%, while SiriusXM's own ad revenue fell 5% to $37 million. Pandora's monthly users fell 7% to 38.8 million and ad-supported listener hours fell 10%. On PPC Land's estimate, off-platform sales now account for just over half of the segment's advertising.

When: The results cover July 1 to September 30, 2026, and were released today, October 29, 2026, together with the quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

Where: The business operates in the United States, with Sirius XM Canada held as an equity investment. The advertising operation sells inventory on Pandora, SiriusXM, podcasts, SoundCloud and, under an exclusive arrangement, YouTube's US audio inventory.

Why: The quarter shows SiriusXM's profit rising through cost cuts while its advertising business depends increasingly on audio it sells for other platforms. Podcast growth has slowed from nearly 50% a year ago to 20%, Pandora's own audience keeps shrinking, and the YouTube agreement that underpins the 255 million reach figure has yet to produce a disclosed revenue contribution.