SiriusXM reports third quarter revenue of $2.16 billion with podcast growth

SiriusXM Holdings Inc. announced third quarter 2025 financial results on October 30, 2025, reporting total revenue of $2.16 billion, a less than 1% decline from the prior-year period. Net income reached $297 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $2.96 billion in the third quarter of 2024, which had included a $3.36 billion noncash goodwill impairment related to the Liberty Media transaction.

Adjusted EBITDA totaled $676 million in the third quarter, down 2% from $693 million in the same 2024 period, with a 31% adjusted EBITDA margin. Free cash flow reached $257 million for the quarter, compared to $93 million in the third quarter of 2024.

"This was a quarter of meaningful progress for SiriusXM," Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Witz stated during the earnings call. "We're enhancing the subscriber experience through new content, deeper personalization, and continued innovation across every stage of the customer journey, driving greater engagement and value for our listeners."

The company operates two complementary audio entertainment businesses: SiriusXM and Pandora and Off-Platform. SiriusXM segment revenue totaled $1.6 billion in the third quarter, representing a 1% decline from the prior year, while Pandora and Off-Platform revenue increased 1% to $548 million. Total subscriber revenue for the quarter reached $1,629 million, with advertising revenue of $455 million and equipment and other revenue of $75 million.

Podcast advertising drives revenue growth amid streaming headwinds

The company's podcast business continued strong performance during the quarter, with advertising revenue climbing nearly 50% year-over-year. This growth partially offset declines in music streaming advertising revenue. SiriusXM Media now reaches more than 170 million listeners monthly, and the podcast network ranks as the largest in the nation by reach, as measured by Edison Research.

The Morbid podcast joined the SiriusXM Podcast Network through a multi-year exclusive agreement announced in July 2025, which brought the top-ranking true crime show to the platform starting September 1. SiriusXM secured an exclusive deal with MrBallen on October 27, adding "The MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories" to the network beginning November 1, with exclusive distribution rights for both the podcast and MrBallen's YouTube channel.

The advertising business delivered 1% growth in the third quarter, reaching $455 million, up from $450 million in the prior-year period. Within the Pandora and Off-Platform segment, advertising revenue increased 2% to $416 million, driven by revenue generated from podcasts and technology fees, partially offset by reduced advertiser demand in streaming music.

"We do have opportunities to improve on the streaming side and on the satellite side as we bring things like Tom mentioned in the prepared remarks, being able to sell better across our platforms," Witz stated during the earnings call. "We're just launching now a unified buying process for salespeople and marketers so that it's much easier to buy across all three platforms."

The company expanded its monetization capabilities through several strategic initiatives during the quarter. SiriusXM Media integrated with Amazon DSP, enabling programmatic access to digital advertising inventory across music and podcasts. The Creator Connect offering, which monetizes podcast content across audio, video, and social platforms, showed expansion in both inventory and CPMs on a year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis.

Subscriber metrics reflect strategic adjustments

SiriusXM self-pay net subscribers decreased by 40,000 in the third quarter of 2025, bringing total ending subscribers to approximately 33 million. Self-pay monthly churn remained at 1.6%, showing slight improvement driven by declines in vehicle-related voluntary churn. The company attributes the net subscriber decline almost entirely to reduced streaming marketing spend.

"As we came into the year, we said that we expected self-pay net adds to be better year-over-year but for a few specific items," Witz explained during the earnings call. "Mostly that's because of the streaming reduction as a result of the pullback in the marketing spend there and the performance this year so far. Our expectations for the fourth quarter have been consistent with our thoughts coming into the year."

Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the SiriusXM segment increased slightly to $15.19 in the third quarter of 2025 from $15.16 in the third quarter of 2024, benefiting from a March rate increase. Total trial funnel stood at 7.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2025, down from 7.6 million at the end of the second quarter but slightly above the 7.3 million recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Paid promotional net additions improved from the prior-year period, increasing by 51,000 during the third quarter of 2025, driven by higher vehicle sales. The company ended the quarter with approximately 1.6 million paid promotional subscribers.

Witz outlined expectations for continued progress during the earnings call, stating that the company anticipates contributions from new acquisition initiatives and expanded pricing and packaging. "We really believe we're going to see continued progress as a result of the expanded pricing and packaging we put in place, better personalized and content-led marketing, leveraging SiriusXM 360L, other third-party data to really get the right content in front of the right customers," Witz explained.

For the Pandora and Off-Platform segment, self-pay subscribers totaled 5.7 million at quarter end, while monthly active users across all services declined to 41.6 million from 43.7 million in the prior-year period. Ad-supported listener hours totaled 2.49 billion for the quarter, representing a 1% increase year-over-year. Revenue per thousand listener hours (RPM) declined to $91.24 from $104.50 in the third quarter of 2024.

Cost management and operational efficiency initiatives

Operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation and legal settlements totaled $1.48 billion in the third quarter, flat compared to the prior year. The company achieved $200 million in cost savings during the year while continuing to invest in areas with clear returns in engagement, ad monetization, and OEM distribution.

"Our third-quarter results demonstrate continued financial strength, and we are pleased to increase our financial guidance by $25 million across revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow," Chief Financial Officer Tom Berry stated during the earnings call. "We maintained solid margins, with meaningful investments that drive clear payback in engagement, ad monetization, and OEM distribution largely off-set by disciplined cost management."

Sales and marketing expenses decreased 15% year-over-year to $176 million, benefiting from lower brand and streaming marketing expenditures. Product and technology costs fell 5% to $54 million, driven by ongoing optimization efforts. Transmission costs decreased 14% to $48 million, reflecting lower hosting and bandwidth expenses.

Subscriber acquisition costs rose 19% to $107 million during the quarter, primarily driven by contractual changes with certain automakers. SAC per installation increased to $19.37 from $14.67 in the prior-year period, reflecting the company's ongoing transition to higher-cost chipsets and contractual modifications with automakers.

The SiriusXM segment reported gross profit of $958 million with a 59% gross margin, down one percentage point year-over-year. Pandora and Off-Platform segment gross profit decreased 9% to $170 million, with a 31% gross margin, down three percentage points from the prior year, primarily due to lower advertiser demand in streaming music.

Content investments strengthen programming portfolio

The company expanded its roster of high-profile voices during the quarter. Stephen A. Smith launched two new programs on Mad Dog Sports Radio and the P.O.T.U.S. channel, offering sports commentary and political insights. SiriusXM renewed its agreement with Megyn Kelly, expanding the partnership to include the upcoming Megyn Kelly Channel. The company extended its agreement with Andy Cohen, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Radio Andy.

"With 11 of the top 25 podcasts, it feels like we're in a good position to see what's out there, field some offers, and decide what's best for the company," President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein stated during the earnings call, addressing the company's podcast portfolio strength.

Music programming remained central to the service, with Channel 13 returning to celebrate Taylor Swift's new album, a pop-up channel and Small Stage concert with Ed Sheeran, and an exclusive Metallica event to launch Maximum Metallica. Howard Stern continued to book high-profile guests throughout the quarter.

Streaming engagement metrics showed strong performance across the platform. Subscribers with SiriusXM 360L who also stream listened an average of 28 days per month. NFL and MLB play-by-play listeners increased by more than 50%, while usage of artist-seeded stations nearly tripled, reflecting expanded access to programming introduced late last year.

The company rolled out its new customer-based identity framework during the quarter, shifting subscriptions from vehicle-based to customer-based. This change eliminates friction when customers add, replace, or exchange vehicles, as subscribers no longer need to cancel and resubscribe at the end of a trial when replacing a vehicle. The framework lays the foundation for future initiatives expected to simplify the signup experience for new customers.

Pricing and packaging innovations expand market reach

SiriusXM launched Play, a low-cost ad-supported subscription tier, during the quarter. Early indicators from limited targeted marketing efforts showed positive results, with no evidence of cannibalization of the existing full-price subscriber population. Within test populations, the company drove interest and subscriptions across all packages, effectively widening the top of the funnel.

The company continues to see positive trends from its expanded pricing and packaging structure. Initiatives such as the $9.99 music-only package and the Play ad-supported tier serve as attractive headline prices, while customers typically select higher-priced packages. Management expressed confidence that the mix on acquisition supports future revenue maximization through balancing rate and volume.

"We do feel good about the mix on acquisition and I think we continue to have opportunities to add value to support future rate increases," Witz stated during the earnings call. "Of course it really is about revenue maximization and balancing rate and volume."

SiriusXM 360L penetration continued to expand, launching in Toyota's new RAV4 with a standard three-month trial and optional dealer-added three-year subscription program. The company's three-year automotive dealer subscription program continues to expand alongside better used car data and EV implementations.

Capital allocation and financial position

The company generated $257 million in free cash flow during the third quarter of 2025, up substantially from $93 million in the prior-year period. The increase reflected the absence of Liberty Media transaction-related costs recorded in the prior-year period, lower cash taxes paid, and reduced capital expenditures.

Capital expenditures totaled $175 million in the quarter, down from $216 million in the prior-year period. Satellite capital expenditures reached approximately $75 million as construction of SXM-10, SXM-11, and SXM-12 progressed according to plan. SXM-10 successfully entered operational service during the third quarter. Full-year satellite capital expenditures remain on track to total approximately $200 million.

The company expects 2025 non-satellite capital expenditures at the low end of the $450 million to $500 million range, declining further to approximately $400 million in 2026. Satellite capital expenditures are projected to decline to approximately $115 million in 2026, approximately $50 million in 2027, and near zero in 2028.

SiriusXM returned approximately $111 million to shareholders during the third quarter through $91 million in dividends and $20 million in share repurchases. The company reduced total debt by $120 million during the quarter, ending September 30, 2025, with a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio of 3.8 times. Management continues to target a long-term leverage ratio in the low-to-mid 3 times range, expecting to reach this level by late 2026.

"Our balanced approach drove a $120 million reduction in debt and delivered $111 million to our shareholders in the third quarter," Berry added during the earnings call. "As we look ahead, we remain confident in our strategy and on track to meet our new full-year guidance."

Total debt stood at $10.08 billion as of September 30, 2025, including $594 million measured at fair value. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $79 million. The company increased and extended its revolving credit facility to $2 billion during the quarter, with just $30 million drawn as of September 30, preserving significant liquidity and financial flexibility.

Raised 2025 financial guidance

The company increased its 2025 guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow by $25 million across all metrics. Updated guidance calls for total revenue of approximately $8.525 billion, adjusted EBITDA of approximately $2.625 billion, and free cash flow of approximately $1.225 billion. The increases reflect continued strength of operations and disciplined execution.

Management expressed confidence that improvements in the business will drive continued growth in free cash flow toward the target of $1.5 billion by 2027 and beyond. The company stated it remains actively exploring ways to unlock the long-term strategic value of its spectrum assets.

The company's spectrum holdings total approximately 35 MHz of contiguous spectrum, with 25 MHz used for core broadcast operations and 10 MHz of recently acquired WCS licenses positioned on either side of the 25 MHz. Management indicated the company is evaluating multiple approaches to creating value through expanding or enhancing services, building on core strengths in automotive, creating new partnerships, or developing new services built potentially in conjunction with partners.

Industry context and competitive dynamics

The audio advertising market has demonstrated substantial growth potential alongside persistent challenges. Industry measurements show 47% of Americans aged 12 and older listened to podcasts monthly, representing approximately 135 million monthly listeners. Weekly podcast listeners surged to 34% of the U.S. population aged 12 and older, representing a 10% year-over-year increase.

Despite digital audio commanding 20% of consumer media time, audio investment represents only 2.9% of total digital advertising revenue. This measurement gap creates ongoing challenges for audio advertising platforms seeking proportional investment levels from marketers. Audio advertising market analysis reveals programmatic podcast adoption has accelerated significantly, with 25% of total U.S. digital audio spend transacted programmatically.

The podcast landscape has experienced significant consolidation and competition for exclusive content. Audioboom reported record third quarter revenue of $20.4 million with 18% growth, driven by video expansion, while reaching 10,058 brand advertisers. Competing platforms have invested heavily in advertising technology infrastructure throughout 2025, with Spotify launching its Spotify Ad Exchange in April 2025 to enable programmatic buying through real-time auctions.

Video podcast content has emerged as a critical growth area across the industry. Research from Edison Research and SXM Media indicates 70% of Gen Z listeners find podcasts through YouTube recommendations, while 75% discover new shows through brief podcast clips on social media. Video podcast content enables diverse advertising formats including pre-roll video ads, mid-roll placements, overlay advertisements, and product placement opportunities that command higher rates than audio-only advertising.

Timeline

Third Quarter 2025 Timeline

• July 30, 2025: Morbid podcast multi-year agreement announced
• September 1, 2025: Morbid podcast joins SiriusXM Podcast Network with exclusive distribution
• September 30, 2025: Third quarter 2025 ends with 33 million total subscribers
• October 27, 2025: MrBallen exclusive agreement announced
• October 30, 2025: Company announces third quarter results and raises 2025 guidance
• November 1, 2025: MrBallen podcast begins on SiriusXM Podcast Network

Related Industry Developments

• July 2025: Spotify Q2 advertising revenue declined 1% year-over-year
• July 2025: Audio advertising market research reveals 22% engagement gap
• October 2025: Audioboom reports record Q3 revenue with 18% growth
• October 2025: Audioboom surpasses $325 million in global creator payouts

Summary

Who: SiriusXM Holdings Inc., led by Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Witz and Chief Financial Officer Tom Berry, operates the SiriusXM satellite radio service, Pandora streaming platform, and an expansive podcast network reaching 170 million monthly listeners.

What: The company reported third quarter 2025 revenue of $2.16 billion with net income of $297 million, adjusted EBITDA of $676 million, and free cash flow of $257 million. Podcast advertising revenue surged nearly 50% year-over-year, while self-pay net subscribers decreased by 40,000. The company raised full-year 2025 guidance by $25 million across revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow.

When: Results covered the three-month period ending September 30, 2025, announced on October 30, 2025. The company projects continued free cash flow growth toward a target of $1.5 billion by 2027.

Where: The company operates across North America, reaching approximately 33 million total SiriusXM subscribers and 41.6 million Pandora monthly active users. The SiriusXM Media platform delivers advertising to 170 million monthly listeners across satellite, streaming, and podcast platforms.

Why: The results matter for the marketing community as they demonstrate the growing importance of podcast advertising in the audio ecosystem, with nearly 50% year-over-year growth offsetting declines in music streaming advertising. The company's expansion of programmatic capabilities through Amazon DSP integration and continued podcast network growth through exclusive deals with MrBallen and Morbid illustrate competitive dynamics in the digital audio advertising market. The persistent gap between consumer audio engagement (20% of media time) and advertiser investment (2.9% of digital ad revenue) creates both challenges and opportunities for audio platforms. SiriusXM's ability to maintain adjusted EBITDA margins near 31% while investing in new acquisition initiatives, product features, and content demonstrates the operational leverage available in subscription-based audio businesses. The company's focus on customer-based identity frameworks, expanded pricing tiers including the new Play ad-supported option, and investments in SiriusXM 360L technology point to strategies for reducing churn and expanding addressable markets in an increasingly competitive streaming environment.