Sirius and XM expected to post narrower losses in Q1

Posted May 10th 2008 2:40PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings Reports, XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI)

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings (NASDAQ: XMSR) to report narrower losses for the first quarter. Both companies are scheduled to report Monday morning.

Sirius is expected to report a loss of 7 cents per share, compared to the same period in 2007 when it lost 10 cents per share, and the previous quarter when it lost 11 cents per share. The company has provided positive surprises in the past few quarters.

New York-based Sirius boasts 8.3 million subscribers and is the radio home of Howard Stern and Martha Stewart. In 2007 the company agreed to acquire rival XM Satellite Radio. In the past year, Sirius's revenues were $922 million. Its EPS growth forecast for the year is 19.47%, which is much better than its industry average. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to buy Sirius.

The stock has fallen 3.87% in the past year and closed Friday at $2.73.

XM is expected to report a loss of 38 cents per share, compared to the same period in 2007 when it lost 40 cents per share, and the previous quarter when it lost 78 cents per share. However, the company has tended to fall short of estimates in the past few quarters, by nearly 25% in the fourth quarter.

Based in Washington, DC, XM has 9 million U.S. subscribers, programs hosted by Bob Dylan and Ludacris, and it broadcasts live major league baseball games. In the past year, XM's revenues were $1.1 billion and its EPS growth forecast for the year is 22.52%, which is better than its industry average. The consensus recommendation of analysts recently has shifted back to buy XM.

The share price is up 7.37% in the past year and closed Friday at $11.80.

For more on the pending merger and other news that could influence the results, see BloggingStocks' Sirius coverage and XM coverage.

Tags: earnings, earnings reports, SIRI, Sirius, XM, XMSR

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-12-2008 @ 12:37PM

arthur Rubin said...

You gotta be kidding me? Sirius and XM are still viable companies???!!!

Any idiot who invests in either one of these dogs (interestingly, Sirius is the "dog" star) deserves to lose everything. Imagine this: Two companies still posting losses after being in business for more than 5 years MERGING!!! This is too funny. It also proves the greater sucker theory.

Happy investing.

5-11-2008 @ 4:19AM

rovoo said...

most stocks were down not only SIRI
http://www.rovoo.com/

5-11-2008 @ 7:24PM

Joe said...

Satellite radio is the choice for the future. Listen for a week and you will never go back to terrestrial radio. Proof positive is the North American Broadcasters Association's attempts to block the XM / Sirius merger!!!

5-11-2008 @ 11:50AM

Jim Kamp said...

I've invested heavily in SIRI. I love this dog. Call me an idiot. I don't care. I can't understand why SIRI has been losing money for last 5 years with all the 8 million + subscribers? I know Siri will profit in the long term. Anyway I've been listening to satellite radio for the past 2 years, and I swear I will never go back to crappy terrestrial radio. I am sure millions of other satellite subscribers share my viewpoint. Go dog star!!!

5-11-2008 @ 6:33PM

Plowboy said...

Be prepared for a blood-bath Monday. Expectations for losses are way too favorable. Poor auto sales and legal costs are going to make these puppies stink like poo.

The FCC ...doing the NAB's bidding by stalling the merger. Another failed Bush appointee.

5-11-2008 @ 8:23PM

Jim Kamp said...

Well maybe there will be a pleasant surprise to the upside.

"As for auto sales, they are down from 16.5 million to 15.2 million.... hardly abysmal."- plowboy