up arrowSiriusXM has announced that it ended 2014 with 27.3 million subscribers, representing an addition of approximately 600,000 subscribers.  This represents 1.75 million net subscriber additions during the year, which exceeded the company’s increased guidance of 1.5 million net additions. Self-pay net additions in 2014 were 1.44 million, which exceeded the company’s 2014 guidance of 1.25 million and resulting in year-ending self-pay subscriptions of over 22.5 million.

In addition, and perhaps most important, the company also announced that it expects to exceed its 2014 guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.  In essence, SiriusXM had a very successful 2014 on most every front.

“SiriusXM performed very well in 2014, exceeding our 2014 subscriber and financial guidance, even after pushing most of these targets higher during the year. With more people than ever subscribing to satellite radio, we expect the company’s strong performance to continue in 2015,” said Jim Meyer, SiriusXM’s Chief Executive Officer.

In addition to releasing this positive news, SiriusXM also issued 2015 guidance for net subscriber additions, revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow:

  • Net subscriber additions of approximately 1.2 million,
  • Revenue of approximately $4.4 billion,
  • Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.6 billion, and
  • Free cash flow of approximately $1.25 billion.

In looking at the 2015 guidance, we can see that it is pretty close to what the company ultimately outlined for 2014:

  • Net self-pay subscriber additions of approximately 1.25 million,
  • Revenue of approximately $4.150 billion,
  • Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.425 billion, and
  • Free cash flow of approximately $1.120 billion.

In essence, the company is projecting more modest growth in certain areas than some may want to see, but we need to remember, we are looking at numbers in the billions.  SiriusXM is projecting $250 million more in revenue, about $175 million more in Adjusted EBITDA, and about $100 million more in Free Cash Flow.  These types of numbers can give investors confidence that the company can continue share buybacks or even look for buyout opportunities.

With the company essentially beating all metrics in 2014, the stage is set for a good year in 2015.  As a much more mature company now, SiriusXM is at a point where investors can be confident that numbers are being hit and that the business model remains not only sound, but robust as well.  The connected car, which was a fear that some had about SiriusXM, has not really created an issue for the company, and in fact, SiriusXM has embraced the technology and even added value to its business with services beyond radio.  Stay Tuned!