Sirius XM Holdings Inc Q4 2024 Earnings Call Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Cameron Mansson-Perrone - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Thank you. Jennifer, I know you touched on the net add kind of outlook a little bit for this year. But I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit just in terms of some of the puts and takes that might dictate where you shake out for '25 even just directionally. And then for either one of you guys, on the guidance for adjusted EBITDA this year, it kind of underwrites the worse decline this year than in '24. And I'm wondering, as we think through that, given the upcoming pricing action and a similar run rate of cost savings this year relative to '24, just curious what might be preventing more of those benefits from flowing through in terms of the decline in '25 relative to what you guys were able to execute on this past year. Thanks.

Question: Cameron Mansson-Perrone - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Very helpful. Thank you both.

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Great. Thank you for taking the questions. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you see the environment for the funnel of gross additions into the upcoming year. Is your sense that the funnel has kind of improved with the used car and the new car markets? Or is there still pressure there? A little bit of color would be helpful.

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay. And if I could follow up, you were mentioning that you've had some pressure on conversions, which it's a rate number that you guys used to report and haven't for a few years now. But I was wondering if you could elaborate on what the pressure -- the source of the pressure is and how you see that kind of turning around over the course of this year.

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay, that's helpful.

Question: Jason Bazinet - Citi Investment Research (US) - Analyst : I just had a quick question on the incremental cost saves that you guys are going after. Is the right way to think about it that most of those savings will be reinvested in the business, like the last batch of cost savings? Or is this more focused on potentially generating more near-term EBITDA and cash flow? Thanks.

Question: Jason Bazinet - Citi Investment Research (US) - Analyst : Understood. Thank you.

Question: Kutgun Maral - Evercore ISI - Analyst : Good morning. One on net adds and one on advertising, if I could. First, Jennifer, sorry to follow up on the net adds question from earlier, but I just wanted to better understand the expectations for 2025. You called out that the first half, we'll see a couple of hundred REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 30, 2025 / 1:00PM, SIRI.OQ - Q4 2024 Sirius XM Holdings Inc Earnings Call thousand pressure from the adjustments that you're making but that the full year will probably still be up year over year. I know there's some seasonality. But beyond that, is there any more you can share on the expected ramp in the back half of the year? And then second, I was hoping to get your latest thoughts on the ad market in terms of advertiser demand and pricing. You highlighted expanded podcast offerings, double-digit growth in programmatic podcast revenue, the strength in ad tech capabilities. How do you see these driving benefits throughout 2025? And any initial reads that you could share in the quarter on the ad side would be helpful. Thank you.

Question: Kutgun Maral - Evercore ISI - Analyst : That's perfect. Thank you so much.

Question: Stephen Laszczyk - Goldman Sachs & Company, Inc. - Analyst : Hey, great. Thank you for taking the questions. Two, if I could. First on ARPU for Jennifer. I imagine the strategy to refocus the business could have a natural uplift in ARPU over time as you focus less on the promotional side of the market. Beyond that, I was just curious if you could update us on your view around the opportunity to take price over the next 12 months on the satellite side, when we maybe could expect that and the impact from that. And then on the advertising business, maybe just a follow-up on Off-Platform. You mentioned more deals to be done. Could you perhaps elaborate a little bit more on how much more inventory you think is out there either on the podcasting side or with third-party audio partners to increase that inventory and then, ultimately, the sell-through? And then the sizing of that and then [will] keep executed against in 2025, that would be helpful. Thank you.

Question: Stephen Laszczyk - Goldman Sachs & Company, Inc. - Analyst : That's very helpful. Thank you both.

Question: Steven Cahall - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Thank you. So Jennifer, just to go back to subscriber color. As we kind of think about the first half of the year and the way you talked about those one-off items, should we expect churn to tick up? It was really solid in Q4. But I'm guessing between streaming-only and click-to-cancel, that's a headwind that you've got in the first half of the year. And then should we expect that to improve in the second half of the year as you start to get through some of those initial issues? And wondering if you have kind of a broader outlook on churn, especially because vehicle churn, I don't know if it's going up or down in the underlying environment. And then just on -- you talked about Tesla and Rivian. I think those are app-based subscriber engagement rather than satellite-based. So is that true? And then how do you think about some of the advantages that you might have in marketing to the app-based REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 30, 2025 / 1:00PM, SIRI.OQ - Q4 2024 Sirius XM Holdings Inc Earnings Call environment or overall how you think about subscriber acquisition? And do you think that the EV market will be a meaningful piece of subscribers longer term? Or as you focus on more of this in-car satellite base, is that going to be more at the margins? Thank you.

Question: Steven Cahall - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: David Joyce - Seaport Global Securities LLC - Analyst : Thank you. Two questions, please. First, if you could update us on where targeted advertising is on the 360L product and what sort of a contributor that could be in 2025. And then secondly, it looked like there were some significant efficiencies in sales and marketing. I think that was reflecting you taking your foot off the gas pedal with the streaming-only product. But what should we think about the spending trajectory from here on sales and marketing? Thanks. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JANUARY 30, 2025 / 1:00PM, SIRI.OQ - Q4 2024 Sirius XM Holdings Inc Earnings Call

Question: David Joyce - Seaport Global Securities LLC - Analyst : Great. Thank you very much.