Market leader XMSatellite Radio
XM's subscriber numbers jumped 361% year-over-year and 34% sequentially, bringing revenue increases of 370% over last year's Q3 and 8% over Q2, and we couldn't find an explanation in the press release or on the conference call for the lower sequential revenue increase versus subscriber numbers. The company expects another 300,000 subs in Q4 with holiday sales adding on to those expected through cars purchased from General Motors
From their beginnings, XM and its rival Sirius Satellite Radio
Since Motley Fool Senior Analyst Tom Jacobs pulled apart the two competitors in XM and Sirius Get Busy and Beyond the Price-to-Dream Ratio, XM scored cash from a stock sale to make sure it can launch and replace its ground spare satellite in light of satellite degradation, but Sirius arguably still has the better balance sheet after last year's refinancing that diluted shareholders 92%. Either way, both companies appear to have enough resources to play the game for another couple of years in a race to cash flow positive from operations. But XM's subscriber growth momentum and current 1 million say it may get there first, trumping Sirius' 150,000 subs and likelihood it won't meet its own year-end estimate of 300,000.
Both stocks have rewarded investors in the last year -- 462% for XM and 101% for Sirius -- but what's ahead? Investors are fiercely loyal to their choices here, as much as the famed Intel