Sirius XM Revs Up With Volvo

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There's nothing sadder than a used car with an inactive satellite-radio receiver, at least to the ears at Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI). Now, courtesy of a new deal with Volvo, maybe the satellite-radio provider won't have to sing the blues quite as much.

The "boxy but good" automaker will offer three-month trials of Sirius programming to buyers of certified used Volvo cars with factory-installed receivers.

The free deal isn't as sweet as the six-month trial that Volvo is offering buyers of new 2010 models, but it's better than nothing.

It doesn't matter if the vehicle in question is a shiny new car or a serial lease vehicle that has exchanged hands a few times over the years. If it's been outfitted with a Sirius or XM receiver, Sirius XM isn't benefiting if the receiver is dashboard deadweight.

Volvo isn't the first company to promote satellite radio to used-car buyers in exchange for a piece of the action. Sirius XM has deals in place with Audi, BMW, and others.

These are smart deals, and Sirius XM may as well milk the market while it can over the next couple of years. There will come a time when auto subscribers are likely to max out. Once car buyers are trading in their satellite-radio-equipped cars for newer models with factory-installed models, this is likely to become a zero-sum game. Those who subscribe to Sirius or XM on their trade-ins will probably continue, while those who bring in cars with dormant receivers probably won't stick around after the free trials expire on subsequent purchases.

There are advancements that will tug at both ends at that point. Enhanced receivers with new features will make satellite radio more indispensible, yet in-car online connectivity will also open up the options to rival Web-based ear candy. 

We're still years removed from that tug-of-war. Don't let the past two quarters of declining subscriber counts fool you into thinking we peaked last year. The recession, automaker slowdown, and higher monthly fees have combined to cost Sirius XM a net loss of 590,421 subscribers through the first six months of the year. Sirius XM should bounce back from that, although the ascent will probably be slower than the descent.

Angling for subscribers in the used-car market should help. Resale specialists America's Car-Mart (Nasdaq: CRMT) and CarMax (NYSE: KMX) have held up better than the new-car specialists at AutoNation (NYSE: AN) and Group 1 Automotive (NYSE: GPI).

Until everyone is educated on the merits of premium radio, these deals are purely incremental.

Other items on the radio dial:

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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a subscriber to both Sirius and XM. He owns no shares in any of the companies in this story and is also a member of the Rule Breakers analytical team, seeking out the next great growth stock early in its defiance. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 4:17 PM, BullishBroker74 wrote:

    Relayed By Chris Stovall wrote By Brandon Matthews

    Senior media and entertainment analyst of Standard & Poor’s U.S. Equity Research Services Tuna Amobi has raised his price target on Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) shares to $1.00 from his previous target of $.50, while cutting his projected 2009 loss estimates in half and projecting a full year profit for Sirius XM Radio in 2010. All of this while maintaining its HOLD rating.

    “With recent signs of some auto OEM stabilization likely further outweighed by continued anemic retail trends, we see about 18.2M and 18.0M subscribers by ‘09 and ‘10 end, respectively (vs. ’08’s 19.0M), considering cash-for-clunkers and iPhone app. SIRI seems to have weathered near-term financing hurdles, though probably not fully dissipated. Factoring $750M of new senior notes (partly on refi), we narrowed ‘09 loss per share est by $0.08 to $0.08, see $0.01 EPS for ‘10 (vs. $0.06 loss), and we raise our EV/Sales target price by $0.50 to $1, noting $7B of net operating losses.”

    Mr. Amobi was one of the first analysts to go out on a limb and forecast a price increase from .34 to .50, which SIRI shares were able to reach months prior to Mr. Amobi’s 12 month prediction. With the industry’s foremost media analyst now predicting a $1.00 share price, Sirius XM Radio investors can perhaps breathe a little easier.

    Position: Long SIRI

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 4:23 PM, BullishBroker74 wrote:

    Relayed By Chris Stovall wrote By Brandon Matthews

    On any given day, there are dozens of professional stock “bashers” trolling the stock message boards and posting erroneous information on Sirius XM Radio (SIRI). Perhaps that is where Jim Cramer, CNBC and the multitude of biased financial media get their information, so with that in mind I set out to dispel some of the myths surrounding the company, by explaining the reality of things like revenue, debt and EBITDA growth.

    Our first myth involves Sirius XM debt and the battle cry of the ignorant that it is somehow excessive. As the chart I’ve embed below indicates, Sirius XM debt stands at $3.89 billion. Compare that figure to Viacom (VIA.B) at $7.37 billon, Comcast (CMCSA) at $33.04 billion, Dish Network (DISH) at $5.13 billion, Time Warner Cable (TWC) at $22.93 billion, British Sky Broadcasting (BSY) at $4.46 billion or even Direct TV (DTV) at $5.79 billion and clearly Sirius XM Radio debt is anything but excessive. [click to enlarge]

    How many times have we heard the argument that Sirius XM Radio has too many shares outstanding? First of all, there is no such thing. A company’s value is not measured in outstanding shares but rather its market cap. Once a company achieves positive free cash flow and sufficient earnings, shares can be repurchased, and Sirius XM Radio has many years ahead of it in which to implement such a plan. There are some who question the potential market cap of Sirius XM Radio. The problem is that Sirius XM Radio suffers from an identity crisis. One analyst may value the company based on media stocks, while another labels the equity consumer discretionary, while still others like myself look at the company as a subscription service like cable operators.

    Sirius XM Radio has a current market cap of $2.69 billion dollars, and commanded a combined market cap of as much as 6 billion dollars just one year ago. Compare that figure to Viacom with a $15.27 billion market cap, Comcast with $45.08 billion and Direct TV with $24.37 billion, and clearly there remains plenty of upside potential to SIRI shares.

    Based on current valuations, Sirius XM is being lumped with companies such as Clear Channel (CCO) which commands a market cap of $2.5 billion as it faces the potential of bankruptcy in the not too distant future, and which derives almost all of its revenue from advertising. It is for this reason that Sirius XM Radio shares remain undervalued and explains why some retain their negative outlook on the stock. Sirius XM Radio would be fairly valued today at $1.30 – $1.50 per share based on its debt management and increased year end EBITDA projections.

    What about Sirius XM’s future potential? Of all the stocks mentioned above, I would like to direct your attention to revenue growth. Sirius XM’s revenue growth stands at 108%, dwarfing all of the competition, and analysts expect revenue to continue to grow over 60% in 2010. As my friend “Muscle13″ points out, it’s all about EBITDA growth. It is also the one metric that critics can point to in justification of their negative bias. Even with increased EBITDA guidance, Sirius XM still falls short of having earned a higher market cap than the 6 billion it should currently be valued at. As the chart shows, the market cap values of the other company’s mentioned far surpass that of Sirius XM based on EBITDA. That is changing to the positive however, as Standard & Poors research points out in their research report:

    (Sirius XM) Management recently issued post-merger financial targets for the next five years, with 2009 subscriber growth of 20.6 million reaching 28.4 million by 2013, revenue of $2.7 billion to $4.1 billion, adjusted EBITDA of over $300 million to $1.5 billion, and free cash flow of breakeven to $1.4 billion.

    Sirius XM management had provided 5 year guidance which offers the potential of Sirius XM shares rising to as much as $7.50 in the next 5 years, as long as management can deliver. Those projections put EBITDA at 5 times its current level. Simple math tells us that $1.50 x 5 = $7.50. That’s not a bad 5 year potential return on a .65 – .70 investment and certainly a justifiable long term price target that leaves out any outrageous multiples that a sector monopoly might warrant in the future.

    There is one more myth that is beginning to make its way around the web. That is a claim that Sirius XM will soon receive a delisting notice. That is false. They will soon receive a letter of non-compliance and have at least a full year to regain compliance.

    Position: Long SIRI

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 4:27 PM, mikecart1 wrote:

    Maybe me and others have stated it clearly enough:

    No one wants to see SIRI articles everyday!!! There are thousands of stocks to talk about. Talking about SIRI everyday or many times on the same day is not REQUIRED.

    PLEASE JESUS CHRIST!!!

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 4:39 PM, BigVincent wrote:

    Rick I don't see why you are so concerned with a subscriber loss of 590,421. It's like you have a massive hard on that they are achieving a loss in a recession which is very typical. That is only the equivalent of 1/32 of sirius/xm's subscriber base. If you want to break that down for a percentage of total subscribers lost it's yield is only 3.125%. I'd say that those numbers are better than comcast, Dish network which are yeilding higher subscriber losses at 5-10%. Sirius/xm's losses aren't that bad compared to most subscriber based formats.

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 4:52 PM, plange01 wrote:

    volvo and sirius 2 bankrupt companys.....

  • Report this Comment On September 02, 2009, at 7:07 PM, TxTom wrote:

    If anyone doesn't want to read about SIRI, then don't click on it. That inaction is as easy as not watching "Religulous"...

    I believe it will go to at least $1 per share, and that's sufficient return on a 14 cent stock.

    Somehow I get the feeling that those who don't want to hear about this stock probably don't own it. They are however interested enough to read the article. Funny how that works...

    Happy trading!!!

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11/23/2009 4:00 PM
AN $17.75 Down -0.03 -0.17%
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KMX $20.24 Up +0.14 +0.70%
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Sirius XM Radio CAPS Rating: **

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