Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) continues to justify its 11-figure valuation. The satellite-radio giant posted better-than-expected profitability and subscriber growth in its latest quarter.
There are now more than 21 million subscribers for the service that delivers dozens of premium content channels for $13 a month.
The quarter wasn't perfect. Revenue and average revenue per user came in a little light. However, both of those points are irrelevant, with Sirius XM insisting that it will raise its prices early next year.
Investors will naturally want to see whether churn holds up after the increase. The media company is also upgrading its platform later this year, introducing personalization and time-shifting features to a new breed of receivers.
It's not as if Sirius XM is toiling away in a hot niche. Terrestrial-radio stations aren't attracting a lot of investor interest these days. Pandora Media (NYSE: P) is trading below its recent IPO price. Sirius XM has the grit of a survivor -- and disruptor.
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
- Who says we're not eating out these days? Dining-reservations specialist OpenTable (Nasdaq: OPEN) checked in with a 53% surge in revenue in its latest quarter. Did anyone save room for dessert?
- Chinese dot-com darling Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU) lost ground after posting better-than-expected results. Its guidance was also ahead of Wall Street, but the market's worried about eroding margins. Wasn't this supposed to be a scalable model?
- Vonage (NYSE: VG) posted a sequential dip in customers in its latest quarter. On the bright side, Vonage did roll out a new mobile app that provides cheaper international calling rates than wireless carriers typically charge.
- Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) announced new phones and its updated BlackBerry 7.0 platform. It's easy to cheer for an underdog when it's doing something about changing its fate.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
