Satellite radio and media company Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) reported Q1 CY2026 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 1.1% year on year to $2.09 billion. Its GAAP profit of $0.72 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Sirius XM (SIRI) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $2.09 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.07 billion (1.1% year-on-year growth, 1.1% beat)
- EPS (GAAP): $0.72 vs analyst estimates of $0.71 (in line)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $666 million vs analyst estimates of $633.3 million (31.9% margin, 5.2% beat)
- Operating Margin: 21.7%, up from 18.7% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 8.2%, up from 2.7% in the same quarter last year
- Subscribers: 38.38 million, up 30.18 million year on year
- Market Capitalization: $9.01 billion
Company Overview
Known for its commercial-free music channels, Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) is a broadcasting company that provides satellite radio and online radio services across North America.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Regrettably, Sirius XM’s sales grew at a weak 1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standards and is a tough starting point for our analysis.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within consumer discretionary, product cycles are short and revenue can be hit-driven due to rapidly changing trends and consumer preferences. Sirius XM’s performance shows it grew in the past but relinquished its gains over the last two years, as its revenue fell by 2.2% annually. 
This quarter, Sirius XM reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 1.1% but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 1.1%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to remain flat over the next 12 months. While this projection implies its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector.
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Operating Margin
Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It’s also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes.
Sirius XM’s operating margin has risen over the last 12 months, leading to break even profits over the last two years. However, its large expense base and inefficient cost structure mean it still sports inadequate profitability for a consumer discretionary business.
In Q1, Sirius XM generated an operating margin profit margin of 21.7%, up 3 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Sirius XM’s EPS grew at 71.7% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 1% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
In Q1, Sirius XM reported EPS of $0.72, up from $0.58 in the same quarter last year. This print was close to analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Sirius XM’s full-year EPS of $2.41 to grow 30.1%.
Key Takeaways from Sirius XM’s Q1 Results
We enjoyed seeing Sirius XM beat analysts’ adjusted operating income expectations this quarter. We were also happy its EBITDA outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $26.80 immediately after reporting.
Sirius XM put up rock-solid earnings, but one quarter doesn’t necessarily make the stock a buy. Let’s see if this is a good investment. The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
