Sirius XM (SIRI) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

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The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2023 was $2,812,583,554.  All executive officers and directors of the registrant have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be “affiliates” of the registrant.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K presents information for Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (“Holdings”), a Delaware corporation. The terms “Holdings,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “our company” as used herein and unless otherwise stated or indicated by context, refer to Sirius XM Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries. “Sirius XM” refers to our wholly owned subsidiary Sirius XM Radio Inc. and its subsidiaries other than Pandora. “Pandora” refers to Sirius XM’s wholly owned subsidiary Pandora Media, LLC and its subsidiaries.

Holdings was incorporated in the State of Delaware on May 21, 2013. Holdings has no operations independent of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Sirius XM and Pandora.

As of December 31, 2023, Liberty Media Corporation (“Liberty Media”) beneficially owned, directly and indirectly, 83.4% of the outstanding shares of Holdings’ common stock.  Liberty Media owns interests in a range of media, communications and entertainment businesses.

Our Sirius XM business features music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels and other content, as well as podcasts and infotainment services, in the United States on a subscription fee basis. Sirius XM’s premier content bundles include live, curated and certain exclusive and on demand programming. The Sirius XM service is distributed through our two proprietary satellite radio systems and streamed via applications for mobile devices, home devices and other consumer electronic equipment.  Radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers and our website. Our Sirius XM service is also available through our user interface, which we call “360L,” that combines our satellite and streaming services into a single, cohesive in-vehicle entertainment experience.

Our Pandora service operates a music, comedy and podcast streaming platform, offering a personalized experience for each listener wherever and whenever they want to listen, whether through mobile devices, car speakers or connected devices. Pandora enables listeners to create personalized stations and playlists, discover new content, hear artist- and expert-curated playlists and podcasts as well as search and play songs and albums on-demand. Pandora is available as (1) an ad-supported

The majority of revenue from our Pandora service is generated from advertising on our Pandora ad-supported radio service. We also derive subscription revenue from our Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium subscribers.

Our Pandora and Off-platform business also sells advertising on other audio platforms and in widely distributed podcasts, which we consider to be off-platform services.

In 2023, an estimated 120 million Americans listened to a podcast at least monthly. In 2020, Sirius XM acquired Stitcher, a leader in the distribution of podcasts. We have agreements to serve as the ad sales representative for many podcasts, including the leading podcast networks such as Audiochuck, Crooked Media and NBC News.

Sirius XM subscribers can also listen to their favorite podcasts with streaming access via the SiriusXM App and online. Covering topics such as true crime, news, politics, music, comedy, sports and entertainment, Sirius XM's curated selection of podcasts comes from SiriusXM content edited into podcast format as well as from third parties.

We also offer a portal, “Simplecast Creator Connect,” for podcasters to share their podcasts with new audiences and gather data about their shows. Podcasts submitted through this portal are offered to subscribers of Pandora’s ad-supported service as an additional benefit.

Through our Simplecast business, we also offer a podcast management and analytics platform, allowing us to offer podcasters a solution for management, hosting, analytics and advertising sales.

We offer a dynamic programming lineup of commercial-free music plus sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, and news, including:

Our streaming service includes a variety of music and non-music channels, including channels and content that are not available on our satellite radio service, and podcasts. Consumers can access our streaming service on iOS and Android mobile devices, web browsers, and other internet connected devices.

Our advanced automotive platform, which we call “360L,” combines our satellite and streaming services into a single, cohesive in-vehicle entertainment experience. We have agreements with many automakers to deploy our 360L interface in a variety of vehicles. In 2023, our 360L platform was included in approximately 129 vehicle models manufactured for sale in the United States. We expect that 360L will be included in a majority of vehicles that include Sirius XM functionality in the future.

We distribute satellite radios through the sale and lease of new vehicles.  We have agreements with major automakers to offer satellite radios in their vehicles.  Satellite radios are available as a factory-installed feature in substantially all vehicle makes sold in the United States.

We acquire subscribers through the sale and lease of previously owned vehicles with factory-installed satellite radios.  We have entered into agreements with many automakers to include a subscription to our service in the sale or lease of vehicles which include satellite radios sold through their certified pre-owned programs.  We also work directly with franchise and independent dealers on programs for non-certified used vehicles.

We sell satellite radios directly to consumers through our website.  Satellite radios are also marketed and distributed through national, regional and online retailers, such as Amazon.com.

Our satellite radio systems are designed to provide clear reception in most areas of the continental United States despite variations in terrain, buildings and other obstructions.  We continually monitor our infrastructure and regularly evaluate improvements in technology.

Our programming originates from studios in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and Washington D.C. and, to a lesser extent, from smaller studios in a variety of venues across the country.  Our corporate headquarters is in New York City. We provide equipment to artists and hosts to enable remote creation and transmission of programming.

We do not manufacture radios.  We have authorized manufacturers and distributors to produce and distribute radios, and have licensed our technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture and distribute radios under certain brands.  We do manage various aspects of the production of satellite radios.  To facilitate the sale of radios, we may subsidize a portion of the radio manufacturing costs to reduce the hardware price to consumers.

We provide connected vehicle services to several automakers. Our connected vehicle services are designed to enhance the safety, security and driving experience for vehicle operators while providing marketing and operational benefits to automakers and their dealers.  We offer a portfolio of location-based services through two-way wireless connectivity, including safety, security, convenience, maintenance and data services, remote vehicle diagnostics, and stolen or parked vehicle locator services. Subscribers to our connected vehicle services are not included in our subscriber count or subscriber-based operating metrics.

Sirius XM holds a 70% equity interest and 33% voting interest in Sirius XM Canada, with the remainder of Sirius XM Canada's voting and equity interests held by two shareholders.

Sirius XM and Sirius XM Canada have entered into a services and distribution agreement pursuant to which Sirius XM Canada pays Sirius XM a variable fee evaluated annually based on comparable companies. In accordance with this services and distribution agreement, the fee is payable on a monthly basis. Sirius XM has also extended a loan to Sirius XM Canada. As of December 31, 2023, the principal amount outstanding on that loan was $8 million.

As of December 31, 2023, Sirius XM Canada had approximately 2.6 million subscribers. Sirius XM Canada’s subscribers are not included in our subscriber count or subscriber-based operating metrics.

Pandora Media, LLC, which owns and operates our Pandora and Off-Platform business, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sirius XM.

Pandora offers a personalized audio entertainment platform for each listener. Users are able to create personalized stations and playlists and search and play songs and albums on-demand. The Pandora service utilizes content programming algorithms, data collected from listeners, and attributes of the music to predict user music preferences, play content suited to the tastes of each listener, and introduce each listener to music consistent with the consumer's preferences.

Pandora offers an ad-supported radio service which allows listeners to access our catalog of music, comedy, live streams and podcasts through personalized stations. This service is free across all platforms and generates stations specific to each listener. Each listener can personalize their experience by adding selected artists and songs to their stations.

Pandora offers Pandora Plus – an ad-free, subscription version of the radio service that includes options for replaying songs, skipping songs, offline listening, and higher quality audio on supported devices. Content provided to each listener of Pandora Plus is more tailored when the listener interacts with the platform. Premium Access is also available to Pandora Plus listeners.

Pandora offers Pandora Premium – an on-demand subscription service that combines the radio features of Pandora Plus with an on-demand experience. The on-demand experience provides listeners with the ability to search, play and collect songs and albums, download content for offline listening, build playlists, listen to curated playlists and share playlists on social networks. Listeners can also create partial playlists that Pandora can complete based on the listener’s activity. Listeners through mobile devices have access to customized profiles which identify information specific to each listener such as recent favorites, playlists and thumbs.

Through its AdsWizz subsidiary, our Pandora and Off-platform business is a leader in digital audio advertising technology. AdsWizz operates a digital audio advertising market with an end-to-end technology platform, including a digital audio software suite of solutions that connect audio publishers to the advertising community. AdsWizz offers a range of products – from dynamic ad insertion to advanced programmatic platforms to innovative new audio formats. AdsWizz’s advertising technology also includes ad campaign monitoring tools and other audio advertising products, such as audio formats that enable consumers to trigger an action while listening to an ad as well as other personalization-based technology.

AdsWizz’s technology is employed by Pandora and our Off-platform business in its ad-supported business as well as by third party customers. AdsWizz’s third party customers include well-known music platforms, podcasts and broadcasting groups worldwide.

Pandora, through its Simplecast business, also offers a podcast management and analytics platform. Simplecast complements AdsWizz’s advertising technology platform, allowing the company to offer podcasters a solution for management, hosting, analytics and advertising sales.

We also offer a portal, “Simplecast Creator Connect,” for podcasters to share their podcasts with new audiences and gather data about their shows. Podcasts submitted through this portal are offered to subscribers of Pandora’s ad-supported service as an additional benefit.

We have begun to employ a number of artificial intelligence algorithms and technology that are designed to improve aspects of our operations, including a customer’s experience, and permit us to better understand and use our operating and financial data. We are aware of the potential risks associated with the use of AI technology, including the risks relating to data security and the laws, rules and regulations governing privacy. We believe that we have implemented systems to monitor for and prevent data access, including security incidents that result from the use of AI. However, AI technology is evolving and, due to its inherent complexity, we may be exposed to operational and legal risks associated with the use of AI technologies. See also Item 1A – Risk Factors – “We may use artificial intelligence in our business, and challenges with properly managing its use could result in reputational harm, competitive harm, and legal liability, and adversely affect our results of operations.”

We face significant competition for listeners and advertisers in our Sirius XM business and our Pandora and Off-platform business, including from providers of radio and other audio services.

Our Sirius XM services and Pandora services compete with traditional AM/FM radio.  Traditional AM/FM radio has a well-established demand for its services and offers free broadcasts paid for by commercial advertising rather than by subscription fees.  Many radio stations offer information programming of a local nature, such as local news and sports.  The availability of traditional free AM/FM radio may reduce the likelihood that customers would be willing to pay for our subscription services. Several traditional radio companies own large numbers of radio stations and other media properties, such as podcast networks.

Streaming and on-demand services, including Amazon Prime, Apple Music, Spotify, TikTok and YouTube, compete with our Sirius XM and Pandora services.  Major online providers make high fidelity digital streams available at no cost or, in some cases, for less than the cost of a satellite radio subscription.  Certain of these services include advanced functionality, such as personalization and customization and allow the user to access large libraries of content.  These services, in some instances, are also offered through devices sold by the service providers including Apple, Google and Amazon. These services compete with our services, at home, in vehicles, and wherever audio entertainment is consumed.

Nearly all automakers have deployed integrated multimedia systems in dashboards, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  These systems combine control of audio entertainment from a variety of sources, including AM/FM/HD radio broadcasts, satellite radio, streaming radio, smartphone applications and stored audio, with other advanced applications.  Streaming radio and other data are typically connected to the system through an Internet-enabled smartphone or wireless modem installed in the vehicle, and the entire system may be controlled by touchscreen or voice recognition.  These systems enhance the attractiveness of internet based competitors by making such applications more prominent, easier to access, and safer to use in vehicles.

A number of providers offer specialized audio services through either direct broadcast satellite or cable audio systems.  These services are targeted to fixed locations, mostly in-home, but also include mobile entertainment.  The radio service offered by direct broadcast satellite and cable audio is often included as part of a package of digital services with video service, and video customers generally do not pay an additional monthly charge for the audio service. In addition, other services offered by these providers, such as cable television, on-demand video streaming, and interactive video games compete with our services to the extent they utilize existing or potential users' and listeners' time that could otherwise be allocated to the use of our Sirius XM or Pandora services.

The audio entertainment marketplace continues to evolve rapidly, with a steady emergence of new media platforms that compete with both our Sirius XM and Pandora services now or that could compete with those services in the future.

For our Sirius XM business, a number of providers compete with our traffic services, particularly smartphones offering GPS mapping with sophisticated data-based turn navigation.

Our Sirius XM connected vehicle services business operates in a highly competitive environment and competes with several providers as well as with products being developed for vehicles by automakers and other third parties.  OnStar, a division of General Motors, also offers connected vehicle services in GM vehicles.  Wireless devices, such as mobile phones, are also competitors. We compete against other connected vehicle service providers for automaker arrangements on the basis of innovation, service quality and reliability, marketing and other customer relationship management services, technical capabilities and system customization, scope of service, industry experience, past performance and price.

Our competition for advertisers includes large scale online advertising platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google; traditional media companies such as television broadcasters and national print outlets; broadcast radio providers; podcast distributors and networks; and companies in the broadcast radio market. We compete against these providers for advertisers on the basis of several factors, including advertisers’ overall budgets, perceived return on investment, effectiveness and relevance of our advertising platforms, the amount and scope of our data on listeners, price, delivery of large volumes or precise types of advertisements to targeted demographics, transactional capabilities and reporting capabilities.

As operators of a privately-owned satellite system, we are regulated by the FCC under the Communications Act of 1934, principally with respect to:

In connection with our businesses, we must enter into royalty arrangements with two sets of rights holders:  holders of musical compositions copyrights (that is, the music and lyrics) and holders of sound recordings copyrights (that is, the actual recording of a work). Our Sirius XM and Pandora services use both statutory and direct music licenses as part of their businesses. We license varying rights - such as performance and mechanical rights - for use in our Sirius XM and Pandora services based on the various radio and interactive services they offer. Set forth below is a brief overview of the music composition and sound recording licenses employed by our Sirius XM and Pandora services. These music licensing arrangements are complex and the description below is only a summary of these complicated licensing arrangements.

The holders of performance rights in musical compositions, generally songwriters and music publishers, are represented by performing rights organizations such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”), SESAC, Inc. (“SESAC”) and Global Music Rights LLC (“GMR”). These organizations negotiate fees with copyright users, collect royalties and distribute them to the rights holders.

Operators of a non-interactive satellite radio or streaming service are entitled to license sound recordings under the statutory license contained in Section 114 of the United States Copyright Act (the “statutory license”). Under the statutory license, we may negotiate royalty arrangements with the owners of sound recordings or, if negotiation is unsuccessful, the royalty rate is established by the Copyright Royalty Board (the “CRB”). Sound recording rights holders, typically large record companies, are primarily represented by SoundExchange, Inc. (“SoundExchange”), an organization which negotiates licenses, and collects and distributes royalties on behalf of record companies and performing artists.

We have registered, and intend to maintain, the trademarks “Sirius”, “XM”, “SiriusXM” and “SXM” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in connection with the services we offer. We are not aware of any material claims of infringement or other challenges to our right to use the “Sirius”, “XM”, “SiriusXM” or “SXM” trademarks in the United States.  We also have registered, and intend to maintain, trademarks for the names of certain of our channels.  We have also registered the trademarks “Sirius”, “XM” and “SiriusXM” in Canada. We have granted a license to use certain of our trademarks in Canada to Sirius XM Canada.

We have registered, and intend to maintain, the trademarks “Pandora,” “Ampcast” and “Music Genome Project,” in addition to a number of other Pandora logos and marks, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in connection with the services we offer. We also have registered the trademark “Pandora” in Australia, Canada, Chile, the European Union, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland, Taiwan and other countries, and the trademark “Music Genome Project” in Australia, Canada, China and New Zealand.

We employ a diverse workforce, composed of individuals with different identities, experiences, perspectives and priorities. Together, we represent different dimensions of diversity and we are committed to fostering an environment where all of our employees can thrive and reach their full potential.

We believe that our employees do their best work when they feel connected, supported and empowered, and we are committed to making that happen with people-focused initiatives. Our core values, which define us as authentic, inclusive, curious and driven, are aligned with our vision. Together, these elements set the foundation for how we collaborate, and operate as individuals.

Our goal is to establish SiriusXM as a place where employees can build long-term careers and achieve their personal and professional aspirations. We offer a comprehensive total reward program designed to attract, motivate, and retain top talent. This program combines competitive compensation with benefits and well-being resources designed to meet the diverse needs of our workforce. Our compensation programs, which vary by employee level, include salary, incentive compensation opportunities, and equity-based compensation awards. In addition, our benefits programs are competitive for the markets in which we operate and may include healthcare and insurance benefits, paid time off, paid parental leave, fertility resources, advocacy resources, flexible work schedules, and employee assistance programs.

SiriusXM Cares is the name of our philanthropic effort to promote charitable giving. SiriusXM Cares has three focus areas for giving: Employee, Social Equity, and Corporate; and through these focus areas, we are able to give directly or bolster employee giving efforts.

We are committed to providing a healthy and safe environment that allows employees to thrive professionally and personally. To support the well-being of our employees and their families we also offer resources focused on physical, mental, and emotional health.

Our executive offices are located at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 35th floor, New York, New York 10020 and our telephone number is (212) 584-5100. Our internet address is www.siriusxm.com. Our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), may be accessed free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed or furnished such material with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Siriusxm.com (including any other reference to such address in this Annual Report) is an inactive textual reference only, meaning that the information contained on or accessible from the website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is not incorporated in this report by reference. We may use our website as a distribution channel of material company information. Financial and other important information regarding us is routinely posted on and accessible through our website at https://www.siriusxm.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about us when you enroll your email address by visiting the “Email Alerts” section under the “Shareholder Services” heading at http://investor.siriusxm.com/investor-overview.

Certain information regarding our executive officers as of January 30, 2024 is provided below:

We compete for the time and attention of our listeners with other content providers on the basis of a number of factors, including quality of experience, relevance, acceptance and perception of content quality, ease of use, price, accessibility, brand awareness, reputation and, in the case of our ad-supported Pandora service, perception of ad load, features and functionality. As consumer tastes and preferences change on the internet and with mobile and other connected products, including cars, in-home, and wearable devices, we will need to enhance and improve our existing services, introduce new services and features, and attempt to maintain our competitive position with additional technological advances and adaptable platforms. The Pandora App has not been significantly updated in several years. If we fail to keep pace with technological advances or fail to offer compelling product offerings and state-of-the-art delivery platforms to meet consumer demands, our ability to grow or maintain the reach of our services, attract and retain users, and attract listeners and subscribers across our services will be adversely affected. Our ability to attract and retain subscribers and listeners also depends on our success in creating and providing popular or unique programming. A summary of certain services that compete with us is contained in the section entitled “Item 1. Business - Competition” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our subscribers and listeners can obtain similar content for free through terrestrial radio stations, Spotify, YouTube and other internet services. We also compete for the time and attention of our listeners with providers of other in-home and mobile entertainment services, and we compete for advertising sales with large scale online advertising platforms, such as Amazon, Facebook and Google, and with traditional media outlets.

Our streaming services also compete for listeners on the basis of the presence and visibility of our apps, which are distributed via app stores operated by Apple and Google. We face significant competition for listeners from these companies, which also promote their own music and content. In addition, our competitors’ streaming products may be pre-loaded or integrated into consumer electronics products or automobiles more broadly than our streaming products, creating a visibility advantage. If we are unable to compete successfully for listeners against other media providers, then our business may suffer. Additionally, the operator of an app store may reject our app or amend the terms of their license in a way that inhibits our ability to distribute our apps, negatively affects our business, or limits our ability to increase subscribers and listeners.

Competition could result in lower subscription, advertising or other revenue and an increase in our expenses and, consequently, lower our earnings and free cash flow.  We cannot assure you we will be able to compete successfully with our existing or future competitors or that competition will not have an adverse impact on our operations and financial condition.

Our business will be adversely affected if we are unable to attract new subscribers and listeners and retain our current subscribers and listeners.

Our ability to increase the number of subscribers and listeners to our services, retain our subscribers and listeners or convert listeners into subscribers, is uncertain and subject to many factors, including:

We engage in extensive marketing efforts across a broad range of media to attract and retain subscribers and listeners to our services. We employ a wide variety of communications tools as part of our marketing campaigns, including telemarketing efforts and email solicitations. The effectiveness of our marketing efforts is affected by a broad range of factors, including creative and execution factors. Our ability to reach consumers with radio and television advertising, performance and digital media, direct mail materials, email solicitations and telephone calls is an important part of our efforts and a significant factor in the effectiveness of our marketing. If we are unable to reach consumers through email solicitations or telemarketing, including as a result of “spam” and email filters, call blocking technologies, restriction in digital media on identifying users, such as limits on “cookies,” consumer privacy regulations or “do-not-call” or other marketing regulations, our marketing efforts will be adversely affected. A decline in the effectiveness of our marketing efforts could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial condition.

Our business depends, in part, on various third parties, including:

If one or more of these third parties do not perform in a satisfactory or timely manner, including complying with our standards and practices relating to business integrity, personnel and cybersecurity, our business could be adversely affected.

The operation of our apps and service offerings could be impaired if errors occur in the third party software that supports our apps and services. It may be difficult for us to correct any defects in third party software because the development and maintenance of the software is not within our control. Our third party licensors may not continue to make their software available to us on acceptable terms, invest the appropriate levels of resources in their software to maintain and enhance its capabilities, or remain in business. Failure of these third party licensors could harm our streaming services.

In addition, a number of third parties on which we depend have experienced, and may in the future experience, financial difficulties or file for bankruptcy protection. Such third parties may not be able to perform their obligations to us in a timely manner, if at all, as a result of their financial condition or may be relieved of their obligations to us as part of seeking bankruptcy protection.

Growing our podcasting business may require additional changes to our business model and cost structure, modifications to our infrastructure, and could expose us to new regulatory, legal and reputational risks, including infringement liability. There is no guarantee that we will be able to generate sufficient revenue from podcasts to offset the costs of creating or acquiring this content. Our failure to successfully monetize and generate revenues from such content, including failure to obtain or retain rights to podcasts or other non-music content on acceptable terms, or at all, or to effectively manage the numerous risks and challenges associated with such expansion, could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our strategy has included and may include selective acquisitions, other strategic investments and initiatives to expand our business. The success of any acquisition depends upon effective integration, cultural assimilation and management of acquired businesses and assets into our operations, which is subject to risks and uncertainties, including realizing the growth potential, the anticipated synergies and cost savings, the ability to retain and attract personnel, the diversion of management’s attention for other business concerns, and undisclosed or potential legal liabilities of the acquired business or assets.

The integration process could distract our management, disrupt our ongoing business or result in inconsistencies in our services, standards, controls, procedures and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers, vendors and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the acquisition.

Our success depends to a significant extent on discretionary consumer spending. Some of the factors that may influence consumer spending on entertainment include general economic conditions, the availability of discretionary income, consumer confidence, interest rates, inflationary pressure, and general uncertainty regarding the overall economic environment.

The war in Ukraine, and any expansion of the war in Ukraine to surrounding areas, could adversely affect our business and operations. Our AdsWizz subsidiary is headquartered in Romania and we rely on other contractors in Eastern European countries, such as Poland. An expansion of the war in Ukraine to other countries, particularly Romania, could materially affect our ability to deliver advertisements on our Pandora services and for third parties.

As part of our business, we experience, and expect to experience in the future, subscriber turnover (i.e., churn). The number of subscribers to our Sirius XM service declined in 2023 and may further contract in the future. If we are unable to retain current subscribers at expected rates, or the costs of retaining subscribers are higher than expected, our financial performance and operating results could be adversely affected.

We cannot predict how successful we will be at retaining customers who purchase or lease vehicles that include a subscription to our Sirius XM service. A substantial percentage of our Sirius XM subscribers are on promotional pricing plans and our ability to retain these subscribers or migrate them to higher priced plans is uncertain. Our promotional pricing strategy is widely known, and this may interfere with our ability to collect our ordinary subscription prices. In addition, a substantial number of those subscribers periodically cancel their subscriptions when offered a subscription at a higher price.

A number of factors may affect our ability to attract and retain subscribers to our Sirius XM service. The changing demographics of trialers to our service, such as the increase in “Millennial generation customers,” may increase the number of subscribers accustomed to consuming entertainment through ad-supported products. These changing demographics may affect our ability to convert trial subscribers into self-paying subscribers. Similarly, our efforts to acquire subscribers purchasing or leasing used vehicles may attract price sensitive consumers. Consumers purchasing or leasing used vehicles may be more price sensitive than consumers purchasing or leasing new vehicles, convert from trial subscribers to self-paying subscribers at a lower rate, and cancel their subscriptions more frequently than consumers purchasing or leasing new vehicles. Some of our marketing efforts may also attract more price sensitive subscribers, and our efforts to increase the penetration of satellite radios in new, lower-priced vehicle lines may result in the growth of more economy-minded subscribers. Each of these factors may harm our revenue or require additional spending on marketing efforts to demonstrate the value of our Sirius XM service.

A substantial portion of the subscription growth for our satellite radio service has come from purchasers and lessees of new and used automobiles in the United States, and we expect this to be an important source of subscribers for our satellite radio service in the future.

We have agreements with major automakers to include satellite radios in new vehicles, although these agreements do not require automakers to install specific or minimum quantities of radios in any given period. Many of these agreements also require automakers to provide us data on sales of satellite radio enabled vehicles, including in many cases the consumer’s name and address. Our business could be adversely affected if automakers do not continue to include our Sirius XM service in their products or provide us with such data.

Automotive production and sales are dependent on many factors, including labor relations matters, the availability of vehicle components, consumer credit, general economic conditions, consumer confidence and fuel costs. To the extent vehicle sales by automakers decline, or the penetration of factory-installed satellite radios in those vehicles is reduced, our satellite radio service may be adversely impacted.

Sales of used vehicles represent a significant source of new subscribers for our satellite radio service. We have agreements with auto dealers and companies operating in the used vehicle market to provide us with data on sales of used satellite radio enabled vehicles, including in many cases the consumer’s name and address. The continuing availability of this data is important, and the loss of such data may harm our revenue and business.

The lives of the satellites required to operate our Sirius XM service vary depending on a number of factors, including:

In the ordinary course of operation, satellites experience failures of component parts and operational and performance anomalies. Components on several of our in-orbit satellites have failed, and from time to time we have experienced anomalies in the operation and performance of these satellites. These failures and anomalies are expected to continue in the ordinary course, and we cannot predict if any of these possible future events will have a material adverse effect on our operations or the life of our existing in-orbit satellites. In addition, we have entered into agreements for the construction and launch of four new satellites that are expected to be launched over the next four years, and material delays in the deployment of these satellites could be harmful to our business.

Our Sirius network of terrestrial repeaters communicates with a single third party satellite. Our XM network of terrestrial repeaters communicates with a single XM satellite. If the satellites communicating with the applicable repeater network fail unexpectedly, the services would be disrupted for several hours or longer.

Any material failure of our operating satellites could cause us to lose customers for our Sirius XM service and could materially harm our reputation and our operating results. We do not have insurance for our in-orbit satellites. Additional information regarding our fleet of satellites is contained in the section entitled “Item 1. Business - Satellites, Terrestrial Repeaters and Other Satellite Facilities” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The development of applications and services in spectrum adjacent to the frequencies licensed to us, as well as the combination of signals in other frequencies, may cause harmful interference to our satellite radio service in certain areas of the United States. Elimination of this interference may not be possible in all cases. In other cases, our efforts to reduce this interference may require extensive engineering efforts and additions to our terrestrial infrastructure. These mitigation efforts may be costly and take several years to implement and may not be entirely effective. In certain cases, we are dependent on the FCC to assist us in preventing harmful interference to our service.

The number of monthly active users to our ad-supported Pandora service has declined consistently for several years, including in 2023, and is likely to further contract in the future.

The size of our ad-supported listener base is an important element of our Pandora service. The decline in our listener base has resulted in fewer listener hours and available advertising spots on our Pandora service, which ultimately may result in declines in our advertising revenue, and adversely affect our Pandora and Off-platform business. The contraction of our ad-supported listener base also decreases the size of demographic groups targeted by advertisers, which may hurt our ability to deliver advertising in a manner that maximizes advertisers’ return on investment and compete with other streaming advertising platforms.

Our ability to attract and retain advertisers, and ultimately to sell our advertising inventory, depends on a number of factors, including:

Advertisers may leave us for competing alternatives at any time. Failure to demonstrate to advertisers the value of our Pandora service would result in reduced spending by, or loss of, advertisers, which would harm our revenue and business.

In order to effectively monetize listener hours, we must, among other things, penetrate local advertising markets and develop compelling ad product solutions.

The substantial majority of the total listening to our Pandora service occurs on mobile devices. We are engaged in efforts to continue to convince advertisers of the capabilities and value of mobile digital advertising and to direct an increasing portion of their advertising spend to our ad-supported Pandora service.

We are continuing to build our sales capability to penetrate local advertising markets, which places us in competition with terrestrial radio. We may not be able to capture an increasing share of local and audio advertising revenue, which may have an adverse impact on our future revenue.

We use shared common device identifiers that are universal in the advertising technology ecosystem, such as Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers, a random device identifier assigned by Apple to a user's device. We use these common device identifiers for targeting, advertising effectiveness and measurement for the Pandora’s advertising business and for Pandora’s consumer marketing purposes. These common device identifiers enable us to match audiences, including with second- and third-party data providers and measurement vendors, and enhance Pandora’s advertising targeting segments with additional data. In our programmatic advertising business, we use common identifiers for several important functions, such as targeting and bidding. We also use common device identifiers to evaluate the success of our Pandora brand consumer marketing campaigns.

Apple, as well as mobile operating system and browser providers, have implemented product features and plans that may adversely impact our ability to use these common identifiers and data collected in connection with these common identifiers in our Pandora business.

A key differentiating factor between our Pandora service and other music content providers is our ability to predict music that our listeners will enjoy. The effectiveness of our personalized playlist generating system depends, in part, on our ability to gather and effectively analyze large amounts of listener data and feedback. We may not continue to be successful in enticing listeners to our Pandora service to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to enough songs to effectively predict and select new and existing songs. In addition, our ability to offer listeners songs that they have not previously heard and impart a sense of discovery depends on our ability to acquire and appropriately categorize additional tracks that will appeal to our listeners’ diverse and changing tastes. Many of our competitors currently have larger music and content catalogs than we offer and they may be more effective in providing their listeners with an appealing listener experience.

We also provide comedy and podcast content on our Pandora service, and we try to predict what our listeners will enjoy using technology similar to the technology that we use to generate personalized playlists for music. The risks that apply to our ability to satisfy our listeners’ musical tastes apply to comedy, podcasts and other content to an even greater extent, particularly since we do not yet have as large a data set on listener preferences for comedy, podcasts and other content, and have a smaller catalog of such content as compared to music.

Our ability to predict and select music, comedy, podcasts and other content that our listeners enjoy is important to the perceived value of our Pandora service to consumers and the failure to make accurate predictions would adversely affect our ability to attract and retain subscribers and listeners, increase listener hours and sell advertising.

We receive a substantial amount of personal data on purchasers and lessees of new and used vehicles from third parties. We use this personal data to market our services. We collect and use demographic, service usage, purchase history and other information, including location information, from and about our listeners through the internet. Further, we and third parties use tracking technologies, including “cookies” and related technologies, to help us manage and track our listeners’ interactions with our services and deliver relevant advertising.

Various federal and state laws and regulations, as well as the laws of foreign jurisdictions, govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of the personal data we receive. Privacy groups and government authorities have increasingly scrutinized the ways in which companies collect and share personal data, including linking personal identities and data associated with particular users or devices with data collected through the internet, and we expect such scrutiny to increase. Alleged violations of laws and regulations relating to privacy and personal data may expose us to potential liability, may require us to expend significant resources in responding to and defending such allegations and claims and could in the future result in negative publicity and a loss of confidence in us by our subscribers, listeners, advertisers and other third parties with whom we do business.

Privacy-related laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and the European General Data Protection Regulation, are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. Various federal and state legislative and regulatory bodies as well as foreign legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws regarding privacy and data security-related matters. New laws, amendments to or re-interpretations of existing laws and contractual obligations, as well as changes in our listeners’ expectations and demands regarding privacy and data security, may limit our ability to collect and use consumer data. Restrictions on our ability to receive, collect and use consumer data could limit our ability to attract and retain subscribers and listeners to our services. In addition, restrictions on our ability to collect, access and process listener data, or to use or disclose listener data or profiles that we develop using such data, could limit our ability to market our content and services to our potential listeners and offer targeted advertising opportunities to our advertisers, each of which are important to our business. Increased regulation of personal data utilization practices and compliance administration could increase our costs of operation or otherwise adversely affect our business.

Federal and state consumer protection laws, rules and regulations cover nearly all aspects of our marketing efforts, including the content of our advertising, the terms of consumer offers and the manner in which we communicate with consumers.  The State of New York has filed a suit against us relating to our subscription cancellation practices, and other governmental authorities have commenced investigations into our consumer practices, including the manner in which we allow consumers to cancel subscriptions to our services. The nature of our business requires us to expend significant resources to try to ensure that our marketing activities comply with consumer protection laws, including laws relating to telemarketing activities and privacy.  These efforts may not be successful, and we may have to expend even greater resources in our compliance efforts.

Modifications to consumer protection laws, including laws regarding the pricing of our services and the manner in which consumers can cancel our services as well as decisions by courts and administrative agencies interpreting these laws, could have an adverse impact on our ability to attract and retain subscribers and listeners to our services.  There can be no assurance that new laws or regulations will not be enacted or adopted, preexisting laws or regulations will not be more strictly enforced or that our operations will comply with all applicable laws, which could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial condition.

The operation of our satellite radio systems is subject to significant regulation by the FCC under authority granted through the Communications Act of 1934 and related federal law. We are required, among other things, to operate only within specified frequencies; to coordinate our satellite radio services with radio systems operating in the same range of frequencies in neighboring countries; and to coordinate our communications links to our satellites with other systems that operate in the same frequency band.

Noncompliance by us with these requirements or other conditions or with other applicable FCC rules and regulations could result in fines, additional license conditions, license revocation or other detrimental FCC actions. There is no guarantee that Congress will not modify the statutory framework governing our services, or that the FCC will not modify its rules and regulations in a manner that would have an adverse impact on our operations.

Many governments, regulators, investors, employees, customers and other stakeholders are focused on environmental, social and governance (or “ESG”) considerations, including climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; human capital management, including diversity, equity and inclusion; cybersecurity; content moderation; and human and civil rights. Our reporting and disclosures in response to these expectations may require additional investments and reporting processes, introduce additional compliance risk, and depend in part on third-party performance or data that is outside our control. Related initiatives, and implementation of these initiatives, also involve risks and uncertainties, and we cannot guarantee that we will achieve any announced environmental, social and governance objectives. In addition, some stakeholders may disagree with our initiatives and objectives. Any failure, or perceived failure, to further our initiatives, adhere to public statements, comply with

The nature of our business could expose us to claims or public criticism related to defamation, illegal content, misinformation, and content regulation. We could incur costs investigating and defending any such claims. In addition, some stakeholders may disagree with third-party content provided through our services, and negative public criticism of this content could damage our reputation and brands. If we incur material costs, liability, or negative consumer reaction as a result of these occurrences, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely impacted.

The nature of our business involves the receipt and storage of personal information about our subscribers and listeners including credit and debit card information. We have a program in place to detect and respond to data security incidents. However, the techniques used to gain unauthorized access to data systems are constantly evolving and may not be detected for long periods of time. We may be unable to anticipate or prevent unauthorized access to data pertaining to our customers, including credit card and debit card information and other personally identifiable information. Our services, which are supported by our own systems and those of third-party vendors, could be subject to computer malware and attacks as well as to catastrophic events (such as fires, floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes), any of which could lead to system interruptions, delays, or shutdowns, causing loss of critical data or the unauthorized access to personally identifiable information.

If we fail to protect the security of personal information about our customers or if an actual or perceived breach of security occurs on our systems or a vendor’s systems, we could be exposed to costly government enforcement actions and private litigation and our reputation could suffer. We may also be required to expend significant resources to address these problems, including notification under various data privacy regulations, and our reputation and operating results could suffer. In addition, our subscribers and listeners, as well as potential customers, could lose confidence in our ability to protect their personal information, which could cause them to discontinue the use of our services. This loss of confidence would also harm our efforts to attract and retain advertisers and to obtain personal information from third parties, and unauthorized access to our programming would potentially create additional royalty expense with no corresponding revenue. Such events could adversely affect our results of operations. The costs of maintaining adequate protection, including insurance protection, against such threats as they develop in the future (or as legal requirements related to data security increase) could be material.

In addition, hardware, software, or applications we develop or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to gain access to our systems or facilities, or those of third parties with whom we do business, through fraud, trickery, or other forms of deceiving our employees, contractors or other agents. We may not be able to effectively control the unauthorized actions of third parties who may have access to the data we collect.

To date, we are not aware that we have had a significant cyber-attack or breach that has had a material impact on our business or results of operations. We have implemented systems and processes intended to secure our information technology systems and prevent unauthorized access to or loss of sensitive, confidential and personal data, including through the use of encryption and authentication technologies. Additionally, we have increased our monitoring capabilities to enhance early detection and timely response to potential security anomalies.

The cyber security measures we have implemented, however, may not be sufficient to prevent all possible attacks and may be vulnerable to hacking, employee error, ransom attacks, malfeasance, system error, faulty password management or other irregularities. Further, the development and maintenance of these measures are costly and require ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become increasingly sophisticated.

We incorporate artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions into our digital infrastructure, services, offerings and features, and these applications may become important in our operations over time. Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate

The use of AI applications may result in cybersecurity incidents that implicate the personal data of consumers. Any such cybersecurity incidents related to our use of AI applications could adversely affect our reputation and results of operations. AI also presents emerging ethical issues, such as the proper use of copyrighted material with AI applications, and if our use of AI becomes controversial, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, or legal liability. The rapid evolution of AI, including potential government regulation of AI, will require significant resources to develop, test and maintain our platform, offerings, services, and features to help us implement AI ethically in order to minimize unintended, harmful impact.

We rely on our own systems and systems of third party vendors to enable subscribers and listeners to access our Pandora and Sirius XM services in a dependable and efficient manner. Any degradation in the quality, or any failure, of our systems could reduce our revenues, cause us to lose customers and damage our brands.  Although we have implemented practices designed to maintain the availability of the information technology and service delivery systems we rely on and mitigate the harm of any unplanned interruptions, we cannot anticipate all eventualities. We occasionally experience unplanned outages or technical difficulties. We could also experience loss of data or processing capabilities, which could cause us to lose customers and could harm our reputation and operating results.

We rely on internal systems and external systems maintained by manufacturers, distributors and service providers to take, fulfill and handle customer service requests and host certain online activities. Any interruption or failure of our internal or external systems could prevent us from servicing customers or cause data to be unintentionally disclosed. Our services have experienced, and we expect them to continue to experience, periodic service interruptions and delays involving our own systems and those of our vendors.

Our data centers and our information technology and communications systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, malicious attacks, fire, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses or other attempts to harm our systems. The occurrence of any of these events could result in interruptions in our services and unauthorized access to, or alteration of, the content and data contained on our systems and that these third party vendors store and deliver on our behalf.

Damage or interruption to data centers and information technology and communications centers could expose us to data loss or manipulation, disruption of service, monetary and reputational damages, competitive disadvantage and significant increases in compliance costs and costs to improve the security and resiliency of our computer systems. The compromise of personal, confidential or proprietary information could also subject us to legal liability or regulatory action under evolving cybersecurity, data protection and privacy laws and regulations enacted by the U.S. federal and state governments or other foreign jurisdictions or by various regulatory organizations. As a result, our ability to conduct our business and our results of operations might be adversely affected.

We must maintain music programming royalty arrangements with, and pay license fees to, owners of rights in musical works in order to operate our services. Traditionally, BMI, ASCAP, SESAC and GMR have negotiated for these copyright users, collected royalties and distributed them to songwriters and music publishers. These traditional arrangements are changing. The fracturing of the traditional system for licensing rights in musical works may have significant consequences to our business, including increasing licensing costs and reducing the availability of certain pieces for use on our services.

Pandora has direct license agreements with many sound recording copyright and musical work copyright owners. These agreements grant us the right to operate Pandora Premium, and add interactive features, such as replays, additional skips and offline play, to Pandora’s ad-supported service and to Pandora Plus.

The economic terms of these direct licenses are onerous and, as a result, we may not be able to profitably operate the Pandora services. However, the economic terms of these direct licenses may be “market,” given the rates paid by Pandora’s competitors. Competition for Pandora’s services are primarily offered by entities that provide music and entertainment services as a small part of a larger business, such as Apple, Google and Amazon. These competitors have the ability to bear these onerous economic provisions to a much greater extent than our Pandora business. We may not be able to negotiate or obtain lower royalty rates under these direct licenses.

These direct licenses are complex. We may not be in compliance with the terms of these licenses, which could result in the loss of some or all of these licenses and some or all of the rights they convey. Similarly, many of these licenses provide that if the licensor loses rights in a portion of the content licensed under the agreement, that content may be removed from the license going-forward.

If Pandora fails to maintain these direct licenses, or if rights to certain music were no longer available under these licenses, then we may have to remove the affected music from Pandora’s services, or discontinue certain interactive features for such music, and it might become commercially impractical for us to operate Pandora Premium, Pandora Plus or certain features of our advertising supported service. Any of these occurrences could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Several of these direct licenses also include provisions related to the terms of those agreements relative to other content licensing arrangements, which are commonly referred to as “most favored nation” clauses. These provisions have caused, and may in the future cause, our payments under those agreements to escalate substantially. In addition, SoundExchange, many record labels, music publishers and performing rights organizations have the right to audit our royalty payments, and these audits often result in disputes over whether we have paid the proper amounts. As a result of such audits, we could be required to pay additional amounts, audit fees and interest or penalties, and the amounts involved could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There is no guarantee that these direct licenses will be renewed in the future or that such licenses will be available on the economic terms associated with the current licenses. If we are unable to secure and maintain direct licenses for the rights to provide music on our Pandora services on terms similar to those under our current direct licenses, our content costs could rise and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Development of our systems has depended upon the intellectual property that we have developed, as well as intellectual property licensed from third parties. If the intellectual property that we have developed or use is not adequately protected, others will be permitted to and may duplicate portions of our systems or services without liability. In addition, others may challenge, invalidate, render unenforceable or circumvent our intellectual property rights, patents or existing licenses or we may face significant legal costs in connection with defending and enforcing those intellectual property rights. Some of the know-how and technology we have developed, and plan to develop, is not now, nor will it be, covered by U.S. patents or trade secret protections. Trade secret protection and contractual agreements may not provide adequate protection if there is any unauthorized use or disclosure. The loss of necessary technologies could require us to substitute technologies of lower quality performance standards, at greater cost or on a delayed basis, which could harm us.

Other parties may have patents or pending patent applications, which will later mature into patents or inventions that may block or put limits on our ability to operate our system or license our technologies. We may have to resort to litigation to enforce our rights under license agreements or to determine the scope and validity of other parties’ proprietary rights in the subject matter of those licenses. This may be expensive and we may not succeed in any such litigation.

Third parties may assert claims or bring suit against us for patent, trademark or copyright infringement, or for other infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights. Any such litigation could be costly, divert our efforts from our business, subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require us to seek licenses from third parties, block our ability to

We may incorporate in some products software licensed under “open source” licenses. Open source licenses often require that the source code be made available to the public and that any modifications or derivative works to the open source software continue to be licensed under open source licenses. Few courts have interpreted open source licenses, and the manner in which these licenses may be interpreted and enforced is therefore subject to uncertainty. In the event that portions of our proprietary technology are determined to be subject to an open source license, we may be required to publicly release portions of our source code, be forced to re-engineer all or a portion of our technologies, or otherwise be limited in the licensing of our technologies, each of which could adversely affect our ability to sustain and grow our business.

The audio entertainment industry is characterized by rapid technological change, frequent product and feature innovations, changes in customer requirements and expectations, evolving standards and new entrants offering products and services. If we are unable to keep pace with these changes, our business may not succeed. Products using new technologies could make our services less competitive in the marketplace.

As of December 31, 2023, we had an aggregate principal amount of approximately $9.3 billion of indebtedness outstanding.

Our indebtedness increases our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; requires us to dedicate a portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on indebtedness, reducing the availability of cash flow to fund capital expenditures, marketing and other general corporate activities; limits our ability to borrow additional funds; and may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the audio entertainment industry.

In addition, our borrowings under our Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility carry a variable interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). We may, in the future, hedge against interest rate fluctuations by using hedging instruments such as swaps, caps, options, forwards, futures or other similar products. These instruments may be used to selectively manage risks, but there can be no assurance that we will be fully protected against material interest rate fluctuations.

As of December 31, 2023, Liberty Media beneficially owned 83.4% of Holdings’ common stock and has the ability to influence our affairs, policies and operations. Three Liberty Media executives and one other member of the board of directors of Liberty Media are members of our board of directors. Our board of directors currently has thirteen members. Gregory B. Maffei, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media, is the Chairman of Holdings’ board of directors. Our board of directors is responsible for, among other things, the appointment of executive management, future issuances of

The Transactions and our efforts to consummate the Transactions have required, and may continue to require, our management to divert a disproportionate amount of attention away from their respective day-to-day activities and operations in order to devote time and effort to consummating the Transactions. The risks, and adverse effects, of such disruptions and diversions could be exacerbated by a delay in the completion of the Transactions. Any such disruptions or diversions could adversely affect our financial position or results of operations, regardless of whether the Transactions are completed. Moreover, the Transactions impose certain restrictive interim covenants on us during the pendency of the Transactions. These restrictions may prevent us from taking certain actions during the relevant period, including repurchasing our stock, making certain acquisitions or otherwise pursuing certain business opportunities that our board of directors may deem beneficial. Further, we have incurred, and expect to further incur, certain nonrecurring costs in connections with the Transactions, which may adversely affect our short-term operating results and cash flows. Although we expect that the realization of benefits related to the Transactions will offset such costs and expenses over time, we cannot assure that the net benefits will be achieved in the near term, or at all. Additionally, while we anticipate the realization of strategic and financial benefits to our stockholders as a result of the consummation of the Transactions, including the creation of stockholder value because, among other things, there will be a single class of “one share, one vote” common stock following the consummation of the Transactions, Holdings will no longer have a controlling stockholder, and the Transactions will result in more trading liquidity for our common stock and the potential for future eligibility for inclusion in stock market indexes, there can be no assurance that these benefits will be realized and to what exact impact will they have on stockholder value. See “Business - Liberty Media Split-Off Transaction.”

We currently pay a quarterly cash dividend to holders of our common stock, although we have no obligation to do so, and our dividend policy may change at any time without notice to our stockholders. The declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of our board of directors in accordance with applicable law after considering various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, limitations imposed by our indebtedness, legal requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.

We believe that our success depends on our continued ability to attract and retain qualified management, sales, technical and other personnel. All of our employees, including our executive officers, are free to terminate their employment with us at any time, and their knowledge of our business may be difficult to replace.

Qualified individuals are in high demand, particularly in the media and technology industries and we may incur significant costs to attract and retain employees. If we are unable to attract and retain our key employees, we may not be able to achieve our objectives, and our business could be harmed.

An earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood, cyber-attack, terrorist attack, civil unrest or other catastrophic event could damage our data centers, studios, terrestrial repeater networks or satellite uplink facilities, interrupt our services and harm our

Any damage to the satellites that transmit to our terrestrial repeater networks would likely result in degradation of the affected service for some Sirius XM subscribers and could result in complete loss of Sirius XM satellite service in certain or all areas.  Damage to our satellite uplink facilities could result in a complete loss of our Sirius XM satellite service until we could transfer operations to suitable back-up facilities.

We are parties to several legal proceedings arising out of various aspects of our business, including possible class actions arising out of our marketing practices and governmental actions and possible class actions and mass arbitrations arising from our pricing and cancellation practices. The outcome of these proceedings may not be favorable, and one or more unfavorable outcomes could have an adverse impact on our financial condition. See "Item 3. Legal Proceedings" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information on our material legal proceedings.

We design, establish specifications, source or specify parts and components, and manage various aspects of the logistics of the production of satellite radios and our apps. As a result of these activities, we may be exposed to liabilities associated with the design, manufacture and distribution of radios and apps that the providers of an entertainment service would not customarily be subject to, such as liabilities for design defects, patent infringement and compliance with applicable laws, as well as the costs of returned product.

Maintaining and enhancing our brands is an important part of our strategy to expand our base of subscribers, listeners and advertisers. Our brands may be impaired by a number of factors, including service outages, data privacy and security issues and exploitation of our trademarks by others without permission. Our ability to maintain and enhance our brands also depends in part on our ability to continue to develop and provide an innovative and high-quality entertainment experience, which we may not do successfully.

We have made various statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may also be made in our other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC, in our press releases and in other documents. In addition, from time to time, we, through our management, may make oral forward-looking statements. For example, these forward-looking statements may include, among other things, our statements about our outlook and our future results of operations and financial condition; share repurchase plans; the impact of economic and market conditions; and the impact of recent acquisitions. The words “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimated,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” “projection,” “outlook” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those identified above, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. We caution you that the risk factors described above are not exclusive. There may also be other risks that we are unable to predict at this time that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will arise or to assess with any precision the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

None.

As part of our enterprise risk assessment function, which is led by our Senior Vice President and head of Internal Audit, we have implemented processes to assess, identify and manage the material risks facing the company, including from cyber threats. Our enterprise risk assessment function is part of our overall risk management processes. Our cybersecurity program is built upon internationally recognized frameworks, such as ISO 27001, and maps to standards published by The National Institute of Standards and Technology. We believe that our processes provide us with a comprehensive assessment of potential cyber threats. We conduct regular scans, penetration tests, and vulnerability assessments to identify any potential threats or vulnerabilities in our systems. Our processes to assess, identify and manage the material risks from cyber threats include the risks arising from threats associated with third party service providers, including cloud-based platforms.

We have developed a robust cyber crisis response plan which provides a documented framework for handling high severity security incidents and facilitates coordination across multiple parts of the company. Our incident response team constantly monitors threat intelligence feeds, handles vulnerability management and responds to incidents. In addition, we routinely perform simulations and drills at both a technical and management level.

Internally, we have a security awareness program which includes training that reinforces our information technology and security policies, standards and practices, and we require that our employees comply with these policies. The security awareness program offers training on how to identify potential cybersecurity risks and protect our resources and information. This training is mandatory for all employees on an annual basis, and it is supplemented by testing initiatives, including periodic phishing tests. We also provide specialized security training for certain employee roles, such as application developers. Finally, our privacy program requires all employees to take periodic awareness training on data privacy. This training includes information about confidentiality and security, as well as responding to unauthorized access to or use of information.

From time to time, we engage third-party service providers to enhance our risk mitigation efforts. For instance, we have routinely engaged an independent cybersecurity advisor to lead a cybersecurity crisis simulation exercise that has been used by our senior leaders to prepare for a possible cyber crisis. In addition, we have engaged: Novacoast, an international cybersecurity company specializing in IT services and software development, to augment our monitoring and detection efforts; Synopsys, Inc., a leader in electronic design automation, to perform our external penetration testing and vulnerability assessment; Recorded Future, one of the world’s largest intelligence companies, and Mandiant, a recognized leader in cyber defense, threat intelligence and incident response services, to provide threat intelligence and analysis services; and Mandiant to augment our incident response ability and provide forensic services. We also purchase insurance to protect us against the risk of cybersecurity breaches. Our Senior Vice President and Treasurer is responsible for our insurance programs and reviews on a regular basis our cyber insurance policies and assesses whether we have appropriate coverage.

To date, risks from cybersecurity threats have not previously materially affected us, and we currently do not expect that the risks from cybersecurity threats are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business, strategy, results of operations or financial condition. That said, as discussed more fully under “Item 1A – Risk Factors”, the sophistication of cyber threats continues to increase, and the preventative actions we take to reduce the risk of cyber incidents and protect our systems and information may be insufficient. Accordingly, no matter how well designed or implemented our controls are, we will not be able to anticipate all security breaches of these types, including security threats that may result from third parties improperly employing AI technologies, and we may not be able to implement effective preventive measures against such security breaches in a timely manner.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for the primary oversight of our information security programs, including relating to cybersecurity. The Audit Committee receives regular reports from our Chief Product and Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer and the Chief Information Officer on, among other things, our cyber risks and threats, the status of projects to strengthen our information security systems, assessments of our security program, and our views of the emerging threat landscape. Our Senior Vice President and head of Internal Audit reports directly to the Audit Committee and is responsible for reporting to the Committee on our company-wide enterprise risk assessment, and that assessment also includes an evaluation of cyber risks and threats. The Chair of the Audit Committee regularly reports to the Board on cybersecurity risks and other matters reviewed by the Committee. In addition, the Board receives separate presentations on cybersecurity risk from our Chief Product and Technology Officer. Furthermore, all Board members are invited to attend each Audit Committee meeting and have access to the materials for each Audit Committee meeting.

As a matter of process, the Audit Committee annually reviews, and recommends to the Board its approval of, our information security policy and information security program. Furthermore, on an annual basis, the Board reviews and discusses our technology strategy with our Chief Product and Technology Officer and approves our technology strategic plan.

Our Chief Information Security Officer, together with our Chief Product and Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer, is responsible for the day-to-day management of our cybersecurity risks. We have established a Security Council, which includes our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and other senior officers, that meets on at least a quarterly basis to review cybersecurity and information security matters. The Security Council has primary management oversight responsibility for assessing and managing information security, fraud, vendor, data protection and privacy, and cybersecurity risks.

We have a security incident response framework in place. We use this incident response framework as part of the process we employ to keep our management and Board of Directors informed about and monitor the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. The framework is a set of coordinated procedures and tasks that our incident response team, under the direction of the Chief Information Security Officer, executes with the goal of ensuring timely and accurate resolution of cybersecurity incidents. Our cybersecurity framework includes regular compliance assessments with our policies and standards and applicable state and federal statutes and regulations. In addition, we validate compliance with our internal data security controls through the use of security monitoring utilities and internal and external audits.

Our Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Product and Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer each have extensive experience in the information technology area. In particular, our Chief Information Security Officer has over twenty years of professional experience in the information security area, including as a result of his service as the director of security, a security architect and a software security engineer at companies such as Squarespace, Verizon Media (Oath), Tumblr, Bridgewater Associates and EMC; our Chief Product and Technology Officer has twenty eight years of professional experience in the information security area; and our Chief Information Officer has twenty three years of professional experience in the information security area.

Below is a list of the principal properties that we own or lease:

For a discussion of our “Legal Proceedings,” refer to Note 16 in the notes to our audited consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SIRI.” On January 30, 2024, there were approximately 6,100 record holders of our common stock.

As of December 31, 2023, our board of directors had authorized us to repurchase an aggregate of $18.0 billion of our common stock and have not establish an end date for this stock repurchase program.  Shares of common stock may be purchased from time to time on the open market, pursuant to pre-set trading plans meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, in privately negotiated transactions, including transactions with Liberty Media and its affiliates, or otherwise.  As of December 31, 2023, our cumulative repurchases since December 2012 under our stock repurchase program totaled 3.7 billion shares for approximately $16.8 billion, and approximately $1.2 billion remained available under our existing $18.0 billion stock repurchase program.  The size and timing of our repurchases will be based on a number of factors, including price and business and market conditions.

There were no purchases of equity securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act during the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those described under “Item 1A - Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See “Special Note About Forward-Looking Statements.”

Set forth below are our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the year ended December 31, 2022. Refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 2, 2023 for our results of operation for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the year ended December 31, 2021. The results of operations are presented for each of our reporting segments for revenue and cost of services and on a consolidated basis for all other items.

In this section, we present certain financial performance measures, some of which are presented as Non-GAAP items, which include free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA. We also present certain operating performance measures. Our adjusted EBITDA excludes the impact of share-based payment expense.  Additionally, when applicable, our adjusted EBITDA metric excludes the effect of significant items that do not relate to the on-going performance of our business.  We use these Non-GAAP financial and operating performance measures to manage our business, to set operational goals and as a basis for determining performance-based compensation for our employees. See the accompanying Glossary for more details and for the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure (where applicable).

The following table presents a summary of our cash flow activity for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the year ended December 31, 2022. Refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 2, 2023 for our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared with the year ended December 31, 2021.

Cash flows provided by operating activities decreased by $126 to $1,850 for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $1,976 for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities

Cash flows used in investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2023 were primarily due to spending for capitalized software and hardware, the construction of satellites and acquisitions of tax-effective investments for total cash consideration of $39. Cash flows used in investing activities in the year ended December 31, 2022 were primarily due to spending for capitalized software and hardware, to construct satellites, and acquisitions for total cash consideration of $136. We spent $297 and $247 on capitalized software and hardware as well as $285 and $122 to construct satellites during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities

Cash flows used in financing activities consists of the issuance and repayment of long-term debt, the purchase of common stock under our share repurchase program, the payment of cash dividends and taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for stock-based compensation.  Proceeds from long-term debt have been used to fund our operations, construct and launch new satellites, fund acquisitions, invest in other infrastructure improvements and purchase shares of our common stock.

Based upon our current business plans, we expect to fund operating expenses, capital expenditures, including the construction of replacement satellites, working capital requirements, interest payments, taxes and scheduled maturities of our debt with existing cash, cash flow from operations and borrowings under our Credit Facility.  As of December 31, 2023, no amount was outstanding under our Credit Facility and $1,750 was available for future borrowing under our Credit Facility.  We believe that we have sufficient cash and cash equivalents, as well as debt capacity, to cover our estimated short-term and long-term funding needs, including amounts to construct, launch and insure replacement satellites, as well as fund future stock repurchases, future dividend payments and to pursue strategic opportunities.

Capital Return Program

As of December 31, 2023, our board of directors had authorized for repurchase an aggregate of $18,000 of our common stock.  As of December 31, 2023, our cumulative repurchases since December 2012 under our stock repurchase program totaled 3,731 shares for $16,834, and $1,166 remained available for additional repurchases under our existing stock repurchase program authorization.

The indentures governing Sirius XM's senior notes and the agreement governing the Sirius XM Credit Facility include restrictive covenants.  As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with such covenants.  For a discussion of our “Debt Covenants,” refer to Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We do not have any significant off-balance sheet arrangements other than those disclosed in Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

For a discussion of our “Contractual Cash Commitments,” refer to Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

For a discussion of “Related Party Transactions,” refer to Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods. Accounting estimates require the use of significant management assumptions and judgments as to future events, and the effect of those events cannot be predicted with certainty. The accounting estimates will change as new events occur, more experience is acquired and more information is obtained. We evaluate and update our assumptions and estimates on an ongoing basis and use outside experts to assist in that evaluation when we deem necessary. We have identified all significant accounting policies in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As of December 31, 2023, the intangible assets not subject to amortization for each of our consolidated reportable segments were as follows (amounts in millions):

We perform our annual assessment of the recoverability of our goodwill and other nonamortizable intangible assets in the fourth quarter each year, or more frequently if events and circumstances indicate impairment may have occurred. The accounting guidance permits entities to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. The accounting guidance also allows entities the option to bypass the qualitative assessment for any reporting unit in any period and proceed directly to the quantitative impairment test. The entity may resume performing the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period. In evaluating goodwill on a qualitative basis, we review the business performance of each reporting unit and evaluate other relevant factors as identified in the relevant accounting guidance to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indicated impairment exists for any of our reporting units. We consider whether there are any negative macroeconomic conditions, industry specific conditions, market changes, increased competition, increased costs in doing business, management challenges, the legal environments and how these factors might impact company specific performance in future periods. As part of the analysis, we also consider fair value determinations for our reporting units that have been made at various points throughout the current and prior year for other purposes. If based on the qualitative analysis it is more likely than not that an impairment exists, we perform the quantitative impairment test.

We operate two in-orbit Sirius satellites, FM-5 and FM-6, which launched in 2009 and 2013, respectively, and estimate they will operate effectively through the end of their depreciable lives in 2024 and 2028, respectively.

We currently operate three in-orbit XM satellites, XM-3, XM-5 and SXM-8. Our XM-3 satellite was launched in 2005 and is used as an in-orbit spare and reached the end of its depreciable life in 2020. Our XM-5 satellite was launched in 2010 and is expected to reach the end of its depreciable life in 2025. Our SXM-8 satellite was launched in 2021 and is expected to reach the end of its depreciable life in 2036. Our SXM-8 satellite replaced our XM-3 satellite. We have entered into agreements for the design, construction and launch of four additional satellites, SXM-9, SXM-10, SXM-11 and SXM-12.

Our satellites have been designed to last fifteen-years. Our in-orbit satellites may experience component failures which could adversely affect their useful lives. We monitor the operating condition of our in-orbit satellites and if events or circumstances indicate that the depreciable lives of our in-orbit satellites have changed, we will modify the depreciable life accordingly. If we were to revise our estimates, our depreciation expense would change.

We assess the recoverability of deferred tax assets at each reporting date and, where applicable, a valuation allowance is recognized when, based on the weight of all available evidence, it is considered more likely than not that all, or some portion, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Our assessment includes an analysis of whether deferred tax assets will be realized in the ordinary course of operations based on the available positive and negative evidence, including the scheduling of deferred tax liabilities and forecasted income from operations. The underlying assumptions we use in forecasting future taxable income require significant judgment. In the event that actual income from operations differs from forecasted amounts, or if we change our estimates of forecasted income from operations, we could record additional charges or reduce allowances in order to adjust the carrying value of deferred tax assets to their realizable amount. Such adjustments could be material to our consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2023, we had a valuation allowance of $88 relating to deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not to be realized due to the timing of certain state net operating loss limitations and acquired net operating losses that were not likely to be utilized.

As of December 31, 2023, we did not hold or issue any derivatives.  We hold investments in money market funds and certificates of deposit.  These securities are consistent with the objectives contained within our investment policy.  The basic objectives of our investment policy are the preservation of capital, maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet operating requirements and maximizing yield.

As of December 31, 2023, we also held the following investment:

In connection with the recapitalization of Sirius XM Canada on May 25, 2017, we loaned Sirius XM Canada $130.8 million. The carrying value of the loan as of December 31, 2023 was $8.0 million and approximated its fair value. The loan is denominated in Canadian dollars and it is subject to changes in foreign currency. The loan is considered a long-term investment with any unrealized gains or losses reported within Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income. The loan has a term of fifteen years, bears interest at a rate of 7.62% per annum and includes customary covenants and events of default, including an event of default relating to Sirius XM Canada’s failure to maintain specified leverage ratios. Had the Canadian to U.S. dollar exchange rate been 10% lower as of December 31, 2023, the value of this loan would have been approximately $0.8 million lower.

Our debt includes fixed rate instruments and the fair market value of our debt is sensitive to changes in interest rates. Sirius XM's borrowings under the Credit Facility carry a variable interest rate, which is currently based on SOFR, plus an applicable rate based on its debt to operating cash flow ratio.  We currently do not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations.

See the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements and financial statements and financial statement schedule contained in Part IV, Item 15, herein, which are incorporated herein by reference.

None.

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. An evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including Jennifer C. Witz, our Chief Executive Officer, and Thomas D. Barry, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2023. Based on that evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2023 at the reasonable assurance level.

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the year ended December 31, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, which has audited and reported on the consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued its report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their audit report appearing on page F-4 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

None.

None.

Information about our executive officers is contained in the discussion entitled “Information About Our Executive Officers” in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Certain information required by this Item 12 is set forth under the heading “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in Part II, Item 5, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG LLP, New York, NY, Auditor ID: 185.

Documents filed as part of this report:

(1)  Financial Statements. See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing on page F-1.

(2)  Financial Statement Schedules. See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements appearing on page F-1.

(3)  Exhibits. See Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.

None.