SiriusXM-Pandora Faces 'Benign' Market, Analyst Says

SiriusXM-Pandora faces a “fairly benign” competitive landscape, Macquarie Capital's Amy Yong wrote investors Wednesday. Competitor promotions were minimal in Q3, while documents on Spotify’s pending initial public offering show 60 million-plus subscribers and 140 million-plus active users, the analyst said. Pandora gave away three free months of Premium through T-Mobile’s Tuesday customer appreciation giveaways, and is the Apple Store's top-grossing app, she said. Cross-pollination means Pandora leveraging SiriusXM content, she noted. Sirius could benefit from a Hurricane Harvey effect as damaged vehicles will drive an upswing in new car sales (see 1709140057 and 1709140044), she said. New Pandora CEO Roger Lynch brings “built and scaled Sling TV under a tight, cost-controlled environment,” she said.