Quote:
Originally posted by lilbigblue
This industry is definitely one to monitor, but their future is just too volatile for my taste.
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Agreed. A couple of more interesting tidbits I've picked up, so I won't be able to site.
Subscriber turnover is somewhere near 0% for both companies. What this generally means is that once someone chooses a provider, then they stick with them. Basically, the first one to the customers has them for good. This would mean that XM's lead in subscribers is significant.
XM's two satillites (Rock and Roll
) are some Boeing model which apparently is not very reliable. If one of those puppies goes down, XM could be screwed.
However, I think there's one big wildcard in the mix. XM comes in GM's, Honda's, Acura, and a couple other cars. Sirius comes in Chryslers, Fords, etc... I believe a big part of the investors for each company are these auto companies. Do you think that Ford would just let Sirius die and put their customers out in the cold? (Or GM/XM) Be interesting to see what happens.
At any rate, I think that it's a good point to make, as lilbigblue did, that when buying stocks you are concerned not only with the company's financial numbers, but also market factors as well as anything that could effect the company. New products, more compition, uncertain customer base, etc... To make informed decisions requires a lot of work.