SiriusXM added $2.7 billion of market capitalization this week as its share price gained 18.3% to $4.53 — the stock’s highest closing price since Feb. 17 and 36.4% above its low point in 2023 of $3.32 reached on April 27.
The satellite radio broadcaster got a boost on Tuesday (June 27) when it announced it was scrapping its standalone podcast app, Stitcher, to concentrate on producing podcast content, selling advertisements and leveraging the content to attract SiriusXM subscribers. This evidence that the company is reorganizing and re-thinking how it operates in the fast-growing podcast market appeared to leave an impression on investors, with shares of SiriusXM rising as much as 10.5% on Tuesday.
SiriusXM had the second-best performance of the week on the Billboard Global Music Index, a 21-stock index covering record labels, publishers, satellite and radio broadcasters, and live music and ticketing. The Index improved 2.5% to 1,320.23 this week, as 12 of the 21 stocks finished the week in positive territory. Relative to other indexes, it outperformed the S&P 500 (+2.3%), the Nasdaq composite (+2.2%), the FTSE 100 (+0.9%) and South Korea’s Kospi index (-0.2%).
Two other radio companies, Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia, were among the leading music stocks this week. Shares of Cumulus Media improved 20.6% to $4.10 just one week after gaining 9.7% and leading the Billboard Global Music Index, while iHeartMedia’s stock gained 8% to $3.64. But despite those improvements, both stocks have fallen precipitously in 2023 amidst a soft advertising market. Through June 30, Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia are down 34% and 40.6%, respectively, year to date.
Another standout performer this week was Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record label and music publisher, with shares gaining 5.5% to 20.35 euros ($22.23). The company will release second-quarter earnings on July 26.
Halfway through 2023, the Billboard Global Music Index is up 13%. The index’s growth has come from large gains by some of the most valuable companies on the index: Spotify (+103.4%), HYBE (+62.2%) and Live Nation (+30.6%). The largest gain on a percentage basis, meanwhile, came from the smaller LiveOne (+173.3%).
