XM’s Second-Quarter Subscriber Gains Top Forecasts

XM Satellite Radio [Nasdaq: XMSR] is continuing to meet or exceed its promises to Wall Street. The Washington-based satellite radio company beat the expectations of satellite analysts Tuesday when it announced a second-quarter subscriber gain of 209,178. That number topped the second-quarter subscriber growth estimate of 150,000 offered by Bear Stearns. Other Wall Street analysts had offered similar estimates that fell below the actual number.

The nation’s largest satellite radio service had amassed 692,253 subscribers by the close of the second quarter. The gain of 209,178 subscribers in the second quarter is a 55 percent rise from the 135,000 subscribers signed up by XM during the first quarter. Churn was not specified by XM officials, but Bob Peck, the satellite analyst at Bear Stearns, reported that it remained near past levels of 1.1 percent to 1.3 percent per month.