Satellite Radio Customer Service & Billing Expense

Satellite radio customer service and billing expense measures the operating cost of servicing accounts after the subscription relationship exists.

SiriusXM includes internal and third-party customer service centers, subscriber-management systems, billing and collection processes, bad debt expense, and transaction fees in this category.

The cost is broader than a call center

SiriusXM reported $375 million of customer service and billing expense in 2025, up 2% from $369 million in 2024. Management said higher subscriber-management-system and transaction costs more than offset lower call-center costs and bad debt expense.

That mix matters. A decline in call-center spending does not necessarily imply that the entire service-and-billing cost base is falling if software, payment, or account-management costs are moving the other way.

Separate ongoing service cost from acquisition cost

This line belongs to SiriusXM's cost of services. It is different from subscriber acquisition costs, which are largely incurred to place radios and related hardware before a subscriber is acquired. It is also different from sales and marketing expense.

The distinction helps separate the cost to win or enable a customer from the cost to support, bill, collect from, and retain an existing base.

Analyze intensity with a compatible base

An investor can compare customer-service and billing expense with subscriber scale or revenue over time, but should avoid inventing an issuer KPI that SiriusXM does not report. Changes in payment mix, bad debt, transaction costs, support channels, and subscriber-management technology can alter expense even when ending subscribers move only modestly.

Primary source: Sirius XM Holdings 2025 Form 10-K.

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