Sirius Satellite Radio Incorporated CEO Mel Karmazin noted he was just as disappointed as other investors in Sirius" lagging stock price but compared to rival XM, he said: "We suck less." Sirius" stock has fallen consistently since early 2006, when it opened the year trading at $6.70, and has been below $3 since early May. Karmazin made sure to note that Sirius" shares were up just 8% since September 2004, when the satellite radio service had just 600,000 subscribers, compared to the roughly 6.5 million it has today. He did however put out the reminder that this wasn"t nearly as bad as the 61% percent decline over the same period posted by the shares of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Incorporated.
Karmazin stressed that he has not sold a single share of the roughly $20 million of his own money he has invested and blamed the poor performance of the stocks on Wall Street"s negative view of the satellite radio business, despite the progress both companies have made building their subscriber bases and getting closer to profitability. Both Sirius and XM continue to lose money as they invest in acquiring subscribers and beefing up their programming lineups.