Billionaires Warren Buffett, Israel Englander, and Steven Cohen Are Piling Into Wall Street's Most Popular Reverse Stock Split of 2025
The Motley Fool·2025-10-12 09:10

Group 1: Reverse Stock Splits - Reverse stock splits allow companies to artificially increase their stock price and lower their outstanding share count without changing the market cap [1] - Companies typically use reverse stock splits to raise their stock price to make it more comparable to peers and to avoid delisting risks from stock exchanges [2] - Reverse stock splits are not particularly popular as they may indicate management's lack of confidence in operational execution [3] Group 2: Sirius XM Holdings - Sirius XM Holdings was created from a complex transaction involving the split of digital audio assets from Liberty Media, which included a 1-for-10 reverse stock split [4] - Following the creation of Sirius XM, significant investments from prominent investors like Warren Buffett, Steve Cohen, and Israel Englander have been observed, indicating bullish sentiment [5][9] - Sirius is viewed as a legal monopoly in the U.S. with the only commercial satellite license, but it faces intense competition from companies like Spotify [6] Group 3: Financial Performance and Strategy - Sirius has struggled with subscriber growth, experiencing a decline and a stock price drop of approximately 61% over the past five years [7] - Management's turnaround plan includes new pricing models, a new in-car tech platform, and a focus on advertising revenue through podcasts, aiming to add 10 million subscribers and grow free cash flow by 50% to $1.8 billion [7] - Despite the ambitious plan announced in September 2024, there has been no tangible progress in financial results, with subscriber and revenue declines reported [8] Group 4: Investment Insights - Berkshire Hathaway purchased $106 million of Sirius shares, increasing its ownership to 37% of outstanding shares [9] - Point72 Asset Management initiated a new position in Sirius, acquiring approximately 4.2 million shares [9] - Millennium Management increased its position in Sirius by 139% in the second quarter, now owning over 2.1 million shares [9] Group 5: Dividend and Cash Flow - Shareholders can benefit from Sirius' 4.7% dividend yield while awaiting the company's transformation [10] - The trailing-12-month free cash flow yield stands at 12.3%, suggesting that the dividend is sustainable [10]