Key Financial Data
- Q2 Total revenue: €4.78 billion (+14% year-over)
- Premium revenue: €4.33 billion (+15%)
- Ad-supported revenue: €446 million (+1%)
- Gross profit: €1.60 billion (+21%)
- Gross margin: 33.4%, up from 31.5%
- Premium gross margin: 34.9%, up 174 basis points
- Ad-supported gross margin: 19.1%, up 179 basis points
- Operating expenses: €941 million (+3%)
- Operating income: €655 million (+61%)
- Premium average revenue per user: €4.89 (+7%)
- Monthly active users: 777 million (+12%)
- Premium subscribers: 300 million (+9%)
- Read more Q2 2026 media earnings coverage | Spotify coverage
Spotify reported stronger second quarter (Q2) revenue and profitability on Tuesday as the audio streaming company reached 300 million paid subscribers and reaffirmed new artificial intelligence tools that will allow fans to create custom experiences within its app.
During the three-month period that ended in June, overall revenue increased 14 percent to €4.78 billion (U.S. $5.44 billion), up from €4.19 billion (U.S. $4.77 billion) a year earlier. Revenue grew 15 percent on a constant-currency basis and was in line with the company’s guidance, according to financial documents.
Paid subscription revenue rose 15 percent to €4.33 billion (U.S. $4.93 billion), a sign of stronger subscriber growth and higher average revenue per user (ARPU), metrics that resonate with the Wall Street crowd. Spotify ended Q2 with 300 million paid subscribers, up 9 percent from 276 million a year earlier and 7 million from the first quarter. The subscriber total came in 1 million above Spotify’s guidance; the company attributed the growth to gains across all regions and strong participation in global promotional campaigns.
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Premium average revenue per user increased 7 percent to €4.89 (U.S. $5.57), driven by previous price increases, partially offset by changes in product and geographic mix. Monthly active users (MAUs) increased 12 percent to 777 million; Spotify added 16 million users during the quarter but finished 1 million below its guidance. Ad-supported MAUs increased 14 percent to 494 million.
Ad-supported revenue rose 1 percent to €446 million (U.S. $508 million), or 3 percent on a constant-currency basis. Spotify said music advertising benefited from higher impressions sold, though pricing remained soft. Podcast advertising growth was led by sponsorship gains within the company’s owned and licensed programming.
Alex Norström, the co-CEO of Spotify, said the company has reached a scale few businesses have achieved and described its business as “healthy and compounding,” while co-CEO Gustav Söderström said Spotify was improving its engineering, shipping products faster and finding new ways for users to engage with the platform.
“We have a scale that few companies in history have reached, a business that is healthy and compounding, and opportunities only we are positioned to pursue,” Norström said on Tuesday. “Spotify lives across your whole day — the commute, the workout, studying, gaming, the dinner table, and sleep. At our scale, this is rare … our position gives us an opportunity space as wide as our users want it to be.”
The company is leaning into the artificial intelligence craze sweeping the tech industry by giving its users new tools that allow them to create custom experiences, including mixes and “personal podcasts” that are based on their interests, the co-CEOs confirmed.
On a conference call with investors, Söderström cautioned the artificial intelligence tools weren’t being extended to allow Spotify customers to make their own music, and the platform has cracked down on slop music generated with artificial intelligence for the sole purpose of increasing plays and generating fraudulent revenue.
“Our job remains the same: understand the technology early and deeply, and turn it into something people love and created value for our stakeholders,” Sönderström said.
Looking ahead, Spotify expects 788 million monthly active users during Q3, 305 million paid subscribers subscribers, revenue of €5 billion (U.S. $5.69 billion) and operating income of €670 million (U.S. $763 million), the executives said.
