SPOTIFY EYEING FIRST FULL YEAR OF PROFITABILITY

Spotify had plenty to celebrate amid its Q3 earnings report, which showed monthly active users up 11% YOY to 640m and total revenue rising 19% to $4.25b.

On track for its first full year of profitability, the streamer saw premium subscriptions jump 12% to 252m. Operating income was $482.4m.

Overall, the company added 14m new monthly active users from its free and paid tiers.

“We’ve never been in a stronger position thanks to the outstanding execution by our team," said Spotify leader Daniel Ek. "I’m incredibly proud of the way we’ve delivered and the progress we’ve made. We’re where we set out to be—if not a little further—and on a steady path toward achieving our long-term goals. This relentless pursuit of innovation and commitment to growth sets us up to deliver the most valuable user experience in the industry while reinforcing the core strengths that make Spotify unique. I'm very excited about what lies ahead for us.”

Spotify touted numerous initiatives as growth drivers, including expanding its video capabilities to premium users in 97 countries, launching countdown pages for upcoming releases, the debut of more than 200k audiobooks in non-English-speaking markets and AI-driven playlist and DJ functionality.

In addition, operating expenses dropped 8% YOY, reflecting a smaller marketing spend and lower "personnel and related costs." In the wake of major layoffs late last year and in early 2024, Spotify had more than 7.2k full-time employees as of the end of September.

Spotify's stock rose 9% to $457.50 in after-hours trading. It was up 2.3% to $419.48 at the close of today's regular activity.