Spotify Reports Subscriber Growth and Record Profits in Early 2026

Spotify says it added millions of new paying users in the first three months of 2026, while also recording its highest-ever quarterly profit.

In financial results published on 28 April, the streaming firm reported 293 million Premium subscribers by the end of March. That marks an increase of three million compared with the previous quarter, in line with company expectations.

Spotify said the growth was driven by strong performance across multiple regions, particularly in Latin America and Europe, alongside the impact of global promotional campaigns.

Europe remains the company’s largest market, accounting for 36% of paying subscribers. North America made up 25%, followed by Latin America with 24%, and the rest of the world at 15%.

The platform’s total Monthly Active Users, which includes both paying and free-tier listeners, rose to 761 million. This represents a 12% increase compared with the same period last year and a rise of 10 million users since the previous quarter.

Spotify said this wider growth reflected gains across all regions, with especially strong performance in North America and emerging markets. Improvements to its free mobile service were also credited with attracting more users.

Revenue for the quarter reached €4.53 billion, up 14% year-on-year when adjusted for currency changes. Most of this came from subscriptions, which generated €4.15 billion, while advertising brought in €385 million.

The company also reported that the average monthly revenue per Premium user increased slightly to €4.76. This was partly due to recent price rises, including a US subscription increase introduced in January, as well as similar changes in other markets.

Spotify’s advertising business grew more modestly. The company said higher volumes of adverts helped boost music advertising, although pricing remained under pressure. Podcast advertising, however, saw gains driven by sponsorship deals.

In terms of profitability, Spotify posted an operating income of €715 million for the quarter, a record for the company and well above its earlier forecast. Net income stood at €721 million.

The firm said lower-than-expected payroll-related costs, known as social charges, contributed to the stronger result. These costs can fluctuate depending on the company’s share price, as they are partly linked to stock-based employee compensation.

Despite rising expenses, including increased spending on marketing and investment in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, Spotify’s overall profit margin improved to 33%.

Co-chief executive Alex Norström said the results showed “healthy engagement” from both new and existing users, adding that recent product changes had encouraged more frequent listening.

Fellow co-chief executive Gustav Söderström said the company’s scale and investment in technology had positioned it to “unlock entirely new growth” in the future.