Spotify tops expectations, reaching 83m subs
Posted on: Tuesday 31st of July 2018
The Swedish music streaming service beat analysts expectations with positive numbers, in the face of very stiff competition for sign-ups from tech giants Apple and Amazon. The music streaming service said the number of monthly paying subscribers, which account for the bulk of its revenue, rose to 83m at the end of June from 75m in the first three months of 2018, more than double Apple’s latest tally of 40m paid users.
Spotify’s latest financial results show it ended June with 180m total Monthly Active Users (MAU), across both ad-supported and premium, up 30% year-on-year, and up by 7m on the 173m reported at the end of March. Spotify turned over €1.273bn in revenues in Q2 (the three months to end of June), up 26% year-on-year in real terms, or up 34% after adjusting for negative impact of currency exchange rates. Operating losses in the quarter stood at €90m, 14% worse Q2 2017, but a third of this loss was the expense of the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange in April.
In a call with journalists following the results, CFO Barry McCarthy said that Spotify’s recent revamp of its free tier on mobile is having the impact the company expected: “We’re seeing more engagement as a result. We continue to see growth we were expecting in the business for free both in the US and outside the US,” he said. “The recurring theme for this quarter, like last quarter, is growth as expected. Kinda: steady as you go.”
