Spotify ended September with 306 million paying premium subscribers, up from 300 million at the end of June, and the company said revenue in the third quarter rose 16 percent to €5.0 billion, matching its forecast. That kept the streaming company on the pace investors were watching most closely: user growth that still translates into money.
Alex Norström said the company has “more runway ahead” after the results, and the numbers backed up that tone. Monthly active users climbed to 788 million from 777 million in the previous quarter, while third-quarter operating income came in at €672 million, just above the €670 million management had called for. Spotify also said gross margin and operating income came in ahead of expectations, and its shares rose more than 3 percent in early pre-market trading.
The quarter was not all clean upside. Operating expenses increased 26 percent, a pace that shows how much Spotify is still spending to keep growth moving. The company said the increase was driven mainly by marketing, along with cloud and AI spend tied to growth initiatives. That mix matters because it leaves open the question of how much of the higher cost base is temporary promotion and how much is the price of building a more durable business.
There is also a forward-looking test now in view. Spotify predicted 316 million premium subscribers, 818 million monthly active users, €820 million in operating income and €5.2 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. Those targets suggest management believes the current run can keep going, but the gap between rising revenue and rising spending will remain the measure that counts most.
Norström framed the quarter as proof that Spotify is compounding while it invests, and Gustav Söderström added that the company sits in one of the few categories that could thrive in the agentic age. For now, the simplest read is that Spotify delivered the quarter it promised. The next one will show whether it can keep doing that while expenses stay elevated.
