Spotify reaches 293 million Premium subscribers in Q1
Spotify reaches 293 million Premium subscribers in Q1
Revenue rose 8% for the music streamer during the quarter, in which it enacted its latest round of price increases.
While video streaming services are struggling to maintain subscribers in a tumultuous industry, music streamers are only getting stronger, as evidenced by Spotify’s latest quarterly earnings report. The first quarter of 2026 was a good one for Spotify, which met or slightly exceeded targets in all key metrics during the three-month period. The audio streamer now has nearly 300 million Premium subscribers, and its financial data is strong, showing that it has a solid and resilient customer base.
Key Details:
- Sustained growth: Spotify hit 293 million subscribers in the first quarter.
- Triple the fun: Net income for Spotify more than tripled in Q1.
- No slowing down: The company gained subscribers despite a U.S. price increase in January.
Spotify’s Q1 earnings showed that the streamer had gained 3 million Premium subscribers in the quarter, rising to 293 million overall. Total monthly active users — including free and paid listeners — grew 12% year-over-year to 761 million around the globe.
Total revenue for the Swedish-based company topped out at €4.53 billion ($5.3 USD billion), up 8% YoY. Its gross margin of 33% was its second-highest in history, an improvement of 31.6% over the year-ago quarter. Operating income hit €715 million ($836 million USD), and free cash flow rose 54% to €824 million ($963.5 million USD).
Net income for Spotify hit €721 million ($843 million USD), more than tripling from Q1 2025. The streamer credits €222 million ($259.6 million USD) in finance income and a €216 million ($252.6 million USD) tax benefit for the surplus.
“We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike,” Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström said. “Since the global rollout of our more personalized free experience, users in key markets like the U.S. are listening and watching more days per month. All that reinforces our confidence in sustained user and subscriber growth, low churn and continued progress on revenue and margin.”
On the downside, Spotify Premium growth in the United States was slower than in other parts of the world. The subscription service grew 9% domestically in the first quarter, and that reduced rate was likely due to the price increase Spotify rolled out for Premium subscribers in January. U.S. customers now pay $13 per month for Spotify Premium’s individual plan, up from $12 per month previously.
