Spotify delivered a strong third quarter for 2025, with key subscriber and financial metrics beating Wall Street expectations and showing clear momentum across both its free and paid tiers.
The audio streaming platform added 5 million Premium subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 281 million, a 12% year-over-year increase. Monthly active users reached 713 million, up 11% from a year ago and a net gain of 17 million from the previous quarter.
Revenue rose 7% year over year to €4.27 billion, or 12% in constant currency, slightly beating expectations. Operating income hit €582 million, up 43%, while net income swung to €899 million compared to a loss of €86 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at €3.28, beating analyst expectations of €2.14.
Advertising revenue declined 6% year over year but was flat in constant currency. Spotify noted that growth in impressions for music and podcast ads was offset by pricing softness and ongoing optimization of its podcasting inventory within the Owned and Licensed portfolio.
CEO Daniel Ek credited product velocity, operational leverage, and user growth as the key pillars behind the quarter’s strong results. In prepared remarks, he said, “The business is healthy. We’re shipping faster than ever. And we have the tools we need, pricing, product innovation, operational leverage, and eventually the ads turnaround, to deliver both revenue growth and profit expansion.”
Spotify launched 30 product updates in the quarter across both Free and Premium offerings. These included playlist mixing tools, lossless audio, a ChatGPT integration, in-app direct messaging, and improvements to the Free tier experience. The goal is to drive user discovery, engagement, and time spent on platform.
Ek is set to transition to executive chairman in January 2026. Co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström will step into a co-CEO structure beginning January 1. At the end of the quarter, Spotify had 7,323 full-time employees globally.
The company also expanded its programmatic advertising reach through new partnerships with Amazon DSP and Yahoo, giving marketers greater access to Spotify’s audio and video inventory.
For the fourth quarter, Spotify expects revenue of €4.5 billion, up 6% year over year, and operating income of €620 million, up from €477 million a year earlier. It forecasts 32 million net new monthly active users to reach 745 million by year’s end, and 8 million net new Premium subscribers to reach 289 million.
Despite continued softness in advertising, Spotify’s Q3 results reflect strong user growth, improving profitability, and a focus on long-term execution across product and monetization.
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