Spotify has announced another record quarter of profits, following its first price hike for Premium plans last year. In the second quarter, the Swedish audio streaming company achieved an operating income of 266 million euros ($289 million), a significant recovery from a loss of 247 million euros ($268 million) recorded a year earlier. Monthly active users increased by 14% year-over-year, rising to 626 million.
“It’s an exciting time at Spotify. We keep on innovating and demonstrating that we aren’t just a great product, but increasingly also a great business,” stated CEO Daniel Ek. “We are achieving this on a timeline that has surpassed even our own expectations, which bodes well for the future.”
Following the positive earnings report, Spotify’s stock surged nearly 14% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
In June, Spotify announced price increases for its U.S. Premium users. Starting this month, individual plan subscribers will see a $1 increase to $12, while Duo plan users will pay $2 more at $17, and Family plan subscribers will pay $3 more, totaling $20. These changes followed a similar price adjustment last July, which was the first in 13 years, averaging an increase of $1.
Despite raising prices, Spotify successfully added seven million net subscribers in the last quarter, exceeding previous forecasts by one million.
As the leading audio streaming platform globally, Spotify users are less likely to cancel their subscriptions compared to users of other audio and video streaming services, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
However, Spotify’s financial journey has not always been smooth. In 2022, the company’s stock lost over two-thirds of its value due to several quarters of operating losses. In January 2023, the company announced a plan to cut 600 jobs, and less than a year later, it eliminated 1,500 positions, accounting for about 17% of its workforce.