Spotify has reported another quarter of record profits, a year after hiking the prices of its Premium plans for the first time ever.
The Swedish audio streaming company posted an operating income of 266 million euros ($289 million) for the second quarter, reversing last year’s loss of 247 million euros ($268 million). The number of monthly active users grew 14% year-over-year to 626 million.
“It’s an exciting time at Spotify. We continue to innovate, demonstrating that we are not just a great product, but increasingly a great business,” CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement. “We are doing so on a timeline that has exceeded even our own expectations. This all bodes very well for the future.”
Spotify shares jumped almost 14% in pre-market trading on Tuesday following the better-than-expected earnings report.
In June, Spotify announced price increases for Premium users in the U.S. Beginning this month, individual plans will cost an additional $1 ($12), Duo plans (for two users) will rise by $2 ($17), and Family plans will go up by $3 ($20). Last July, the company raised membership costs for the first time in 13 years by an average of $1.
Despite these price hikes, Spotify added seven million net subscribers in the quarter, exceeding its previous projections by one million.
Spotify remains the leading audio streamer globally, with its users being the least likely to cancel their memberships compared to other audio or video streaming services, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
However, Spotify’s financial history hasn’t always been positive. The company’s stock value plummeted by more than two-thirds in 2022 amid several quarters of operating losses. In January 2023, Spotify announced plans to lay off 600 employees. Less than a year later, it cut 1,500 jobs, approximately 17% of its staff.