Spotify has reported another record profit this quarter, one year after increasing the prices of its Premium subscription plans for the first time in history.
The Swedish audio streaming giant announced an operating income of 266 million euros ($289 million) for the second quarter, a significant turnaround from a loss of 247 million euros ($268 million) during the same period last year. The number of monthly active users surged by 14% year-over-year, reaching 626 million.
“It’s an exciting time at Spotify. We keep on innovating and showing that we aren’t just a great product, but increasingly also a great business,” said CEO Daniel Ek 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.”
Following the positive earnings report, Spotify’s stock climbed nearly 14% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
In June, Spotify announced a price hike for its Premium users in the U.S. Starting this month, individual plan subscribers will see their fees increase by $1 to $12, while Duo plans will rise by $2 to $17, and Family plans will increase by $3 to $20. This was the first increase in membership costs in 13 years, with an average rise of $1 taking effect in July 2022.
Despite these price adjustments, Spotify managed to garner seven million net new subscribers in the quarter, exceeding its previous estimates by one million.
Spotify remains the leading audio streaming platform globally, with a Bloomberg analysis indicating that its users are the least likely among audio or video streaming services to cancel their subscriptions.
However, the company has not always enjoyed financial stability. In 2022, Spotify’s stock plummeted by more than two-thirds due to several quarters of operating losses. In early January 2023, the company announced it would lay off 600 employees. Less than a year later, this figure rose to 1,500 job cuts, representing roughly 17% of its workforce.