Spotify has announced another record profit quarter, marking a year since the company increased prices for its Premium plans for the first time. The Swedish audio streaming giant reported an operating income of 266 million euros ($289 million) for the second quarter, a significant improvement from a loss of 247 million euros ($268 million) the same time last year. Monthly active users rose by 14% year-over-year to reach 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 earnings report, Spotify’s stock saw a nearly 14% increase in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
In June, the company announced a price hike for its Premium subscriptions in the U.S. starting this month. Individual plan users will see an increase of $1 to $12, Duo plan users will pay $2 more, totaling $17, and Family plan users will pay an additional $3, bringing their total to $20. This marks the first membership cost increase in 13 years, which averaged around $1.
Despite these price hikes, Spotify added seven million net subscribers during the quarter, exceeding its initial forecast by one million.
Spotify remains the leading audio streaming service globally, with analysis indicating that its users are the least likely to cancel their subscriptions compared to other audio and video streaming platforms. However, the company faced financial challenges last year, with its stock plummeting over two-thirds in value. This prompted cuts to its workforce, with 600 jobs eliminated in January 2023 and an additional 1,500 roles, about 17% of its staff, cut less than a year later.