Record number of new users, profit growth of 200%! "Online music giant" Spotify "successfully raised prices"

The price increase strategy has paid off, and Spotify has delivered a surprising report to the market. On Tuesday, February 10, global streaming music giant Spotify announced its fourth-quarter financial report for the period ending December 31. The data showed that the company's revenue for the quarter was €4.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Spotify's net profit for the fourth quarter reached €1.17 billion, more than doubling from €367 million in the same period last year. Earnings per share were recorded at €4.43, far exceeding the average analyst expectation of €2.71 from FactSet. Spotify successfully achieved explosive growth in profitability through its price increase strategy, while its user base remained unaffected and even reached a new high. As of the end of December, its monthly active users reached 751 million, with 38 million new users added in the quarter, setting a historical record. The number of paid subscribers increased by 9 million to 290 million. Both of these key metrics exceeded the company's previous internal forecasts. This performance indicates that listeners are currently accepting higher subscription prices. Notably, in the United States, its largest market, the latest price increase (from $11.99 to $12.99) only took effect last month and has not yet been reflected in this financial report, suggesting that there is still room for revenue growth in the future. Stimulated by the positive performance news, Spotify's stock price surged about 15% at the close of the New York market on Tuesday. Although Spotify's stock price performance over the past year has been disappointing—falling nearly 30% while the S&P 500 index rose 18% during the same period—the stock price surge following this financial report indicates a return of market confidence. CEO: 2026 is the "Year of Elevating Ambitions" In recent years, Spotify has implemented a price increase strategy globally to seek profitability, and major record companies have been pressuring the platform, arguing that music subscription fees lag behind inflation and are lower than video services. The current subscriber growth data proves the effectiveness of this strategy. Company CEO Alex Norström stated, "It's incredible to think that we are now serving over three-quarters of a billion people worldwide." He referred to 2025 as the "Year of Accelerated Execution" and set 2026 as the "Year of Elevating Ambitions." This is the first quarter under the leadership of Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström as the new co-CEOs. Co-founder Daniel Ek transitioned to executive chairman in January