Spotify saw its global Premium Subscriber base grow to 276 million paying users in Q2 – as it achieved strong operating profitability in the three months to end of June.

That’s according to the company’s latest financial results (for Q2 2025), filed earlier today (July 29).

Spotify’s Premium Subscriber base at the close of Q2 was up by +8 million net subs on the 268 million that the firm counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q1 2025).

This +8 million growth was ahead of guidance by 3 million.

Spotify reported that this Premium Subscriber performance was fuelled by “Q/Q and Y/Y growth across all regions, with outperformance led by Latin America, Europe, North America and Rest of World” plus “strong global promotional campaign intake”.

Spotify breaks down its Premium Subscriber base by region within its investor presentation, reporting that Europe accounted for 37% of its total premium subscriber base as of the end of Q2 (see below).

North America accounted for 25% of SPOT’s total subscriber base in Q2, while Latin America accounted for 23%.

Monthly Active Users:

Spotify’s total Monthly Active Users, which combine paying users and ad-supported users, grew 11% year over year to 696 million.

That was up +18 million MAUs from the 678 million reported for the prior quarter (Q1 2025), and above guidance by 7 million (Spotify forecast that it would reach 689 million MAUs in Q2).

Spotify said  MAU performance in Q2 reflected “Y/Y growth across all regions, with outperformance led by Rest of World, Latin America and Europe” as well as “successful marketing campaigns in select developing markets” and “favorable shifts in competitor dynamics”.

REVENUE

Spotify generated EUR €4.193 billion (USD $4.75bn) in total quarterly revenue in Q2 (including Premium and ad-supported), up 15% YoY at constant currency.

Spotify’s Premium/subscriber revenues grew 16% YoY at constant currency to €3.740 billion ($4.24bn), driven by subscriber growth.

The firm’s Premium monthly ARPU stood at €4.57 ($5.18) — up 3% YoY at constant currency.

Spotify noted in its investor presentation that “excluding the impact of FX, ARPU performance was driven by price increase benefits, partially offset by product/market mix”.

Spotify’s Ad-Supported Revenue in Q2 2025 was €453 million ($514m), up 5% YoY on a constant currency basis, reflecting growth across music and podcast advertising.

PROFITABILITY

In terms of profitability, Spotify posted a quarterly operating income of €406 million ($460m) for Q2.

That was up 50% YoY at constant currency, but down QoQ – and below guidance – due to higher ‘Social Charges’ and personnel costs.

SPOT reported that its operating Income was impacted by €116 million ($131.5m) in ‘Social Charges’, which were €98 million above forecast due to share price appreciation during the quarter.

Spotify explained to investors: “Social Charges are payroll taxes associated with employee salaries and benefits in select countries where we operate. Since a portion of these taxes is tied to the intrinsic value of share-based compensation awards, movements in our stock price can lead to fluctuations in the taxes we accrue.”

Despite its strong operating performance, Spotify reported a net loss of €86 million ($97.5m) for the quarter, compared to net income of €225 million in Q1 2025 and €274 million in Q2 2024.

The net loss was primarily driven by high quarterly finance costs of €447 million ($507m), which significantly outweighed finance income of €89 million ($100.9m), creating a net finance cost of €358 million ($406m).

Combined with income tax expenses of €134 million ($152m), this pushed the company into a net loss position.

The company’s Gross Margin finished at 31.5% in Q2 2025, up from 29.2% in Q2 2024.

GUIDANCE FOR Q3

In terms of guidance for Q3, Spotify forecasts reaching 710 million MAUs at the close of September, an addition of around 14 million net new MAUs in the quarter.

The company projects its total Premium Subscriber base to hit 281 million by the end of Q3, an addition of approximately 5 million net new subscribers.

Spotify also forecasts an operating income of €485 million for Q3, and total quarterly revenue of €4.2 billion.

“Overall, we continue to view the business as well-positioned to deliver growth and improving margins in 2025 as we reinvest to support our long-term potential,” the company stated in its shareholder update.

All EUR-USD conversions in this report made at the average quarterly rate for Q2 2025 of 1.1338, according to the European Central Bank.Music Business Worldwide