Spotify Tops 700 Million Monthly Users in Q3, Revenue Climbs 7%: ‘It All Comes Back to User Fundamentals,’ Says Outgoing CEO Daniel Ek

Spotify's third-quarter results for 2025 significantly outpaced analyst expectations, driven by powerful expansion of its global audience. The service attracted a net 17 million new users, pushing its total monthly active users to 713 million—an 11% year-over-year increase. The Premium subscription tier showed equally impressive momentum, growing by 12% to reach 281 million paying customers after adding 5 million new subscribers.

Financially, the company reported total revenue of €4.27 billion, a 7% rise, or 12% when accounting for foreign exchange impacts. However, advertising revenue declined by 6%, remaining flat year-over-year in constant currency. The earnings report attributed this dip to reduced ad pricing and strategic realignments in its Owned & Licensed podcast division, which negated the benefit of increased ad impressions across both music and podcasts. On a brighter note, operating income surged 43% to €582 million, while net profit skyrocketed to €899 million, a dramatic reversal from the €86 million net loss suffered during the same period in 2024.

Founder and CEO Daniel Ek emphasized the company's strong operational health, stating, "The business is healthy. We’re shipping faster than ever." He identified pricing strategy, product innovation, and improved operational efficiency as central to future growth. This quarter featured an exceptionally ambitious product rollout, with 30 new features launched, including an enhanced Free tier, advanced playlist mixing, lossless audio, a ChatGPT integration, and in-app messaging. These innovations aim to boost user engagement and content discovery, solidifying the position of the service Ek launched in 2006 as the world's leading music streaming platform.

A significant leadership transition is scheduled for early 2026, when Daniel Ek will move from the CEO role to become executive chairman. The company will then be led by co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström. Söderström, the current chief product and technology officer, is credited with architecting the platform's user experience and technical infrastructure. Norström, as chief business officer, has been the driving force behind its global subscription growth and partnership expansions. According to Maria Flores, a tech industry analyst at TechInsight, "This dual-leadership model is a strategic move to balance deep technological innovation with sharp commercial execution, a structure that has proven effective for other tech giants navigating rapid market changes." This approach mirrors governance structures seen at other major firms like Salesforce and Oracle during periods of significant transformation.

Spotify's forecast for the fourth quarter remains highly optimistic. The company anticipates revenue will reach €4.5 billion, a 6% annual increase, with operating income projected at €620 million. User growth is also expected to remain strong, with a forecast of 32 million new monthly active users for a year-end total of 745 million, alongside 8 million new Premium subscribers, bringing that total to 289 million. This positive outlook is bolstered by recent strategic moves, including a new partnership with Amazon that grants programmatic ad buyers access to Spotify’s extensive audio and video inventory. As of the end of Q3, the company's global workforce stood at 7,323 full-time employees, highlighting the immense scale of its operations as it continues to diversify its services and expand its international footprint.