Spotify 306 million paid subscribers in Q3

Key Takeaways

Paid subscribers	Spotify reported 306 million Premium subscribers for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, up 6 million from June and 1 million above the 305 million it had forecast. Monthly active users were 788 million, matching guidance.
The revenue	Total revenue was €4,969 million, up 16% from a year earlier, or 14% in constant currency. Spotify also presents the total as €5.0 billion. Premium revenue was €4,487 million and ad-supported revenue was €482 million.
Profit and cash	Operating income was €672 million, against guidance of €670 million, and gross margin was 33.0%, against 32.9%. Net income was €518 million, down from €899 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was €735 million, down from €806 million.
Q4 forecast	Spotify forecast 316 million Premium subscribers, 818 million monthly active users, revenue of €5.2 billion, operating income of €820 million and a gross margin of 33.8% for the fourth quarter. The outlook is as of Oct. 22, 2026, and the company says it carries substantial uncertainty.

Spotify 306 million paid subscribers was the Premium count for the end of September, the company said on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. It added 6 million paying users in the quarter, 1 million above its forecast, and monthly active users reached 788 million. Revenue was €4,969 million, up 16% from a year earlier.

Spotify 306 million paid subscribers

Premium subscribers grew 9% to 306 million, from 281 million a year earlier, Spotify's shareholder update says. Guidance was 305 million. Every region grew in the quarter and from a year earlier: Latin America, Europe, North America and Rest of World. The update gives no count for each region. The Hollywood Reporter reported the same 306 million, against that forecast, and 788 million users, in line with guidance.

Monthly active users rose 11% to 788 million, from 777 million in the prior quarter and 713 million a year earlier. Ad-supported users were 499 million. Revenue per paying user was €4.95, up 9.3%, or 7.5% in constant currency, which strips out exchange rates. Billboard reported the 7.5% figure as the yearly change and did not use that label. Spotify said price increases drove the gain once currency is removed, partly offset by product and market mix.

Revenue of €4,969 million

Revenue was €4,969 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2026, up from €4,272 million a year earlier. Spotify's earnings post rounds it to €5.0 billion, the guidance figure. Variety reported €4.97 billion. Premium revenue was €4,487 million, up 17%, or 15% in constant currency. Ad-supported revenue was €482 million, up 10%, or 9% in constant currency.

Billboard paired the 15% and 14% constant-currency rates with reported totals of about €4.5 billion and €4.97 billion. Spotify said music ads, in constant currency, grew on impressions while pricing was soft, and podcast ads grew on sponsorships. Automated channels “remained the largest contributors to overall advertising growth.” Currency added about 190 basis points, against guidance of about 200. From Jan. 1, 2026, some former ad-supported revenue is in the premium line, with earlier periods recast for co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström.

Operating income and net profit

Gross margin was 33.0%, up from 31.6% a year earlier and above guidance of 32.9%, but below 33.4% in the second quarter of 2026. Spotify called 33.0% a third-quarter record. Operating income was €672 million, up 15% from €582 million, against guidance of €670 million. In constant currency it was €653 million, up 12%. The operating margin was 13.5%, against 13.7% in the second quarter of 2026 and 13.6% a year earlier.

Billboard wrote that the margin edged lower from 13.7% a year earlier and that operating income rose 12% in constant currency to €672 million. The update's 13.7% is the second-quarter figure, and €672 million is the reported operating income. Spotify said the beat came from lower marketing and personnel costs and a stronger gross margin, partly offset by social charges. Those charges, payroll taxes tied in part to share-based pay, were €22 million, €13 million above forecast after the share price moved. Operating expenses were €967 million, up 26%. Aside from currency and social charges, they rose 19%.

Net income was €518 million, or €2.52 a share basic and €2.48 diluted, down from €899 million, or €4.36 basic and €3.28 diluted, a year earlier. Finance income was €62 million, against €262 million, and tax was a €187 million expense, against a €72 million benefit. The update does not explain that finance-income drop. Free cash flow was €735 million, down from €806 million. Spotify said it reflected “higher Net Income adjusted for non-cash items, offset by unfavorable movements in net working capital,” while reported net income was lower. Cash, restricted cash and short-term investments were €9.9 billion. Buybacks in 2026 were $1.1 billion through Wednesday, Oct. 21.

What the co-CEOs said

Norström said, “This was a quarter where we did what we said. We've built a strong business that keeps compounding, we invest when we see a path for growth, our costs are moderating, and there is more runway ahead.” Söderström said, “Nobody asks an agent to "summarize a song" for them. The whole point of getting rid of those chores is to free up even more time for the things that you actually enjoy.”

Creator Memberships opened in 34 markets on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, the memberships post says. The Partner Program reached more than 35 new markets, including Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Poland and Colombia. Audiobooks are set to expand from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026, with more than 350,000 titles. On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, Spotify connected listeners to Muse. Its announcement called the tool “Meta's new personal agent.”

The fourth-quarter forecast

For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2026, Spotify forecast 316 million Premium subscribers and 818 million monthly active users, gains of about 10 million and 30 million. It forecast €5.2 billion of revenue, €820 million of operating income and a 33.8% gross margin. The outlook, dated Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, is subject to substantial uncertainty. It assumes a currency tailwind of about 230 basis points, against about 190 in the second quarter of 2026, at a USD:Euro rate of 0.8828 on Sept. 30, and €6 million of social charges at a $487.38 share price. Norström, Söderström and chief financial officer Christian Luiga were to take questions at 8:00 a.m. ET.