SPOTIFY POSTS STRONG NUMBERS IN Q1: 422M SUBS

Spotify users grew to 422m and premium subscribers rose 15% to 182m in the quarter that ended 3/31, a period affected by the streamer’s disconnection from Russia.

Total monthly average users grew 19% in the quarter, up from 406m at the end of 2021, topping the company’s guidance by 4m. By the end of June, Spotify expects to have 428m MAU and 187m premium subs as it feels the full effect of its Russia shutdown, completed on 4/11.

Revenue was up 24% to €2.7b ($2.95b). Premium revenue grew 23% to €2.38b; ad-supported revenue—up 31%—hit a record €282m. Gross Margin finished at 25.2%.

“Our business exhibited strength and resiliency in Q1,” said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. “Nearly all of our key metrics surpassed guidance, led by MAU outperformance, healthy revenue growth and better Gross Margin. Excluding the impact of our exit from Russia, subscriber growth exceeded expectations as well. Overall, we are very pleased with the performance of the business and remain highly encouraged by the traction we are seeing.”

Latin America and Rest of World, led by Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico, outperformed during the quarter. MAU growth was particularly strong with Gen Z, fueled by product launches like the Lyrics experience as well as marketing and content initiatives.

Ek told analysts that MAU growth in the near future is likely to come from Southeast Asia, while subscription growth is expected to come from core markets.

But heck, why read our boring old descriptions when you can listen to Ek himself talking about Spotify's financial bearing in a state-of-the-art podcast?