New York, Jan 22, 2026, 20:40 (ET) — Market closed.
Shares of Spotify Technology S.A. slipped 0.7%, ending Thursday at $498.42, after hitting an intraday range from $491.31 to $505.65. The stock kicked off the session at $505.50 but drifted lower by the close. 1
The dip hands traders two new angles as they approach Friday: a bullish call from Goldman Sachs and Spotify’s latest AI playlist feature rolling out in North America.
The reason this matters now is straightforward. Spotify is pushing pricing and engagement strategies to boost revenue, and investors are keen to see if it can pull that off without triggering churn — customers dropping their subscriptions.
Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan raised Spotify to Buy from Neutral but lowered his price target to $700 from $735. He noted, “We are surprised how negative investor sentiment has turned,” citing concerns about pricing, margins, and the impact of AI on streaming. 2
Spotify unveiled its “prompted playlist” feature on Thursday, now available to premium subscribers in the US and Canada after testing it in New Zealand. Powered by Alphabet’s Google Gemini generative AI — which creates text from user prompts — the tool lets listeners control playlists through commands and set custom rules and refresh intervals. Vice President of Product Personalization Molly Holder said users want to “actively shape their own experience.” This launch comes as Spotify plans to hike its premium subscription to $12.99 in those markets starting February. 3
Spotify announced earlier this month that new pricing will kick in on customers’ billing dates beginning in February, with email alerts sent beforehand. Finance chief Christian Luiga noted that last year, even after raising prices in over 150 countries, the company didn’t see a significant uptick in churn. At the time, Spotify reported a 12% rise in premium subscribers, reaching 281 million in the third quarter. 4
Spotify announced in a separate update that Premium subscribers in the U.S., Estonia, and Latvia will get emails within the next month detailing how the change affects their plans. 5
Apple Music and Amazon Music continue to vie closely, offering clear alternatives for users if Spotify’s pricing or features fall short.
Yet the trade could still backfire. If the price hike sparks more cancellations than anticipated or advertising demand weakens, the boost in revenue might be wiped out by slower user growth and rising costs to retain listeners and creators.
Investors head into the next session eyeing follow-through on Sheridan’s upgrade, while also gauging whether the new AI prompts deliver real value or just come off as gimmicks.
The near-term calendar shows a wider rollout of the “prompted playlist” set for the end of January, followed by February billing cycles when the higher prices will begin appearing on accounts.
