New York, Feb 10, 2026, 12:11 EST — Regular session
- Spotify shares rallied midday, lifted by quarterly numbers and a brighter profit forecast.
- Quarterly user growth hit a record, pushing attention back to pricing strength and margin performance.
- Investors are tracking the impact of recent price hikes on both revenue and customer churn.
Spotify Technology S.A. surged almost 16% to $479.80 around midday Tuesday, after shares bounced between $415.03 and $495.41 during the session.
Spotify is projecting first-quarter operating income at 660 million euros—beating the consensus estimate of 652.3 million euros—but revenue guidance landed a touch shy of what analysts had hoped for. This marks the first update with Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström now at the helm, stepping in after founder Daniel Ek, as the company continues to push price increases and experiment with new content to stay ahead of Apple and Amazon. Söderström told Reuters the AI-powered “Interactive DJ” feature is already drawing “over 98 million paid subscribers,” and noted: “Spammy AI music is not a new problem. It’s just more scale on an existing problem.” 1
What’s at stake: Spotify wants to prove it can hike prices and still keep growing, all while holding on to more of each euro after payouts—investors keep a close eye on that gross margin number. The company reported premium subscribers at 290 million, with monthly active users (MAUs) hitting 751 million, meaning that’s how many people logged in during the month. Gross margin ticked up to 33.1%, operating income landed at 701 million euros. “We’re framing 2026 as the Year of Raising Ambition,” Alex Norström said. 2
Spotify posted net income of 1.17 billion euros for the final quarter of 2025, tripling its profit on the back of previous hikes to subscription prices, according to the Financial Times. The FT pointed out that the latest U.S. price increase hasn’t yet shown up in these numbers. 3
Spotify delivered earnings per share of 4.43 euros for the quarter, topping forecasts, and posted a 7% revenue increase to 4.53 billion euros, according to consensus data from Investing.com. That same outlet pointed to a record jump in user numbers—key backing for the shares, after months of investor debate over the impact of price hikes. 4
Still, a few cracks remain. According to MarketWatch, Spotify’s guidance indicates gross margin could slip next quarter. The company highlighted some unusual boosts this time—like payroll-tax quirks linked to share-based compensation—that padded profits. Another thing on investors’ radar: will fresh price increases send more listeners back to the free, ad-supported option? 5
That sudden jump has traders working out just how sustainable Spotify’s profit burst really is. At its core, Spotify’s equation isn’t complicated: stacking up more subscribers, charging them more, and clamping down on expenses — all of that can make the business pour out cash. Unless, of course, customer churn suddenly takes off.
Focus is turning to conversion rates and ad growth, along with the impact of newer plays—video, books—and if they can drive more engagement without sending expenses higher. Fresh resistance from labels on payouts, or sparks over AI-generated tracks, could just as easily flare back into the conversation.
Spotify is set to report its latest results on April 28, MarketScreener’s corporate calendar shows. Investors will be zeroing in on whether those recent price increases are actually showing up in the revenue and margins—and crucially, if user growth is holding up. 6
