Spotify crossed 300 million premium subscribers in the second quarter on 2026. Revenue climbed 14% to topping Wall Street’s forecast.
What We Know: Premium subscribers reached 300 million, up from 293 million in Q1 and just above the 299 million forecast. Monthly active users grew to 777 million from 761 million, narrowly missing the 778 million target. Operating income jumped 61% year-over-year, even as expenses rose 3% on marketing and AI spending. Spotify also signed a licensing deal with Merlin for its upcoming AI remix tool.
What They Said: Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström: “We have a scale that few companies in history have reached, a business that is healthy and compounding, and opportunities only we are positioned to pursue. Spotify lives across your whole day — the commute, the workout, studying, gaming, the dinner table, and sleep. At our scale, that is rare… Our position gives us an opportunity space as wide as our users want it to be.”
Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström: “Investor Day described where we believe Spotify is going in the future. This quarter demonstrated that we are already building that future: better engineering, faster shipping, new products and new ways for users to engage. We are still in the very early stages of what is possible and will continue to have a high bar for investments.” He concluded: “Our job remains the same: understand the technology early and deeply, and turn it into something people love. Creating value for our stakeholders.”
What Remains Unclear: Spotify’s Q3 guidance points to slower MAU growth, tied to unspecified monetization changes in emerging markets. The AI remix tool still has no launch date, and only two label groups have signed on so far.
What It Means: The subscriber milestone marks a shift toward disciplined monetization over pure growth. Spotify is now testing how far pricing and margin gains can go before adoption slows. The Merlin deal broadens its AI ambitions beyond major labels. Still, investors appear to want faster growth alongside rising profits.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.