Spotify’s Q2 Performance: A Mixed Bag
Spotify reported solid profit to paid subscribers and overall users for the second quarter of 2025, but the streamer had the sales target short and recorded a net loss for this period. The company emphasized the positive, highlighting a 30% increase in net additions for subscribers in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
User Growth and Revenue
The quarter marked the company’s second-highest quarter for monthly active user net additions. Spotify Premium subscribers rose by 12% to 276 million compared to the previous year, with a net gain of 8 million in the quarter. The total number of monthly active users (MAU) increased by 11% to 696 million. Spotify expects robust growth in subscribers and MAU in the third quarter.
Financial Performance
The total revenue for the second quarter rose by 10% to €4.2 billion, and the gross margin improved to 31.5% compared to 29.2% in the previous year. However, this was short of Spotify’s instructions for Q2 metrics. In June 2025, Spotify recorded a net loss of €86 million, compared to a net profit of €274 million in the previous year.
Operating Costs and Financing
Operating costs rose by 8% in the last quarter, mainly due to an increase in staff, professional services, and marketing expenses. The net financing costs for the second quarter of 2025 were €358 million, compared to a net financing result of €4 million in the previous year.
CEO’s Comments
"Due to the more constant development, we are creating more and more value for the almost 700 million people who use our platform," said Daniel Ek, founder and CEO of Spotify. "This value not only benefits users, but also more people for streaming. As a result, it also increases the industries of music, podcasts, and audio books."
Outlook and Expectations
For the third quarter of 2025, Spotify expects total revenue of €4.2 billion, paid subscribers of 281 million, and a total of 710 million MAU. The company also expects a gross margin of 31.1% and an operating result of €485 million.
Content Offerings and Employee Base
Spotify is now organizing around 7 million podcast titles and over 430,000 video podcast shows. The company offers more than 350,000 audio books for purchase. At the end of the second quarter, Spotify had 7,309 full-time employees worldwide, compared to 7,261 at the end of 2024, but down from 9,123 at the end of 2023.
