Spotify's Q1 2026 Surge: 761M Users, 293M Paid Subs Defy Price Hikes

Streaming giant Spotify reported a robust financial and operational performance in the first quarter of 2026, significantly exceeding its own guidance across key metrics.

The company announced a substantial user base of 761 million monthly active users (MAU) and 293 million paid subscribers, demonstrating that recent price increases in major markets have not hindered user engagement.

The growth in monthly active users was particularly strong, increasing by 12% year-on-year, with 10 million net additions during the quarter, surpassing the anticipated 8 million.

Paid subscribers also saw a healthy rise of 9% compared to the previous year, adding 3 million new paid subscribers, which was in line with company expectations.

Geographically, most of the new users originated from Latin America and Europe, with the company noting broad-based regional growth in paid subscriptions.

This came despite headwinds in North America, where Spotify implemented its third price hike in four years in the U.S.

On the financial side, Q1 revenue came in at €4.53 billion, up 8%, driven by 10% growth in Premium revenue, though partially offset by a 5% decline in ad-supported revenue.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, total revenue increased by 15%, with Premium revenue up 15% and ad-supported sales rising 3%.

Profitability metrics were equally impressive. The company's Q1 gross margin of 33.0% was its second-highest on record, up from 31.6% a year prior.

Operating income reached €715 million, a 40% increase, while free cash flow rose 54% to €824 million during the period.

Looking ahead, Spotify's Q2 outlook projects total MAUs climbing to 778 millionand Premium subscribers reaching 299 million, implying the addition of 6 million net new paid subscribers.

The company also expects total revenue of €4.8 billion, up approximately 14.5%, and operating income of €630 million.

On the content side, Spotify now hosts approximately 7 million podcast titles, over 590,000 of which are video podcasts, and more than 700,000 audiobook titles across 22 markets.

The company also announced an expansion into fitness, including a deal with Peloton to license over 1,400 workout videos for Premium subscribers.

In a further sign of the platform's scale and influence, Spotify paid out $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, representing roughly a 10% increase from the year prior.