Spotify Premium Subscribers Surpass 300 Million, Q2 Revenue Below Expectations, Stock Price Drops by 1.57%

August 5th, Spotify released its Q2 2026 earnings report. The data shows that the company's paid subscribers surpassed 300 million for the first time, with a net addition of 7 million for the quarter; monthly active users (MAU) reached 7.77 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase.

Financially, Spotify's Q2 revenue was 47.8 billion euros, a 14% year-over-year increase; net profit was 545 million euros, with a gross margin of 33.4%, reaching a historical high. The company's operating profit was 655 million euros, exceeding the market's expected 639.2 million euros.

However, the earnings report and Q3 guidance did not fully meet market expectations. Spotify expects Q3 MAUs to reach 7.88 billion, below analysts' expectations of 7.93 billion; operating profit is expected to be 670 million euros, below the expected 677.8 million euros, leading to a 1.57% drop in the company's stock price on Tuesday.

Spotify stated that the company is increasing its investment in marketing and the AI field, with operating expenses in the second quarter increasing by 19% to 941 million euros. In terms of AI business, Spotify has partnered with the independent music licensing agency Merlin to expand AI remixing, AI cover, and other functions to over 30,000 independent labels, with plans to offer these tools as paid add-on services.

Company executives stated that the focus of AI music products is to involve real artists in AI creation, rather than generating "fake artists." However, as user growth in the European and American markets slows and AI music copyright disputes intensify, Spotify still faces competitive pressure.