Spotify Targets 316 Million Paid Users in Fourth-Quarter Outlook

Spotify forecast fourth-quarter operating income of €820 million on Thursday, 22 October, slightly above the €813.4 million analysts expected, according to LSEG estimates cited by Reuters.

The Swedish streaming company also projected 316 million Premium subscribers by year-end, an increase of about 10 million during the quarter. That was above the 314.7 million analysts expected, Reuters reported.

Paid subscribers reached 306 million in the third quarter, up 9% from a year earlier. Monthly active users, including people on its advertising-supported service, rose 11% to 788 million, Spotify's shareholder update showed.

Revenue increased 16% to €4.97 billion in the three months ended September, narrowly below the €4.98 billion market estimate. Operating income was €672 million, up 15% year on year.

Spotify is investing in AI-assisted discovery, including personalised DJ recommendations and prompt-based playlists. The company has said operating-expense growth should moderate from the fourth quarter after peaking in the third.

Its outlook also calls for €5.2 billion in fourth-quarter revenue and 818 million monthly active users. Those figures are management forecasts, not completed results.

Sources: Reuters via SRN News; Spotify Q3 2026 shareholder deck.

Archival photo: Spotify headquarters in Stockholm, 2024. Goombah / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9 by Morval Universal.