Audio streaming giant Spotify posted a first-quarter revenue gain and ended March with 293 million paying premium subscribers, up from 290 million as of the end of 2025. Monthly active users (MAUs) grew to 761 million from 751 million.

Management had previously forecast 293 million premium subs and 759 million MAUs.

But the audio streamer forecast second-quarter earnings and premium subscribers below Wall Street expectations, pushing the stock down about 12 percent in pre-market trading.

Revenue growth for the quarter accelerated to 8 percent, or 14 percent on a constant currency basis, to get the company to €4.5 billion. Operating income hit at a record €715 million in the first quarter. Profitability has returned to the investor spotlight after price increases and cost cuts.

Spotify predicted operating income of €​630 million ($736 million) for the second quarter, below analysts’ estimates.

Said co-CEO Alex Norström: “We surpassed 760 million MAU, delivered on the subscriber growth we aimed to achieve, and saw healthy engagement from existing users, reactivations and new users alike. Since the global rollout of our more personalized free experience, users in key markets like the US are listening and watching more days per month. All that reinforces our confidence in sustained user and subscriber growth, low churn, and continued progress on revenue and margin.”

Added Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström: “We’re well positioned because of our large, engaged user base, deep creator relationships, and years of investment in personalization and infrastructure at scale. Together, these create a platform that can take advantage of this moment and unlock entirely new growth vectors that will enable us to climb new mountains previously unimaginable. We see significant room to grow across users, formats and engagement and to expand what Spotify is and can become over time.”