Spotify is about to try to become a podcasting giant with two new acquisitions — and we have some suggestions for that — but first, it’s crossing an important milestone with its music streaming business. Today, for the very first time, the company is reporting that it’s turned a profit.
Spotify, the leading music streaming app, is finally profitable
But it won’t last
But it won’t last
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
That’s right: some 13 years and 96 million paid subscribers later, Spotify is finally making money. Unless you count that one time a complicated tax situation technically threw it into the black.
“[F]or the first time in company history, Operating Income, Net Income, and Free Cash Flow were all positive,” reads a portion of Spotify’s financial announcement this morning. Specifically, the company made an operating profit of €94 million, or about $107 million.
It’s possibly a good sign for the entire industry, not just Spotify, because Spotify is arguably leading that industry today. Those 96 million paid subscribers add up to nearly double Apple Music’s 50 million subscribers, and Spotify announced it had 207 million monthly active users in total this past quarter.
All that said, the profit may not last. The company is forecasting a loss of €50 to €100 million (about $57 to $113 million) next quarter and €200 to €360 million (about $227 to $409 million) over the full year.
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