Spotify shares rise after delivering a surprise profit and paid subscription growth
Summary
A trading post sports the Spotify logo on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Spotify Technology posted a surprise profit on Monday and topped Wall Streets expectations for revenue as the music streaming company added slightly more subscribers than expected for its premium service. The Swedish company, which has outstripped Apple Music in the race to dominate music streaming globally, said its number of premium subscribers had risen by 26 million in the past year to 113 million at the end of September. It said it had also reduced artist marketing and research and development costs in the quarter, contributing to the surprise profit. Shares in the company, which have underperformed Wall Streets main indexes with a 6% gain since the start of this year, rose nearly 2% to $123 after the release.