In a nutshell: Spotify closed out 2025 on a strong note, adding more monthly actively users than during any other point in the company's history. As the calendar rolled over, the streaming music giant had 290 million Premium (paying) subscribers – an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period a year earlier – and a total of 751 million MAUs – up 11 percent year-over-year.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, Spotify generated €4.5 billion ($5.4 billion) in total revenue – a six percent increase quarter-over-quarter and up seven percent compared to the same period in 2024. Gross margin reached 33.1 percent, and operating income of €701 million exceeded expectations due to lower than anticipated social charges.
Spotify said it paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry last year, which it claims is the largest annual payment to creators from any retailer in history. The streaming platform also helped drive more than $1 billion in ticket sales to live shows through its ticketing partners, and experienced its largest Wrapped year-in-review event ever with more than 300 million engaged users and north of 630 million shares on social across nearly 60 different languages.
Credit: App Economy Insights
The streaming specialist made strides in several different areas in 2025, and is carrying on the momentum into the New Year. The company is now rolling out music videos in beta to Premium users in the US and Canada, and is expanding its partner program into Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, which will provide creators in those regions with new ways to connect with fans.
Shares in Spotify are currently trading at $478.74, up more than 15 percent on the day.
Spotify was founded in 2006 and helped pioneer the concept of streaming music over purchasing and downloading individual tracks and albums. Growth was somewhat slow initially and revenue was hard to come by but as wireless technology matured and the smartphone revolution got under way, Spotify really came into its own. Today, Spotify is the biggest player in the space.