Spotify outlook weakens as pandemic uncertainty persists

[February 03, 2021]    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as the music streaming company hit 155 million paid subscribers for its premium service.

A trader is reflected in a computer screen displaying the Spotify brand before the company begins selling as a direct listing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Premium subscribers, who account for most of its revenue, were up 24% from a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting the company to have 153.26 million paid subscribers, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total monthly active users rose 27% to 345 million.

Spotify said the pandemic had had little impact on its subscriber growth, though it may have contributed positively to pulling forward new signups.

Revenue rose 17% to 2.17 billion euros ($2.61 billion) for the three-months ended Dec. 31, from 1.86 billion euros a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of 2.15 billion euros, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

($1 = 0.8325 euros)

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Simon Johnson)

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