Spotify continues to increase its subscribers – an opportunity to add to the long ones

Spotify Technology SA announced on Thursday that it had added more subscribers in the third quarter than Wall Street expected, and predicted strong growth this quarter as more users joined its streaming music service.

With more than twice the number of subscribers from its closest competitor Apple Music, Spotify is growing rapidly in markets across Europe since launching in India and the Middle East last year.

Premium subscribers, who account for the bulk of its revenue, rose 27 percent to 144 million from a year earlier. Analysts expected the company to have an average of 142.5 million paid subscribers, according to Refinitiv’s IBES.

The company expects total premium subscribers in the range of 150 million to 154 million for the fourth quarter. Analysts expected it to reach 151.5 million.

Spotify has credited subscriber growth in its recent launch in new markets such as Russia, which it considers “the most successful launch in a new market” to date.

The company, which earns from paid subscriptions and showing ads to non-paying users, saw its advertising business return to growth after the global pandemic damaged ad growth earlier in the year.

Revenue rose 14% to 1.98 billion euros ($ 2.34 billion) in the quarter. According to IBES data from Refinitiv, analysts expected revenue of 2 billion euros.

Excluding the impact of the foreign currency, Spotify said its quarterly revenue was “slightly better than expected.”