Spotify

At the end of October, Spotify reported its earnings for Q3 2021. At first glance, Spotify — a $45 billion company — appears to be growing at a healthy pace.

Let’s look at Spotify by the numbers.

Financials

Revenue is the value of all sales of goods and services recognized by a company in a period. Gross margins are a company's sales minus its cost of goods sold (COGS) expressed as a percentage of sales.

• Revenue of €2,501 million grew 27% year-over-year in Q3
• Premium Revenue grew 22% year-over-year to €2,178 million in Q3
• Ad-Supported Revenue grew 75% year-over-year to €323 million in Q3
• Gross Margin finished at 26.7% in Q3
• Premium Gross Margin was 29.1% in Q3

Operations

MAUs,considered a key metric for modern software companies, track the number of users engaging a service within the past 30 days.

• Total MAUs grew 19% year-over-year to 381 million in Q3
• Among MAUs that engaged with podcasts in Q3, consumption grew 20% year-over-year on a per-user basis

Stock Price

While Spotify's year-over-year user and financial results look impressive, Spotify's stock price has taken a beating over the past 12 months. From a high of $364 in February 2021, Spotify's stock price reached a low of $205 in August 2021.

Forward Guidance

Spotify gave the following guidance for Q4 2021.

• Total MAUs: 400-407 million
• Total Premium Subscribers: 177-181 million
• Total Revenue: €2.54-€2.68 billion
• Gross Margin: 25.1-26.1%
• Operating Profit/Loss: €(152)-€(72) million