FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Spotify Tops First-Quarter Profit Estimates; Premium Subscriber Growth, Outlook Disappoint

By

-- Spotify Technology (SPOT) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit, while the audio-streaming platform's premium subscriber growth and outlook disappointed investors, sending the stock lower in Tuesday trading.

For the March quarter, per-share earnings rose to 3.45 euros ($4.04) per diluted share from 1.07 euros a year earlier, topping the FactSet consensus of 2.95 euros. Revenue climbed 8% to 4.53 billion euros, in line with estimates.

Monthly active users increased 12% to 761 million, while Wall Street expected 759.1 million. Premium subscribers increased 9% to 293 million, though analysts projected growth to 293.2 million.

"We added 3 million net subscribers during the quarter, finishing at 293 million, in line with our guidance," Chief Financial Officer Christian Luiga said on an earnings call with analysts, according to a FactSet transcript. "We saw no surprises with respect to price increase-related churn following our January US price increase."

Spotify's New York Stock Exchange-listed shares fell 14% intraday. The stock has dropped 26% this year.

In the current quarter, Spotify expects revenue of 4.8 billion euros, while analysts are looking for 4.77 billion euros. The company projects monthly active users to increase by 17 million to 778 million, above the consensus of 774.8 million. Premium subscribers are anticipated to increase by 6 million to 299 million, versus Wall Street's forecast 300.4 million.

Guidance for premium subscriber growth is "modestly below the significant outperformance we saw in the prior-year quarter, which benefitted from items such as favorable adjustment to our iOS app in the US," Luiga said.

Premium revenue in the March quarter jumped 10% to 4.15 billion euros, while ad-supported revenue declined 5% to 385 million euros.

"Brands have always valued Spotify for its high user engagement, its beloved brand and its high-quality content, but the market shifted," CEO Alex Norstrom said on the call. Advertisers' pivot to biddable buying prompted a rebuild of the company's ad stack to tap into that market, he said.

Price: $428.60, Change: $-67.22, Percent Change: -13.56%

Related Articles

Australia

Velo3D Closes $50 Million Registered Direct Offering

Velo3D (VELO) said Tuesday it closed an underwritten registered direct offering of nearly 3.6 million common shares for gross proceeds of about $50 million.Net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, the company added.Price: $13.76, Change: $-0.57, Percent Change: -3.98%

$VELO
Australia

First Financial Bankshares Ups Quarterly Dividend 15.8% to $0.22 a Share, Payable July 1 to Holders of Record June 12

Price: $32.61, Change: $+0.18, Percent Change: +0.56%

$FFIN
Mining & Metals

First Atlas Resources Sells MacKenzie East Claims in Quebec to LaFleur Minerals

First Atlas Resources (HHE.CN) on Tuesday said it agreed to sell a 100% interest in its MacKenzie East Claims located in the Val-d'Or gold camp, Quebec, to LaFleur Minerals (LFLR.CN) in a cash and stock deal.LaFleur will buy the property in exchange for $30,000 in cash, and 175,000 shares of LaFleur Minerals. The cash portion is payable within 48 hours of execution of the agreement, the company said.The share consideration will be issued upon receipt of exchange acceptance or, if not required, within five business days following closing of the deal. The property consists of 46 mineral claims covering about 1,781 hectares.The deal allows First Atlas to monetize a non-core asset while retaining exposure to the upside of the Val-d'Or region through its equity interest in LaFleur, it added.Shares of First Atlas were last seen down $0.005 to $0.10 on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

$HHE.CN$LFLR.CN