Music streaming service has released its Q4 2021 Financial Results. Amid the current Joe Rogan controversy, for which the company has defended its stand as an attempt to ‘balance creative expression with the safety of its users’, the company had an impressive Q4 2021 as a whole.
Here is a brief highlight of the numbers from the quarter:
Key Highlights
Monthly active users (MAUs), revenue, operating income, and gross margin performed better than expected.
Subscriber growth was inline, average revenue per unit (ARPU) growth increased Y/Y, and its advertising business reached a record 15% of Total Revenue in Q4.
More Numbers
Premium Subscribers grew 16% Y/Y to 180 million in the quarter, led by strong promotional campaign performance.
MAUs grew 18% Y/Y to 406 million in the quarter and near the top end of our guidance range. Spotify saw double-digit Y/Y growth in all regions with particular strength in the Rest of the World, which was led by strong results in India and Indonesia.
Wrapped: Collectively, 120 million MAUs engaged with Wrapped content in Q4 (vs. 93 million last year, an increase of 29% Y/Y).
Revenue grew 24% Y/Y in Q4 (or 20% Y/Y on a constant currency basis) to €2,689 million and was above the top end of its guidance range due to significant strength in advertising and favourable FX movements.
Gross Marginfinished at 26.5% in Q4, above the top end of its guidance range and flat versus the prior year period.
ARPU of €4.40 in Q4 was up 3% Y/Y (or up 1% Y/Y constant currency). Excluding the impact of FX, Spotify saw a benefit to ARPU primarily from its price increases.
Podcast MAU ended the year with a double-digit increase relative to Q3. Among MAUs that engaged with podcasts in Q4, consumption trends remained strong (up 20% Y/Y on a per-user basis) and podcast share of overall consumption hours on the platform reached another all-time high.
Specifically, at the end of Q4, Spotify had 3.6 million podcasts on its platform (up from 3.2 million at the end of Q3) and were pleased to see a double-digit increase in the number of MAUs that engaged with podcast content relative to Q3.
Among MAUs that engaged with podcasts in Q4, consumption trends remained strong (up 20% Y/Y on a per-user basis) and podcast share of overall consumption hours on our platform reached another all-time high.
Spotify also expanded its paid podcast subscriptions to creators and listeners in 33 additional markets and enabled podcasts for users in Russia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
The full report can be read here.
