(Reuters) – Audio streaming platform Spotify Technology reported quarterly revenue on Wednesday that beat analysts’ estimates on higher advertising income and as more people subscribed to its premium service.
The company has bet big on podcasts, investing over a billion dollars in acquiring shows such as the “The Joe Rogan Experience” and other businesses in a bid to draw users to a growing non-music audio segment.
Total monthly active users rose 19% to a record 422 million in the quarter.
The Swedish company posted a 24% increase in revenue to 2.66 billion euros ($2.82 billion) in the first quarter. Analysts on average had expected revenue of 2.62 billion euros, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
($1 = 0.9417 euros)
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)