Spotify hauled in 5 million net new Premium subscribers for the first quarter of 2025, its highest Q1 gains in five years, but macroeconomic uncertainty could bring some near-term “noise,” CEO and founder Daniel Ek said.

The audio streaming giant gained 3 million net new monthly active users overall to reach 678 million (in line with guidance) and the 5 million Premium net adds pushed it to 268 million paid subscribers (topping Spotify’s previous expectation for 2 million net new Premium subscribers). That suggests, however, that Spotify saw a slight decrease in users of the free, ad-supported version of its service.

Total Q1 revenue increased 15% to €4.19 billion, in line with prior guidance. Spotify’s operating income doubled to €509 million — a record high, but short of its €548 million forecast. The company’s net profit came in at €225 million, up 14% from €197 million a year prior.

Analysts have warned that in the quarters ahead Spotify’s advertising revenue growth is likely to slow given an anticipated pullback in marketer spending given macroeconomic uncertainty introduced by the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Ad revenue grew 8% year-over-year in Q1, to €419 million — representing a 22% sequential decline from the fourth quarter of 2024. Spotify said music and podcast advertising was driven by growth in impressions sold, “partially offset by softness in pricing and optimization of our podcasting inventory in our Owned & Licensed portfolio.”

For Q2, the company expects revenue of €4.3 billion, which would be up 13%, operating income of €539 million and gross margin of 31.5% (versus 31.6% in the first quarter). Spotify’s guidance suggested it anticipates adding 11 million net new MAUs (below Wall Street estimates) and 5 million Premium subscribers (above forecasts) in the June 2025 quarter.

“The underlying data at the moment is very healthy: engagement remains high, retention is strong, and thanks to our freemium model, people have the flexibility to stay with us even when things feel more uncertain,” Ek said in prepared remarks. “So yes, the short term may bring some noise, but we remain confident in the long-term story, and the direction we’re heading in feels clearer than ever.”

During the first quarter, Spotify said, it paid out more than $100 million to podcast publishers and creators globally — the first time the company has disclosed the metric. The payout encompassed both ad-based revenue sharing and revenue generated through the recently launched Spotify Partner Program, which pays video-podcast creators based on the amount of time Premium users watch their shows.

Ek, on the earnings call Tuesday, said the video podcasting initiative wasn’t a “pivot to video” per se but rather a move to boost overall user engagement. The CEO didn’t rule out expanding to add different kinds of video content at some point, but he noted that Spotify added video podcasts because creators were asking for the feature.

More generally, Ek said, Spotify’s bar for launching into new areas is much higher than in the past. If the answer to the question of whether to embark on a new initiative “isn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it’s ‘no,’” he said.

Currently Spotify offers about 7 million podcast titles, including 330,000 video podcasts. More than 1 billion users have ever listened to a podcast on the service, according to the company.

The results come after Spotify posted its first full-year profit for 2024. In 2025, Ek said in January, the company would “double down on music in 2025, and I’m personally very excited about that.”