An unexpected quarterly profit — the first in the company’s history — wasn’t enough for Spotify to please Wall Street, after the music streaming giant posted tepid user and revenue growth when it reported its Q3 earnings on Thursday.
The Stockholm-based company announced earnings per share of €0.23 ($0.26) — running past analyst expectations of a loss of €0.24 ($0.26) per share. Revenue slightly beat analyst estimates, increasing 31 percent year-over-year to €1.35 billion ($1.54 billion), compared to estimates of €1.33 billion ($1.52 billion). Spotify posted a profit of €43 million, or about $49 million.
Spotify gained 4 million premium subscribers during the quarter — falling between the 2 to 5 million new paying customers the company had projected –hitting 87 million overall. The world’s biggest paid music service now has 191 million monthly users, an increase of 28 percent year over year.
Despite beating analyst expectations on financials and posting subscriber growth within its projections, shares of Spotify were rocked in early-morning trading, dropping 10 percent to about $135 per share. Spotify opened at $165.90 per share when it went public in April.
So what gives? Well, Spotify doesn’t anticipate it’ll churn out routine quarterly profits moving forward. Spotify’s boost came from its stake in Tencent Music Entertainment, following the Chinese conglomerate filing to go public earlier this month. The company had previously said turning a profit would be a “one-time, nonrecurring event.”
Spotify also reduced expectations for the fourth quarter, projecting it’ll hit between 93 million and 96 million for paying subscribers — after the company had initially guided for up to 97 million premium subs earlier in the year. Average revenue per user also dipped 6 percent to €4.73 ($5.39) per user, indicating the newer subscribers are joining on college or family plans.
7 Stars Who Have Joined #DeleteFacebook Movement, From Will Ferrell to Susan Sarandon (Photos)
For over a month, Facebook has been dealing with the PR nightmare sparked by its admission that the data of up to 87 million users was secretly accessed by consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, and later used to help Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
The slip up sparked the #DeleteFacebook hashtag, in which people on Twitter and other spaces announce they're doing precisely that. Facebook has tried to course-correct with new security measures, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreeing to testify before Congress. But that wasn't enough to keep some A-listers from joining #DeleteFacebook.
Here's a look at the celebs that have dropped their profiles (so far).
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Elon Musk didn't seem to hesitate when a Twitter follower dared him to delete the Facebook profile for SpaceX, his rocket company.
Not only did Musk axe the SpaceX page (claiming he wasn't aware one even existed,) he also deleted the Tesla page as well, saying it "looks lame anyway."
The two accounts combined had about 5 million followers.
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Cher tweeted that it was "VERY HARD" to delete her account, because of the "amazing young Ppl there." But delete it she did. If only Facebook could turn back time (I'll show myself out).
The Goddess of Pop must've been talking about her personal page only, however, because her commercial page is still live. Guess it's hard to delete those 2.4 million followers.
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The OG of #DeleteFacebook, Jim Carrey was off the social network even before the Cambridge Analytica news made it cool. Carrey dumped his Facebook stock and ditched his profile back in February, because the company "profited from Russian interference in our elections and they’re still not doing enough to stop it."
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Alright, Woz didn't technically delete his profile. The Apple co-founder said he was too worried about losing ownership of the "stevewoz” handle. But he deactivated the account, saying Facebook has a one-way relationship with its users. “The profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back," Woz told USA Today.
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Deleting Facebook is so hot right now, at least according to Will Ferrell. The "Anchorman" star erased his profile at the end of March, saying on his page "Cambridge Analytica's misuse of millions of Facebook users' information in order to undermine our democracy and infringe on our citizens' 'privacy'" was the reason for his exodus.
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Singer Roseanne Cash, daughter of country great Johnny Cash, announced on March 29 that she would delete her Facebook account the next day. That remains to be seen, however: the page is still live as of April 9.
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On April 12, Susan Sarandon announced she was quitting Facebook via Instagram (which is also owned by Facebook), posting a quote by Charles Bukowski that begins, "Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others."
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Several Hollywood and Silicon Valley heavy hitters recently ditched the social network
For over a month, Facebook has been dealing with the PR nightmare sparked by its admission that the data of up to 87 million users was secretly accessed by consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, and later used to help Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
The slip up sparked the #DeleteFacebook hashtag, in which people on Twitter and other spaces announce they're doing precisely that. Facebook has tried to course-correct with new security measures, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg agreeing to testify before Congress. But that wasn't enough to keep some A-listers from joining #DeleteFacebook.
Here's a look at the celebs that have dropped their profiles (so far).
Getty Images
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