Spotify Technology has today beaten Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue and paid subscribers, as the music streaming company launched in newer markets and recorded user growth in countries such as the US and India.
Premium subscribers, which account for most of the company's revenue, were up 21% to 158 million from a year earlier.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to have 157.5 million paid subscribers, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Spotify, which launched its services in 86 new countries in the quarter, said growth in the US, Mexico, Russia, and India offset lower-than-expected growth in Latin America and Europe.
Revenue rose to €2.15 billion for the three months ended March 31, from €1.85 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of €2.14 billion euros.
The world's most popular paid music streaming service, which has been boosting its podcast business, this week launched a paid subscription platform for podcasters to challenge a similar service unveiled by Apple.
It said its total monthly active users rose 24% to 356 million.
