Q4 Highlights:
- MAUs, Revenue, Operating Income and Gross Margin performed better than expected.
- Subscriber growth was inline, ARPU growth increased Y/Y, and our advertising business reached a record 15% of Total Revenue in Q4.
Q4 by the 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. We saw double digit Y/Y growth in all regions with particular strength in the Rest of 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 our guidance range due to significant strength in advertising and favorable FX movements.
- Gross Margin finished at 26.5% in Q4, above the top end of our 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, we saw a benefit to ARPU primarily from our 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 our platform reached another all-time high.
