LONDON (Reuters) - Music streaming leader Spotify (SPOT.N) on Thursday reported results mostly in line with forecasts, as the number of paid subscribers rose 10 percent over the last three months, but revenue growth was slowed by new European data privacy rules.
FILE PHOTO: The Spotify logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Monthly subscribers, which account for around 90 percent of revenue, rose to 83 million at the end of June, up from 75 million in the first three months of 2018. Analysts, on average, was looking for 82 million subs, a Thomson Reuters poll showed.
Second-quarter revenue rose 26 percent to 1.27 billion euros, roughly in line with market expectations. Fifteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast, on average, 1.26 billion euros.
“We did see some GDPR disruption across our European markets during Q2 but seem to be largely past that now,” the company said in a statement, referring to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation that came into effect in May.
Reporting by Eric Auchard in London; Editing by Adrian Croft
(Reuters) - Apple Inc on Wednesday appointed a new executive to oversee its Apple Music streaming business and hit 48 million subscribers, the company said.
Apple said it had appointed Oliver Schusser as vice president of Apple Music and international content. Schusser, who joined Apple 14 years ago, will report directly to Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue and will also oversee Apple’s services outside the United States, including the App Store and iTunes.
Apple’s top streaming music rival Spotify Technology SA has 71 million so-called premium subscribers, a figure that includes users who have given the company a credit card number for a free trial. Spotify became a public company earlier this month after holding a so-called direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
On a comparable basis, the Apple Music service has 48 million subscribers, 40 million of whom are paying subscribers and 8 million of whom are on a free trial, Apple said. Both firms charge $ 9.99 a month for streaming music but provide discounts for student and family plans.
Variety magazine earlier reported the new subscriber figures and Schusser’s promotion. He previously built up Apple’s services businesses outside the U.S. in 155 markets, including China, Japan and Latin America, Apple said.
Apple’s services business, which includes Apple Music, the App Store and iCloud, is becoming increasingly important to the Apple’s financial outlook because the smart phone market has matured and iPhone sales growth has slowed. In its most recent quarter, Apple’s services business grew 18 percent to $ 8.4 billion, missing analyst expectations of $ 8.6 billion.
(This version of the story corrects paragraph 1 to Wednesday instead of Thursday)
Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Bernadette Baum
Welcome to Seeking Alpha"s Stocks to Watch - a preview of key events scheduled for the next week. Follow this account and turn the e-mail alert on to receive this article in your inbox every Saturday morning.
By all appearances it"s going to take a lot to knock the stock market off its 2018 upward drive as potential landmines such as North Korea, political chaos and looming government shutdowns continue to be sidestepped with animal spirits stirred up. On that note, Bespoke Investment Group added up the cumulative declines on the S&P 500 on a rolling six-month basis to find that it"s been over 50 years since so little downward pressure has been applied to stocks. Looking ahead to next week, some heavy hitters are expected to post tax benefit-adjusted guidance in what could be another driver for investor enthusiasm.
Expected IPO filings Pagseguro Digital (Pending:PAGS) and Entera Bio (OTC:ENTZ) on Jan. 23; Solid Biosciences (Pending:SLDB), Gates Industrial (Pending:GTES) and Menlo Therapeutics on Jan. 24; Adial Pharmaceuticals (Pending:ADIL), PlayAGS (Pending:AGS) and Armo Biosciences (Pending:ARMO) on Jan. 25.
FDA watch: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Innovia (NASDAQ:INVA) and Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ:TBPH) are expected to find out if the supplemental new drug application for triple therapy inhaler Trelegy Ellipta has been accepted for review by the regulator. The FDA"s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee is also meeting on Jan. 24-25 to review Philip Morris International"s (NYSE:PM) iQOS. Feedback from the committee on the alternative tobacco product could also impact British American Tobacco (NYSEMKT:BTI), Altria (NYSE:MO), Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) and Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB).
IPO/secondary share lockup period expirations: Bill Barrett (NYSE:BBG), RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB), First Republic (NYSE:FRC) and Corbus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRBP) on Jan. 22; Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNNA), Ablynx (NASDAQ:ABLX), Immune Design (NASDAQ:IMDZ), Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA) and UniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) on Jan. 23; Newater Technology (NASDAQ:NEWA), Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN), Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IDRA), Atossa Genetics (NASDAQ:ATOS) and Hutchison China MediTech (NASDAQ:HCM) on Jan. 24; First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS), VBI Vaccines (NASDAQ:VBIV) , Celsion (NASDAQ:CLSN) on Jan. 25.
Notable earnings reports: Earnings season really heats up this week with major reports out of every sector. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) on January 22; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), United Continental (NYSE:UAL), Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) on Jan 23.; Ford (NYSE:F), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) on Jan. 24; Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), (NYSE:VMW), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Western Digital (NYSE:WDC) on Jan. 25; Honeywell (NYSE:HON), AbbieVie (NYSE:ABBV) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) on Jan. 26. See Seeking Alpha"s Earnings Calendar for the complete list.
M&A watch:There are potential deals brewing with Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JUNO), Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACOR), Kroger (NYSE:KR)-Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK), CBS (NYSE:CBS), Fossil (NASDAQ:FOSL), Bloomin" Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) and in REIT world with Vici Properties (OTCPK:VICI)-MGM Growth Properties (NYSE:MGP).
Detroit Auto Show: With the dreamy talk about next-gen electrification and mobility goals out of the way, the second week of the Detroit Auto Show is all about letting the public see new models. Front and center in Detroit will be the Ford (F) Ranger, Chevrolet (NYSE:GM) Silverado and Ram (NYSE:FCAU) 1500. BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY) is looking to gain traction in a new sub-segment with the sporty X2 SUV, while Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAY) is showcasing the new sub-$ 20K Jetta as it looks to rebuild U.S. sales. On the exotic side, Steve McQueen fans might want to take a look at the special edition Ford Mustang Bullitt. Although Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is skipping the Detroit Auto Show for the third year in a row, the Model 3 will be in the spotlight this week as it makes its way into more showroom. Early test drive reviews (Los Angeles Times, Edmunds (video), USA Today) are already starting to roll in.
Crypto: A couple of mainstream events are on the calendar this week with the Blockchain Davos Conference 2018 and Cannaccord Blockchain Investor Day scheduled for Jan. 23. The blockchain-focused Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSEARCA:BLOK) and Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (NASDAQ:BLCN) will also catch the spotlight as they close out their first week of trading. As always, expect volatility in the sector. 7-day crypto scorecard: Bitcoin -14%, Ripple -25%, Ethereum -18%, Bitcoin Cash -31%, Litecoin -19%, Cardano -24%, NEM -25%, NEO +5%, TRON -25%, Stellar -10% and IOTA -26%.
Investor/Analyst Days: The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) on Jan 23.
Sales/business updates: HP (NYSE:HPQ) on Jan. 22; Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS) on Jan. 23; Progressive on (NYSE:PGR) on Jan. 24.
Extraordinary shareholder meetings: CTI Biopharma on (NASDAQ:CTIC) on Jan. 24; Broadsoft (NASDAQ:BSFT) on Jan. 25.
Americas Lodging Investment Summit: Just days after a big industry-rattling deal between Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN) and La Quinta (NYSE:LQ), hotel management execs meet in L.A. on Jan 22-25. Presenters include Hyatt (NYSE:H), Choice Hotels (NYSE:CHH), Park Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:PK), Marriott International (NYSE:MAR), Red Lion Hotels (NYSE:RLH) and Ashford (NYSEMKT:AINC).
Barron"s mentions: In part 2 of its Roundtable, the panel discusses potential bargains including Samsung (OTC:SSNLF), Starbucks, GrubHub (NYSE:GRUB) and MetLife (NYSE:MET), among others. A set of picks for top stocks in emerging markets include Sberbank (OTCPK:SBRCY), Posco (NYSE:PKX), China Construction Bank (OTCPK:CICHY) and Hollysys Automation Technologies (NASDAQ:HOLI). And retailer H&M (OTCPK:HNNMY) isn"t a bargain yet despite a recent 20% decline.
Sources: CNBC, EDGAR, Bloomberg and Nasdaq.com.
Editor"s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
