eNews
Spotify Q4 strikes a chord with record-breaking 16 per cent revenue uptick
MUMBAI: Spotify has cranked up the volume on success, wrapping up 2024 with a Q4 that hit all the right notes. The music streaming powerhouse saw nearly every key metric outperform expectations, proving that when it comes to growth, Spotify is playing a chart-topping hit.
The platform’s monthly active users (MAUs) surged to 675 million, marking a 12 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase, while premium subscribers climbed 11 per cent to 263 million. Clearly, more people than ever are hitting play on Spotify’s offerings, and the company isn’t skipping a beat.
Revenue swelled to €4.24 billion, reflecting a 16 per cent YoY increase, with both premium and ad-supported segments driving the momentum. The premium segment alone raked in €3.7 billion, up 17 per cent, fueled by strong subscriber growth and an uptick in average revenue per user (ARPU). Meanwhile, ad-supported revenue reached €537 million, a seven per cent annual rise, even as the global ad market faced turbulence.
Spotify’s advertising business continued its ascent, with both music and podcast ad revenue showing solid gains. However, pricing softness in some regions tempered overall ad growth. Automated sales channels played a pivotal role in pushing ad revenue higher, especially in fast-growing markets. The ad-supported gross margin rose to 15.1 per cent, an increase of 351 basis points (bps) YoY, reflecting smarter monetisation strategies and enhanced content efficiencies.
Not to be outdone, Spotify’s gross margin soared to 32.2 per cent, a resounding 555 bps increase YoY. And for the real showstopper: the company recorded an operating income of €477 million—its highest ever—securing its first full year of operating profitability.
In the realm of free cash flow (FCF), Spotify turned the dial all the way up. The company generated €877 million in Q4, pushing its total FCF for 2024 to a record-breaking €2.3 billion. That’s a lot of cash dancing to the beat of Spotify’s success.
With the company in full growth mode and its financials singing a happy tune, 2025 looks like another year where Spotify will keep the hits—and the numbers—rolling.
eNews
Swiggy sees record orders during India vs New Zealand T20 final
Chicken biryani tops match-day menu as fans order 7,500 times per minute at peak.
MUMBAI: India’s T20 final didn’t just break stumps, it broke Swiggy’s delivery records, proving cricket fans celebrate victories with plates, not just flags. Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, reported a sharp spike in food orders during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. On 8 March 2026, overall orders rose 23.2 per cent year-on-year compared with the same date in 2025, driven by fans turning living rooms into mini stadiums complete with match-day feasts.
Key highlights from the evening:
- Orders during peak match hours (7–10 pm) were 2.1 times higher than pre-match levels.
- The highest order rate hit 7,500 orders per minute at 19:45.
- Chicken biryani reigned supreme as the most-ordered dish, followed by masala dosa, chicken fried rice, garlic breadsticks and paneer butter masala.
While metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad led volumes, the cricketing fever spread nationwide. Among emerging cities, Thiruvananthapuram, Surat and Rajkot recorded the strongest order growth. Smaller markets including Shillong, Agartala and Port Blair also showed significant appetite, underlining the expanding footprint of quick-commerce food delivery across India.
The surge reflects a growing trend of pairing major sporting events with doorstep delivery, turning big matches into shared, convenient celebrations. In a night where every boundary mattered, Swiggy proved the real MVP might just be the delivery partner who kept the snacks and the vibes flowing without missing a single wicket.
