Pricing Concerns Dog Spotify Stock Ahead of Q1 ’26 Earnings

Pricing concerns are continuing to dog Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT), which, despite rising about 2% on the day, is still down about 16% from 2026’s start. Meanwhile, investors remain generally optimistic about shares’ long-term trajectory.

As many will recognize, these concerns aren’t new. Multiple Spotify price bumps later, the platform’s monthly charges have been the subject of discussion and analysis for some time now.

But amid a subscriber plateau in the States as well as established markets generally – and with Apple Music holding steady on the pricing front – the topic is as relevant as ever. Enter a newly released Q4 2025 report from Janus Henderson Investors, which possesses a sizable Spotify stake and acknowledged “concerns around the timing and impact of recent and upcoming pricing actions.”

“Although Spotify reported solid results,” Janus Henderson summed up, “investor sentiment was muted due to concerns around the timing and impact of recent and upcoming pricing actions. The company delivered healthy growth in premium subscribers – particularly in emerging markets – and continued to expand its ad supported business, with podcast-advertising margins improving.

“We remain confident in the long-term fundamentals, with multiple growth levers including pricing and further expansion into video and advertising,” the asset manager continued in part. “While the market may be sensitive to near-term volatility in key metrics, we believe Spotify, as the most popular audio-streaming service, has significant pricing power and platform breadth.”

If analysts’ SPOT targets and forecasts are any indication, Janus Henderson isn’t alone in doubling down, present pricing and advertising woes aside, on a bullish long-term outlook for Spotify stock.

Closer to March’s start, J.P. Morgan settled on a $700 SPOT target – which, of course, implies a massive upside. So does the $650 target confirmed by Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and Bernstein alike later in the month.

Furthermore, even more measured assessments – such as Daiwa Securities’ $535 SPOT target – likewise point to expectations of a double-digit share-price spike.

Nevertheless, the positive Spotify stock evaluations probably aren’t much of a relief to those who invested last summer, as SPOT was knocking on the door of $800 and many were anticipating a continued climb. When, then, will the anticipated valuation surge finally materialize?

Though we don’t have a definitive answer, evidence suggests that Spotify’s Q1 2026 earnings report will bring with it SPOT movements next month. Among other things, the performance breakdown will be Spotify’s first since again upping U.S. prices.