Storytel Adds 80,000 Paying Subscribers in Third Quarter as Germany Surprises

Storytel ended the third quarter of 2026 with 2.83 million paying subscribers, after adding 80,000 in the period, its largest quarterly increase since 2023, according to its third-quarter report.

Storytel sells audiobooks and e-books through a streaming service, where customers pay a monthly fee for access to a catalogue. It also runs a print publishing group. The company offers more than 1.8 million audiobooks and e-books in 55 languages.

Net sales, the total money coming in before costs, reached SEK 1.18 billion, or US$119 million. That was up 16.5% at constant exchange rates, a measure that strips out swings in the value of one currency against another. Operating profit, what remains after running costs, rose 16% to SEK 176 million (US$17.7 million).

Streaming revenue rose 7.8%. Sales from the publishing side jumped 53.8%, including 26.6% organic growth. Organic growth means growth from the existing business, leaving out acquisitions. Across the whole group, organic growth was 11.7%, according to a report on the results.

The company's strongest growth came from outside the Nordic countries. Streaming revenue in markets outside the Nordics rose 18.6% at constant exchange rates. Poland passed 300,000 paying subscribers during the quarter. In the Nordic markets, revenue grew 5.6%, and 33,000 subscribers joined, compared with 29,000 a year earlier.

Germany is not among Storytel's 10 core markets, which are the five Nordic countries, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and Bulgaria. Those 10 account for more than 95% of revenue. Chief financial officer Stefan Wård nonetheless singled Germany out, calling it "the biggest surprise for us this year." He named Poland as the most important European market and Turkey as a major growth opportunity.

Average revenue per user, the monthly amount each subscriber pays on average, rose to SEK 119.6 from SEK 118.1 a year earlier. Storytel reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of SEK 900 million (US$90.7 million). Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, with certain one-off items set aside. That measure rose 16% year on year, or 25% when long-term incentive plan costs, which are staff share-based payments, are excluded.

Net earnings for the quarter were SEK 142.3 million, or SEK 1.83 per share.

Storytel has also been building AI features into its app. Its AI companion, Genie, has handled more than 800,000 conversations with listeners. A feature called Recaps, which produces AI-generated summaries of stories, is available in 10 markets and is used by more than 400,000 customers each month.

For readers, the headline is simple: more people are paying for stories on Storytel, and the company says it expects to hit its full-year profit target. The next test will be whether Germany and Poland keep pulling their weight as the company grows beyond the Nordics.