Also a difference between "not profitable because they can't be" and "not profitable because they refuse to be".

Reddit is having financial issues because Conde Naste does not give them any money. I assume they are taking money from what little they make from ads.

Reddit Gold was an immense success, allowing them to spin up a number of virtual servers.

Speaking as one, I noticed the slowness and time-out problems basically went away as soon as they spun up those servers.

Whatever the financial relationship with Conde Nast, Reddit Gold is definitely a success.