Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek kicked off 2025 with another major financial move.
Ek sold more 27.8 million US dollars value of the company’s stock on Wednesday (January 8th), continuing a pattern of significant stock trading.
Since Ek cashed in a tranche of Spotify shares for the first time July 2023has made bank 568 million dollars from the total sales of SPOT shares (including the last transaction), as calculated by MBW.
This week’s cash-out comes as Ek continues to capitalize Spotifyits bullish share price, which peaked at an all-time high on December 4, 2024, when it surpassed $500.
When Spotify went public on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2018, the opening price of its shares was $165.90.
According to a new SEC filing seen by MBW, Ek’s latest transaction involved a sale 60,000 shares at its market price $463.93.
The latest transaction arrives barely two weeks after Ek was cashed out $27.72 million in stocks just before the holiday season on December 23rd.
These recent trades capped a strong year of stock sales for the Spotify CEO, with calendar 2024 trades totaling 376 million dollarsaccording to MBW’s calculations.
Ek’s latest share sale marks the eleventh time since July 2023 that he has redeemed part of his Spotify stake:
- In July 2023, Ek sold 675,000 shares for 100 million dollars in revenue;
- In October 2023 he sold 400,000 shares for $64.2 million in revenue;
- In February 2024, Ek sold 250,000 shares for $57.5 million in revenue;
- In April 2024, Ek sold 400,000 shares for $118.8 million in revenue;
- In November 2024, Ek sold 75,000 shares for 35.8 million dollars in revenue;
- In November 2024, Ek sold another one 75,000 stocks for $34.8 million in revenue;
- In November 2024, Ek sold 75,000 shared again, this time for $36.1 million in revenue;
- In December 2024, Ek sold another one 75,000 shares $37 million in revenue.
- Also in December 2024, Ek sold 60,000 shares for 28.3 million dollars in revenue;
- Again in December Ek sold 60,000 shares for 27.7 million dollars in revenue.
In conjunction with this week’s 27.8 million dollars redemption, that comes in all 568 million dollars.
However, Ek chose to forego a traditional salary as of July 2017, instead aligning his financial interests directly with the company’s market performance.
MBW noted in 2018 that Ek eschewed a traditional salary in favor of a performance-based bonus program tied to specific growth metrics.
MBW also tracked share sales by the Spotify co-founder, Martin Lorenzón. Lorentzon’s SPOT stock sales, often made through Rosello’s company, amounted to $556.8 million by 2024.
Lorentzon, however, did not issue any shares in December.
On December 31, 2023, Ek and Lorentzon performed a 15.6% and 10.9% participation in the company, respectively, with the right to vote 30.5% and 42.7%respectively, according to Spotify’s 2023 annual report. Lorentzon also serves on Spotify’s board of directors as a director.
The transactions show executives’ confidence in Spotify’s future and amid broader industry optimism about the streaming service’s potential for sustainable profitability, with Spotify commanding market share in most regions worldwide. The company continues to expand its offerings beyond music, investing heavily in podcasts, audiobooks, and even video, while exploring new revenue streams.
Looking ahead, Spotify is scheduled to announce its Q4 2024 financial results on February 4th. The company’s third-quarter guidance called for quarterly revenue 4.1 billion euro (US$4.2 billion) and operating profit 481 million euro for Q4. If these targets are met, Spotify will have achieved annual revenue of approx 15.5 billion euro and operating profit 1.37 billion euro for 2024.
As of Wednesday (January 8), Spotify’s share price is at $479.73maintaining a strong market capitalization $96.33 billion.
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