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Spotify's top executives and board members have sold $1.25 billion worth of company stock by 2024 — including $900 million in pay for its two founders — as they cash in on the music industry's rising share price.
The amount is 1.25 billion dollars money is issued about 20 managers and board members during the year, and the sale of goods increases in November and December, according to the Financial Times analysis of files with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares of Spotifylisted on the New York Stock Exchange, it will almost triple in 2024, hovering close to 100bn of market capitalization. It's a sharp change from 2022 and 2023 when the group's share price fell to its lowest point, trading at a market capitalization of less than $20bn.
Long-term employees and senior managers are now reaping the rewards. Combined, the exchange's founders combined their stock returns with high levels of corporate leadership. Palantir founder Alex Karp and computer scion Michael Dell have sold more than $1bn this year, SEC filings show.
Some of Spotify's share sales were implemented according to strategic plans for the distribution of common items among the main managers who were compensated in the company's stock, while others did not see, the maintenance of security information. “As part of their long-term financial plan, several Spotify executives have sold some of their Spotify shares,” a company spokesperson said.
CEO Daniel Ek, who founded Spotify in Sweden in 2006 with Martin Lorentzon, sold about $350mn of stock value in 2024. He sold shares as recently as December 11, when he took out $28mn. Bloomberg estimates Ek's net worth at more than $7bn.
Lorentzon, who sits on Spotify's board, sold more than $550 million worth of stock by 2024, according to an SEC filing.
Gustav Söderström, Spotify's chief product and technology officer, who has been with the company since 2009, sold more than $106 million in stock by 2024.
Chief operating officer Katarina Berg sold stock worth 38mn, while business manager Alex Norström reaped 63mn dollars in stock sales for the year.
Dustee Jenkins, Spotify's head of public relations, who joined the company from the retailer Target in 2017, sold more than 6mn of stock this year.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, who has sat on Spotify's board since 2016, made $6 million by selling his Spotify stock this year.
Spotify and Netflix have jumped ahead of their competition in music and television, emerging as the undisputed winners of the “streaming wars”.
Wall Street rewarded Ek with a new focus on profitability. After firing a quarter of its employees by 2023 and rising subscription prices, Spotify has made a profit each quarter of 2024. It did so without sacrificing subscriber growth. The streaming group continued to add customers at an increasing rate, even as it raised prices in many countries.
Analysts at Bank of America in November raised their stock estimates for Spotify, noting an “unbelievable” profit margin performance this year.
“Spotify has long had a strong product offering and opportunity for growth,” wrote Morgan Stanley analysts. “In 2024, we started to see a profit opportunity emerge.”