Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek has done it again.
According to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ek sold 75,000 shares of Spotify last Wednesday (November 20) for USD $34.8 million, plus another 75,000 shares at USD $36.1 million yesterday (November 26).
Adding the $35.8 million share sale that Ek executed on November 15, his stock sales in November alone now amount to $106.7 million.
In fact, SEC filings show that, so far in 2024, Ek has sold 875,000 shares of Spotify for a total of $283.0 million.
These transactions include a $57.5 million cash-out in February, plus a $118.8 million cash-out in April.
Daniel Ek is certainly not the only key figure at Spotify who’s selling.
SEC filings reviewed by Music Business Worldwide show that the company’s execs and former execs have unloaded a whopping USD $1.10 billion worth of Spotify stock since the start of the year.
If Spotify’s non-executive board directors are included in that calculation, the total 2024 cash-out figure rises to $1.14 billion.
Of that more than $1.1 billion in stock sales, the largest part has come from Ek’s fellow co-founder in Spotify, Martin Lorentzon.
We’ve previously reported that Lorentzon sold 959,762 shares on November 13, generating an impressive $383.75 million.
But the full extent of Lorentzon’s gains in 2024 is something to behold.
Since the start of this year, across four transactions (see below), Lorentzon, the ex-Chairman of Spotify, has sold 1,488,364 shares for more than half a billion dollars: $556.77 million.
(Three of these transactions have been handled via Lorenzton‘s Rosello company.)
As such, Lorentzon alone accounts for roughly half the value of the stocks sold by Spotify’s executives and board directors this year.
Other key Spotify executives and former executives have also sold considerable shares since the start of 2024.
These execs’ sales (including stock option exercises) include:
- Gustav Soderstrom, Spotify’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, sold 247,465 shares for a total of $91.1 million.
- Alex Norstrom, Chief Business Officer, sold 188,129 shares for $62.98 million.
- Barry McCarthy, a former CFO of Spotify and a current director on the board, sold 94,250 shares for $39.96 million.
- Katarina Berg, Spotify’s Chief Human Resources Officer, sold 102,491 shares for $37.93 million.
- Paul Vogel, the now-former CFO, sold 77,931 shares for $19.36 million.
- Eve Konstan Mothner, Spotify’s General Counsel, sold 16,234 shares for $7.34 million.
- Ben Kung, the company’s VP, Financial Planning and Analysis, who served as Interim CFO this year, sold 11,887 shares for $4.81 million.
- Dustee Jenkins, Chief Public Affairs Officer, sold 3,310 shares for $1.0 million.
Spotify’s non-executive board directors have also sold significant holdings in the company this year:
- Shishir Mehrotra sold 34,216 shares for $11.7 million.
- Thomas Staggs sold 15,345 shares for $6.06 million.
- Ted Sarandos (of Netflix fame) sold 17,710 shares for $6.02 million.
- Mona Sutphen sold 12,802 shares for $5.20 million.
- Christopher Marshall sold 10,000 shares for $3.45 million.
- Heidi O’Neill sold 4,544 shares for $1.56 million.
- Warrior Padmasree sold 4,651 shares for $1.42 million.
Clearly, Spotify’s leadership is taking advantage of a major run-up in the firm’s stock price.
Following a series of positive earnings reports this year — including guidance that 2024 will be Spotify’s first full year of profit — SPOT’s shares have soared to all-time highs.
Spotify closed at USD $476.61 per share on Tuesday (November 26), just off its all-time high of $477.50, reached on November 14.
That gives the company a market cap of USD $94.5 billion.Music Business Worldwide
