Spotify CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek continues to sell off portions of his stake in the streaming giant, capitalizing on the company’s soaring stock price.
Ek sold another 50,000 shares on Wednesday (February 19) for USD $31.5 million, or $630.56 apiece, based on the company’s closing price on Tuesday.
The sale, disclosed in an SEC filing, came just days after Spotify’s stock hit a new all-time high of $648.32 on Thursday (February 13).
By Wednesday, SPOT’s stock rose 1.9% from the previous session to $642.73, boosting its market capitalization to $129.07 billion, a 164% increase over the past year.
Ek’s latest divestment came two weeks after the Spotify boss cashed out $37.3 million in company shares from the sale of 60,000 shares.
The latest sale marks Ek’s 14th since July 2023, and brings his total earnings from share sales to $666.1 million, with $376 million of that coming in 2024 alone.
- In July 2023, Ek sold 675,000 shares for USD $100 million;
- In October 2023, he sold 400,000 shares for $64.2 million;
- In February 2024, Ek sold 250,000 shares for $57.5 million;
- In April 2024, Ek sold 400,000 shares for $118.8 million;
- In November 2024, Ek sold 75,000 shares for $35.8 million;
- In November 2024, Ek sold another 75,000 shares for $34.8 million;
- In November 2024, Ek sold 75,000 shares again, this time for $36.1 million;
- In December 2024, Ek sold another 75,000 shares $37 million;
- Also in December 2024, Ek sold 60,000 shares for $28.3 million;
- And again in December, Ek sold 60,000 shares for $27.7 million;
- In January 2025, Ek sold 60,000 shares for $27.8 million;
- Also in January 2025, Ek sold 60,000 shares for $29.3 million;
- In February 2025, Ek sold 60,000 shares for $37.3 million;
- And the latest transaction, in February 2025, where Ek sold 50,000 shares for $31.5 million.
Since July 2017, Ek has opted out of a traditional salary in favor of a performance-based bonus tied to company growth metrics.
While Ek has been divesting some of his holdings, he and co-founder Martin Lorentzon still retain significant control of the company. As of December 31, 2024, Ek held a 14.3% ownership stake with 29.1% voting power, while Lorentzon held 9.8% of shares with a commanding 41.6% voting control, according to SPOT’s latest annual report for 2024.
Lorentzon himself has also been actively selling shares, accumulating $556.8 million in sales throughout 2024, primarily through his holding company, Rosello Co. Ltd.
Ek’s latest move was driven by SPOT’s recent stock rally, which in turn was fueled by the streaming giant’s first full year of profitability. Spotify posted a quarterly operating income of over half a billion dollars – at €477 million ($497.8m) in Q4 2024. Spotify noted that its “operating Income finished at a record high” and drove “Spotify’s first full year of operating income to €1.4 billion ($1.46b).”
The company’s global Premium Subscriber base grew to 263 million paying users in Q4. Premium subscriber growth translated into Premium revenue of €3.705 billion ($3.86b), up 19% YoY at constant currency.
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