Spotify Share Prices Surge
As the prices of Spotify shares continue to hit new highs, executives and directors of the company are actively selling shares and stock options.
Barry McCarthy’s Recent Sales
The latest move in the Spotify stock boom involves Barry McCarthy, the former chief financial officer and current board director.
According to SEC filings, McCarthy sold 15,033 options for a total of $9.49 million on Monday (February 10). The filings indicate that he has cashed in over $49 million from Spotify shares in six transactions over the past three months.
McCarthy served as the chief financial officer of Spotify until early 2020, when he resigned after five years and took a seat on the board. He has also led media and fitness company Peloton from 2022 to 2024, navigating the challenges of the post-pandemic landscape.
As of Tuesday (February 11), the price of Spotify shares closed at $623.15, marking an increase of over 165% in the past 12 months. The closing price on the previous day was $637.69, a record high.
The market capitalization of Spotify at 4 PM EST on Tuesday (February 11) stood around $125 billion. In comparison, Universal Music Group, the largest of the three major music companies, is currently valued at approximately $51 billion.
The recent surge in Spotify’s valuation followed the company’s announcement of its first full-year operating income of $1.5 billion for 2024.
In November, MBW reported that Spotify’s leadership had sold shares amounting to about $1 billion since the start of the year, which includes $556.8 million sold by co-founder Martin Lorenzon, who remains the company’s largest shareholder.
As for co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, he has sold $283 million worth of Spotify stock. In December, Ek mentioned selling another $93 million, and since the beginning of the year, SEC filings show he has cashed out an additional $94.4 million, including $37 million sold last week (February 5).
Ek has been selling shares in tranches of 60,000, with each tranche fetching a higher sale price than the previous one.
Below are other directors and executives who have sold Spotify shares since the beginning of 2025, according to SEC filings:
- Gustav with a container, chief product and technology officer, sold 52,031 stock options on February 7 for $32.68 million.
- Katarina Berg, head of employee experience, sold 19,656 stock options on February 5 for $11.89 million.
- Alex Norstrom, chief business officer, sold 12,000 stock options on February 7 for $7.52 million.
- Mona Satfen, director of Spotify, sold 3,031 stock options for $1.89 million.
- Christopher Marshall, director of Spotify, sold 2,520 shares on February 10 for $1.57 million.
- Eva Motner, Spotify’s general counsel, sold 1,019 stock options on February 5 for $632,000.
