This Early Spotify Investor Isn't Concerned Shares Have Pulled Back
One early Spotify investor is happy that the company’s stock didn’t surge when it started trading on the market Tuesday.
“If we had totally exploded, I don’t think that would have been good,” said Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at European venture capital firm Northzone, a Spotify investor since 2008.
“It would be hard to grow into that valuation over time. I think it’s better to have a gradual convergence of what the market expects and what you deliver as a company.”
Investors and experts forecasted major market volatility as a result of Spotify’s unusual direct listing. But the music streaming company’s public debut went off smoother than expected, and despite pulling back from from the opening trades, shares remain well above the reference price of $132 a share.
Reports emerged Thursday that only about five percent of the total number of Spotify shares that were eligible for the listing were actually sold and traded.
That may be because investors aren’t ready to part ways with their shares as they’ve “grown to really like and appreciate the destructive nature of the company,” said Pärson.
Spotify shares ended Thursday at almost $144.
Andrew Nusca, Editorial Director at Fortune, dives into WhatsApp’s first-ever ads rollout —and how Meta’s ad push intensifies its showdown with OpenAI.
Ben Geman, Energy Reporter at Axios, joins to discuss the latest Middle East tensions, Brent crude price swings, and why gas prices aren’t falling with oil.
Al Root, Associate Editor at Barron's, joins to discuss Tesla’s robotaxis going live in Texas—what it means for autonomy, safety, and the EV race ahead.
Dena Jalbert, M&A expert and CEO of Align Business Advisory Services, on the state of U.S. M&A: deals worth $1–$10 billion (including debt) are surging.
Jeremy Jansen, Head of Supply Chain at Wells Fargo, unpacks the ongoing trade talks between the United States and China as consumers still wonder about tariffs.
IBM Fellow Jerry Chow talks IBM’s expansion of the Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, installing Heron processors that deliver utility‑scale performance.
Ken Shepard, Head of Specialty Asset Management at Bank of America, discusses the importance of real assets and unpacks the bank's specialty asset outlook.
