Will Spotify Inspire Other Companies to Choose a Direct Listing?
Spotify’s opening number seemed to be music to the market’s ears…at least at first.
The streaming company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday afternoon at more than $165 a pop, pegging its valuation at roughly $29.5 billion.
Over the course of the day, though, that price slipped to about $149, down about 12 percent from the highs of the day, but still well above the $132 a share reference price.
Spotify’s unconventional choice of a direct listing, instead of a traditional IPO, had investors and experts bracing for a roller-coaster ride on Tuesday.
“I thought we were going to see a lot of spikes up and down and up and down,” said Dan Primack, business reporter at Axios. But “it hasn’t been all over the place.”
This smoother-than-expected listing raises the question of whether more companies will follow in Spotify’s footsteps in the future.
“It’s not the right path for all,” Stacey Cunningham, COO of the New York Stock Exchange, told Cheddar before the stock started trading. “There are some unique factors for [Spotify].
“They don’t need to raise capital, so going through the IPO process isn’t something that was important to them.”
Spotify was much more interested in “providing that liquidity event for their shareholders...to have a currency...to do additional M&A deals going forward,” explained Cunningham.
So what’s in store for Spotify’s future?
Fam Mirza, one of the company’s earlier investors, told Cheddar he wouldn’t sell his shares in the listing, because he has faith in where the company is headed.
“They’re so amazing at entering new markets...They can still scale it, and then they get to those bottom line revenues.”
Mirza also doesn’t consider Apple, even as it gains ground in the space, as a real threat. After all, he pointed out, the tech giant has had plenty of opportunity to overtake it.
“Everybody has an iPhone. So as soon as Apple launched Apple Music...why hasn’t every single person who has an iPhone signed on to Apple Music?”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/spotifys-unique-relationship-with-wall-street).
AI-based adtech firm Adtheorent released its first earnings report as a public company Thursday after the bell. The company went public via SPAC deal in December and has since seen strong profit and revenue growth, with connected TV increasing 220 percent in Q4. Jim Lawson, CEO, AdTheorent, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Adam Battle, research assistant at University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, joins Cheddar News to discuss space junk heading to the moon and if more should be done to prevent space junk in the future.
The capital of Kyiv is home to more than 1,000 tech startups.
Some of the prominent tech companies founded in Ukraine include names like 'Grammarly' and 'GitLab,' but even companies that aren't based in Ukraine rely on the massive amount of tech talent in the country. Andy Kurtzig, CEO of Justanswer, joins Cheddar News to discuss how he's aiding hundreds of his employees in Ukraine.
Mark Clerkin, Head of Trading at CoinList, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on the range of features his platform offers, from investing in up-and-coming tokens to trading, and says his company is eager to partner with Block CEO Jack Dorsey on future projects.
Music-focused NFT platform Pianity raising $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Pianity has developed a marketplace that allows musicians to sell their tracks as limited edition NFTs. Since its launch last year, the company says it has already sold 11,000 NFTs and artists have earned over $1.1 million from NFT sales. Kevin Primicerio, co-founder and CEO of Pianity, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
ZipRecruiter reported revenue growth for the fourth quarter of 2021 and raised its forecast for the coming year, beating Wall Street expectations. The recruitment site has benefited from one of the tightest labor markets in history as companies desperately try to fill empty positions. Ian Siegel, CEO of ZipRecruiter, joined Cheddar to discuss how the company has adapted to The Great Resignation, a tight labor market, and record inflation.
Ford is looking to charge its electric business forward -- splitting its EVs and legacy internal combustion engine models into separate units. Ford says the split will streamline its EV business and boost profits, while giving it a better competitive edge. Ford's new EV focused business will be called Ford Model e. Greg Martin, Co-Founder, Rainmaker Securities joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
