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).
After two years and $52 million in funding from some of Silicon Valley’s top investors, the video chat app Houseparty is ready to start making money. On Thursday, the social network announced a partnership with “Heads Up!,” the charades-like game for phones that was created by Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Soulja Boy is not shy about expressing his infatuation with three things: wealth, fame, and Tesla. "I love Tesla ($TSLA), man. I think it's one of the most innovative things in the last century," said the rapper, who dressed in a Tesla tracksuit for his interview with Cheddar Wednesday.
Even after a dramatic and high-profile series of privacy violations in 2018, consumers are still willing to surrender personal data to improve their shopping experience ー but only if that data is handled responsibly, Salesforce growth and innovation evangelist Tiffani Bova told Cheddar Wednesday.
A new travel site is looking to make booking a vacation as easy as sending a text message. SnapTravel offers exclusive hotel deals via SMS, in an effort to get customers the hotel they want, when they want it. "Essentially, we want to get you the best hotel, as fast as possible, and as easy as possible," CEO and co-founder Hussein Fazal told Cheddar.
Snap’s Chief Financial Officer, Tim Stone, and Vice President of Investor Relations, Kristin Southey, have both left the company after less than a year. Both departures come as the company is still reeling from a disastrous app redesign and is under federal investigation in connection with a class action shareholder lawsuit.
As NBCUniversal, Disney, and WarnerMedia prepare to launch streaming services, Netflix is raising subscription prices to ensure it has the budget to tighten its stronghold and expand its reach in the content wars. Netflix announced on Tuesday it will raise its prices 13 to 18 percent, just as NBCUniversal confirmed it was entering the streaming business with its own subscription service.
Brex, the provider of credit cards for early stage venture-backed companies, plans to broaden its customer set this year to include other small businesses, according to CEO and co-founder Henrique Dubugras.
The National Retail Federation trade show, held this week in New York City, has long been a place for industry players ー merchants, retailers, payment providers, marketing execs ー to gather and preview the latest innovations in commerce. And while Amazon, the world's largest retailer, was conspicuously absent from this year's event the presence of the e-commerce behemoth could be felt across the vast expanse of the Javits Convention Center.
Disappointing quarterly earnings from JPMorgan Chase weighed on the Dow and other major indexes Tuesday morning even though investors seemed optimistic about a new stimulus plan from China. NBC disclosed more details about its ad-supported streaming service which is scheduled to launch in 2020. Plus, Harlem Capital's John Henry joins Cheddar to talk about Gary Vaynerchuk's Agent2021 conference, his new Viceland series, and Harlem Capital's first fund for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019.
