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).
Jennifer Smith of the Wall Street Journal reports on a theory that autonomous trucks could come to market before passenger cars and obliterate an industry in the process.
Champion, the apparel company that has regained life as a cool-kid staple, is partnering with eSports teams. Champion's president of sports apparel John Fryer called gaming a "global phenomenon."
Bobby Lee of digital asset firm BTCC told Cheddar that assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are more comparable to securities than crypto tokens, and it's where he said he remains bullish.
Lance Ulanoff, tech and social media expert, and Ian Sherr, executive editor of CNET News, agreed that Google's decision to not send a top executive to testify to Congress alongside Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey is going to cause significant damage among lawmakers for the company.
The activist, diversity consultant, and author is unsure if tech executives like Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey are equipped to fix platforms that they in part helped create and which, at least in the case of Twitter, might be fundamentally broken.
Allstate's partnership with Uber to provide drivers with commercial auto coverage now encompasses four states, including some of the New York market. The expansion hedges against a possible future where fewer car owners means fewer individual policies, said Tom Troy, executive vice president for Allstate's business insurance unit.
Tamara Warren, automotive journalist, said that Mercedes's new electric SUV is the first of what will be many luxury electric cars, and Tesla's about to get a lot more competition.
Will Uber hit its self-imposed deadline to file for an IPO in 2019? Joshua Franklin, IPO and private equity correspondent for Reuters, said it's on track.
Sachin Kansal, Uber's chief safety officer, told Cheddar about the new features rolling out to Uber drivers that were built with their feedback in mind. The announcement comes on the one-year anniversary of Dara Khosrowshahi taking over as the company's CEO.
Wednesday is a busy day on Capitol Hill. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are testifying before the Senate as questions grow over foreign influence and fake news. Plus, Brett Kavanaugh returns to Capitol Hill to face questions from lawmakers in day two of his confirmation hearings. And we sit down with Tiffany Pham, CEO and founder of the website Mogul, to discuss how women can succeed in business.
