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).
*Produced by Charles Goetz. Edited by Jake Bennett*
We're in Columbus, Ohio for the Call of Duty World League Championships. Check out our recap of the events, culminating with a win by Evil Geniuses!
The newest 'Aibo' robot is designed to play with real dogs. Mike Fasulo, president and COO of Sony Electronics, tells Cheddar what else it has up its sleeve for the electronic pet, which rolls out in the U.S. this September for purebred price of nearly $3,000.
The proliferation of electric scooters from Lime and Bird are polarizing residents and bedeviling officials in the California beach community. Alyssa Julya Smith takes to the boardwalk to hear them out.
Brick-and-mortar stores need to adopt 'experiential' concepts using technology if they want to appeal to the next generation of shoppers, said Rima Reddy of start-up accelerator XRC Labs.
Facebook was forced to remove its data security app, Onavo, from the App Store after Apple updated its data collection guidelines. Meanwhile, the social media giant also voluntarily removed the quiz app, myPersonality, from its platform after the app improperly collected data on more than 4 million users. And we're joined by Mike Francesa, New York sports radio legend, to hear about the launch of his new app, 'Mike's On.'
Lyft says it has completed 5,000 rides in its autonomous vehicle pilot program in Las Vegas. Taggart Matthiesen, the company's head of product, told Cheddar that customers are starting to acclimate to the idea of a self-driving ride, but it will be a while before safety drivers are unnecessary.
Onavo Protect, a Facebook app that lets users redirect their mobile data through a VPN managed by Facebook servers, was taken off the Apple App Store after Apple said it violated new rules that limit what data developers' collect. Separately, Facebook also said it would warn users of quiz app myPersonality, which allegedly mishandled data of as many as 4 million people.
The entertainment company has raised $4.5 million in new funding. CEO Andy Heyward said the first order of business is launching a new brand called "Rainbow Rangers", which debuts on Nickelodeon in November and is meant to empower young girls.
JPMorgan is bringing its Sapphire brand to banking, a bet that it can change affluent millennial customers' perception of the industry the same way it won them over with its credit cards.
The car-sharing service just that lets drivers rent their vehicles out to strangers just raised $300 million in new financing led by Japan's SoftBank. CEO Sam Zaid tells Cheddar how Getaround stands out in a crowded industry.
