Spotify stock slipped early Tuesday after the streaming music leader announced that founder and Chief Executive Daniel Ek was stepping down.
Ek will take on the role of executive chairman on Jan. 1. Spotify (SPOT) named current co-presidents Gustav Soderström, who is also chief product and technology Officer, and Alex Norstrom, who serves chief business officer, as new co-CEOs. They will report to Ek and will join the Spotify board subject to shareholder approval.
“Over the last few years, I’ve turned over a large part of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav–who have shaped the company from our earliest days and are now more than ready to guide our next phase,” Ek said in a statement. “This change simply matches titles to how we already operate.”
In a joint statement, Soderstrom and Norstrom said they’ve “worked together a very long time and have seen Spotify through many different chapters.”
“While we bring different experiences and perspectives to the CEO role, we both have a strong bias to action and can’t wait to get started knowing that we will have Daniel’s full partnership and ongoing support,” they said.
Spotify stock shed more than 5% to 689.63 in early morning trades. The decline snapped a three-day winning streak that saw the shares edging toward a buy point of 748.30, according to IBD MarketSurge. Spotify is still ahead more than 6% this month, and more than 55% year to date.
Spotify was recently named IBD Stock of the Day after the company boosted its ad-supported free service and its premium subscription service. The stock has a Relative Strength rating of 87, down from 97 three months ago, according to MarketSurge.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Stock Market Today: Dow Falls Amid Economic Data; CoreWeave Jumps; Nvidia Extends Gains