Spotify shares fall after CEO Daniel Ek announces 2026 departure
Spotify (SPOT) founder and CEO Daniel Ek will step down from his role and transition to executive chairman starting January 1, 2026, the company announced early Tuesday.
Shares dropped in the immediate aftermath of the news, falling as much as 5% in premarket trading, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
In his new position, Ek will focus on long-term strategy, capital allocation, and founder-led guidance. Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Alex Norström, Chief Business Officer, will assume co-CEO titles, the company said.
The pair, both longtime company veterans, have effectively been steering day-to-day operations since 2023, when they were appointed co-presidents, according to the press release.
“This change simply matches titles to how we already operate,” Ek said in a letter to employees. “In my role as Executive Chairman, I will focus on the long arc of the company and keep the Board and our co-CEOs deeply connected through my engagement.”
The leadership reshuffle comes at a pivotal moment for Spotify, which has spent the past two years overhauling its business model through price hikes, layoffs, and a pullback from costly exclusive podcast deals.
The company’s push toward profitability and AI-driven discovery has powered a near-doubling in its stock price over the past year, even as renewed margin concerns have stirred volatility in recent months.
In July, the company reported Q2 revenue of €4.19 billion ($4.86 billion), below consensus estimates of €4.27 billion, while posting an adjusted loss of €0.42 ($0.49) per share. Ek attributed part of the shortfall to “outsized currency movements,” which impacted reported revenue by more than €100 million versus guidance.
Despite the earnings miss, user growth remains robust, with monthly active users rising 11% year over year to 696 million — above forecasts — and premium subscribers climbing 12% to 276 million. Still, the company faces pressure on ads and gross margins, which slipped to 31.5% in Q2 and are expected to decline further in the current quarter.
On the earnings call, Ek reaffirmed confidence in Spotify’s long-term trajectory, saying at the time that he still expects 2025 to be a “standout year” as initiatives launched over the past several years begin to bear fruit.
“Our approach has always been and will continue to be the focus on creating lifetime value rather than optimizing for quarter-to-quarter performance,” he told investors.
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