Zoom founder Eric Yuan transferred $ 6 billion worth of its shares to unnamed beneficiaries last week, according to a management filing.
The head of the video conferencing platform transferred about 40% of his property in the company, in two installments of nearly 9 million shares shown as gifts.
A Zoom spokesman said the trends were in line with Yuan’s “estate planning practices.”
“The distributions were made in accordance with the terms of Eric Yuan and his wife’s trusts,” they said. The stock was owned by the Grantor Preserved Annuity Trust, and Yuan and his wife are joint sponsors, according to the file late Friday.
Zoom ZM Video Communication,
COVID-19 pandemic has nearly tripled in stock in the past year, leading to an increase in demand for its platform.
The company’s adjusted profits rose to nearly $ 1 billion – $ 995.7 billion – in 2020, compared to $ 101.3 million in 2019, and revenues grew $ 2 billion to $ 2.65 billion.
Zoom expects growth to continue at a slower pace in 2020 but Yuan said there was still room for the company’s platform once people return to work.
“Customers have come to us because of trust, the product is reliable, and easy to use,” Yuan said. As some employees return to offices at a social pace, he said, companies will continue to look for options such as virtual reception and telephone conferences.
The stock, which fell nearly 8% on Monday, was 3.2% higher in pre-trade early on Tuesday.
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson noted the Yuan stock move and the fact that Zoom is now worth about half of what it peaked in October, adding that other work from name home, DocuSign, is now also down a third from the all-time high.
“Two things work here – firstly the reopening and the prospect of less reliance on WFH [working-from-home] as last year. Secondly, these were some of the richest growth names and therefore more likely to be slowed down by rising rates, ”he said.