CEO’s Tax Dance: Selling Shares in a World of Paperwork 💸

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John Kedzierski, the man in charge of Evolv Technologies, sold 74,322 shares in January. He got $522,500 for them. This isn’t a story about greed. It’s a story about taxes. The government wanted its cut, and Mr. Kedzierski obliged. He still owns 140,678 shares. That’s $1 million worth of paper promises. So it goes.

The stock has been dancing. Up 84% last year. A wild jig compared to the S&P’s polite shuffle. But stock prices are fickle lovers. They rise, they fall, they demand your attention. Mr. Kedzierski’s sale? Only one in a year. No pattern. No panic. Just a single transaction to settle a debt to the IRS. So it goes.

Evolv Technologies builds machines that find weapons. They scan crowds in stadiums, schools, airports. Their AI hums, their sensors twitch. Revenue climbed 57% last quarter. But losses grew too-$44 million in the red. Progress is expensive. Safety is expensive. Staying alive in the 21st century is expensive. So it goes.

Investors worry when CEOs sell. They see shadows where there might only be light. Mr. Kedzierski’s shares were locked up in a grant. He couldn’t spend them, only the ones he already owned. He sold a third of those. A meaningful chunk? Sure. A betrayal? No. The man needed cash to cover taxes on money he hasn’t earned yet. Irony is a tax-deductible expense. So it goes.

The company’s worth $1.2 billion. Its revenue? $136.5 million. Enough to keep the lights on, barely. Growth is real, but profit remains a rumor. The stock might keep climbing. It might crash. The future is a loaded gun. So it goes.

Final note: Mr. Kedzierski’s shares vest over three years. He stays employed, he gets richer. The system rewards survival. It doesn’t ask if survival is worth the trouble. So it goes 💸

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2026-01-08 01:49