Summary
GoDaddy started fiscal 2022 with strong revenue growth and much stronger profitability. Total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 was $1,002.7 million, up 11.3% from the prior-year quarter. Operating income rose to $109.6 million, up 188.4%. Net income attributable to GoDaddy was $68.4 million, up 533.3%. Operating margin reached 10.9%, up 6.7 percentage points. The company also generated operating cash flow of $250.9 million, up 13.4%, while capital expenditures were $12.3 million, up 36.7%. Deferred revenue, current portion, was $1,961.6 million, up 8.6%, and remaining performance obligations were $2,725.3 million, up 6.1%.
The quarter's operating metrics showed broad demand. Total bookings were $1,156.3 million, up 6.2%, or 7.2% on a constant currency basis. Normalized EBITDA was $225.9 million, up 17.5%. By segment, Applications and Commerce normalized EBITDA was $119.8 million, up 18.7%, and Core Platform normalized EBITDA was $178.4 million, up 19.3%. Annualized recurring revenue for Applications and Commerce grew 14% year over year to $1.2 billion. Core Platform annualized recurring revenue grew 5% year over year to $2.2 billion. Gross merchandise volume was $24 billion in the first quarter, up over 20% year over year. GoDaddy Payments adoption reached 70% within the commerce tier of Websites + Marketing and 25% within Managed WordPress. The company also launched Commerce Plus for larger customers with more complex needs.
Capital allocation remained active. In February 2022, GoDaddy launched a $750 million accelerated share repurchase program and repurchased an initial 6.5 million shares during the first quarter. The company announced an additional $250 million of repurchases to be made during the second and third quarters, which is intended to fulfill its $1 billion share repurchase target for 2022. Net debt stood at $3.170 billion at March 31, 2022.
Guidance points to continued growth. For the second quarter ending June 30, 2022, GoDaddy targets total revenue growth of 9% year over year at the midpoint. Second quarter normalized EBITDA is targeted in the range of $232 million to $237 million, representing year over year growth of 18% at the midpoint. Within the second quarter, applications commerce revenue growth is expected in the range of 14% to 16%, and core platform revenue growth is expected in the range of 5% to 7%. For the full year ending December 31, 2022, total revenue growth is targeted at 9% year over year at the midpoint. Full year unlevered free cash flow is expected at approximately $1.1 billion, representing growth of 15% year over year, versus the $960 million of unlevered free cash generated in 2021.
Risks remain familiar but material. Management cited uneven demand patterns related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, as well as foreign currency headwinds from the strength of the U.S. dollar, which pressured bookings growth. The company's forward-looking statements also flag geopolitical tensions, increasing interest rates, inflationary pressures, competition, integration of acquisitions, and execution of share repurchases. GoDaddy's debt load and related covenants limit how it conducts business and its ability to raise additional financing or pursue strategic acquisitions and repurchases. The company said it was in compliance with all such covenants and had no amounts drawn on its Revolver as of March 31, 2022.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2022 | Q4 FY2021 | QoQ | Q1 FY2021 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.00B | $1.02B | -1.6% | $901.1M | +11.3% |
| General & administrative | $90.6M | $84.9M | +6.7% | $95.2M | -4.8% |
| Total operating expenses | $893.1M | $894.5M | -0.2% | $863.1M | +3.5% |
| Operating income (loss) | $109.6M | $124.8M | -12.2% | $38.0M | +188.4% |
| Operating margin | 10.9% | 12.2% | -1.3 pp | 4.2% | +6.7 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $68.6M | $87.4M | -21.5% | $10.8M | +535.2% |
| Net margin | 6.8% | 8.6% | -1.7 pp | 1.2% | +5.6 pp |
Risks
Inflation began rising in the second half of 2021 and continued in FY2022 Q1, and MD&A states the bookings growth rate was impacted by uneven demand patterns related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and inflation as well as foreign currency headwinds due to the strength of the U.S. dollar. The Russia-Ukraine military conflict is also cited as a source of market disruption and sanctions risk.
Risk factors say gross customer adds for 2021 declined relative to 2020 and there is uncertainty regarding levels of customer demand and growth. Total bookings increased 6.2% in FY2022 Q1, but the growth rate reflects uneven demand and the larger scale of the business.
GoDaddy disclosed multiple data security incidents, including the November 2021 Managed WordPress breach that impacted up to 1.2 million active and inactive customers. It is responding to FTC Civil Investigative Demands and other regulatory inquiries, and the timing and outcome of these matters are uncertain.
Competition is intense and expected to intensify from Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Cloudflare, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, among others. Cloudflare offers domains at wholesale cost and Let's Encrypt offers security certificates at no cost, which could pressure pricing and market share.
Bookings outside the U.S. represented approximately 32% of total bookings for 2021, and FY2022 Q1 bookings growth was reduced by approximately 100 basis points from adverse foreign currency movements. GoDaddy shut down its site in Russia and removed Ruble support, and it has limited customers and contractors in Russia and Ukraine.
Competition for highly skilled technical personnel is intense in U.S. tech hubs, and U.S. immigration limits on H-1B visas may constrain recruitment. Return-to-office plans and remote work arrangements may affect company culture, retention and productivity.
GoDaddy has substantial long-term debt and covenants restrict indebtedness, liens, dividends, investments and asset sales. It issued 2029 Senior Notes in February 2021 and uses cross-currency and interest rate swaps to manage related foreign currency and interest rate exposure.
The GoDaddy Payments business is subject to money transmission laws, payment card network rules and potential fines, holdbacks or suspension of processing services. Payment card networks may increase interchange fees or impose restrictions on GoDaddy Payments products.
GoDaddy has completed acquisitions including Neustar's registry business, Poynt (now GoDaddy Payments), SkyVerge and GoDaddy Studio. Integration may divert management attention, expose unknown liabilities and fail to achieve expected revenue or expense synergies.
GoDaddy is transitioning from company-owned and co-located data centers to third-party cloud providers including AWS, which increases dependence on third parties. Supply chain disruptions could delay server and network equipment procurement, and outages could harm reputation and customer retention.
Widespread adoption of alternative systems such as social media and mobile applications could reduce the need to register a domain name, and search engine algorithm changes could reduce traffic to customer websites. This may lower demand for GoDaddy's core domain and hosting products.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Total bookings
Domains under management
Unlevered free cash flow
Normalized EBITDA (NEBITDA)
Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV)
ARR (Core Platform)
ARR (Applications and Commerce)
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from GoDaddy Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2022 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 1, 2026.