Summary
GoDaddy opened fiscal 2025 with revenue of $1.19 billion in the first quarter, up 7.7% from $1.11 billion a year earlier. Applications and Commerce revenue grew 16.5% while Core Platform revenue grew 3.1%. International revenue reached $388.8 million, up 10.2%. Total bookings of $1,417.0 million rose 7.9%, or 8.7% on a constant currency basis. Management tied the bookings gain to strength in domains and aftermarket plus continued adoption of subscription-based A&C products, partly offset by a $10.0 million hit from foreign exchange net of hedging gains.
Profitability improved sharply at the operating line. Operating income of $247.3 million rose 40.6% from $175.9 million, and operating margin expanded to 20.7% from 15.9%. The gain came with help from a much lighter restructuring charge, $2.1 million versus $22.4 million a year ago, and from lower depreciation and amortization of $30.8 million. Net income told a different story: $219.5 million, down 45.3% from $401.5 million. The drop is a tax artifact. The prior-year quarter carried a $267.4 million non-cash benefit tied to the Desert Newco conversion, while the current quarter included a $34.6 million one-time benefit from recognition of an uncertain tax position. Diluted EPS was $1.51.
Cash generation stayed strong. Net cash provided by operating activities was $404.7 million, up 36.2% from $297.2 million, and free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $411.3 million, up 25.6%. Capital expenditures were $3.6 million, down 18.2% from $4.4 million. Normalized EBITDA of $364.4 million rose 16.4% at a 30.5% margin. Deferred revenue, current portion only, stood at $2.34 billion, up 7.7%, and remaining performance obligations were $3.26 billion, up 8.2%.
Segment results split along the same lines. A&C Segment EBITDA was $196.9 million, up 21.6%, at a 44.1% margin. Core Segment EBITDA was $235.3 million, up 8.6%, at a 31.5% margin.
Capital return was the loudest theme of the release. In April 2025 GoDaddy completed two accelerated share repurchase agreements, buying 4.4 million shares at an average price of $176.02 and exhausting the remaining $767.4 million under the 2022 $4.0 billion authorization. Cumulatively the company has repurchased 43.7 million shares at an average price of $91.45, a gross reduction of more than 25% in fully diluted shares since the January 2022 inception of that program. The board then authorized a new $3.0 billion plan through 2027. At March 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $719.4 million, total debt was $3.8 billion and net debt was $3.1 billion.
Guidance for the second quarter of 2025 points to year-over-year revenue growth of about 7% at the midpoint. For the full year 2025 the company reaffirmed its revenue outlook, also about 7% growth at the midpoint. A&C revenue is expected to grow in the mid-teens for both the second quarter and the full year, with Core in the low single digits. Second quarter NEBITDA margin is guided to about 31%, and full year NEBITDA margin expansion of about 100 basis points. Full year free cash flow is guided to at least $1.5 billion versus the $1.4 billion generated in 2024.
The customer base is the soft spot. Total customers at period end fell to 20,484 thousand from 20,995 thousand, even as ARPU climbed 9.2% to $225 and annualized recurring revenue rose 7.5% to $4,053.8 million. Domains under management slipped to 80,837 thousand from 82,731 thousand. Management's own risk list flags macroeconomic conditions, interest rates and inflation, geopolitical tensions, competition, cyberattacks and breaches, dependence on payment card networks, and regulatory and legal developments. Leaning on a shrinking customer count while pushing ARPU higher is a trend worth watching.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2025 | Q4 FY2024 | QoQ | Q1 FY2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.19B | $1.19B | +0.1% | $1.11B | +7.7% |
| General & administrative | $97.1M | $112.1M | -13.4% | $91.7M | +5.9% |
| Total operating expenses | $947.0M | $937.0M | +1.1% | $932.6M | +1.5% |
| Operating income (loss) | $247.3M | $255.6M | -3.2% | $175.9M | +40.6% |
| Operating margin | 20.7% | 21.4% | -0.7 pp | 15.9% | +4.8 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $219.5M | $198.6M | +10.5% | $401.5M | -45.3% |
| Net margin | 18.4% | 16.6% | +1.7 pp | 36.2% | -17.8 pp |
| Customers | 7 | — | — | 2 | +250.0% |
Risks
The filing materially expands AI risk, noting increasing use of AI in offerings such as GoDaddy Airo, Airo Plus Site Optimizer and Airo Site Designer, and risks from IP infringement, privacy, cybersecurity, harmful content, bias, and evolving laws including the E.U. AI Act and U.S. state AI laws. MD&A also cites discretionary advertising spend for broader awareness of GoDaddy Airo.
Competition is expected to intensify, including from point-solution providers and competitors investing in AI and generative AI; some competitors may offer services at low or no cost. This could reduce market share, prices, and margins.
Growth rates have slowed or declined in recent periods due to larger size, scale, maturity, divestitures, migrations, and end of life products. Q1 FY2025 total revenue increased 7.7%, but Core platform revenue grew only 3.1% and total customers at period end were 20,484 thousand compared with 20,995 thousand.
Substantial reliance on AWS to operate the integrated platform; any disruption or interference with AWS would adversely affect business, results of operations and financial condition. The filing also cites system failures and capacity constraints as services transition to AWS.
An actual or perceived cybersecurity incident could impair business, protect data, and comply with obligations. The filing notes an increase in social engineering attacks and sophisticated phishing campaigns, and threat actors leveraging AI.
GoDaddy Payments is subject to payments regulations, card network rules, chargebacks, fraud, and risk management failures. As larger sellers use GoDaddy Payments, exposure to material losses from a single seller or a small number of sellers increases.
Reliance on marketing channels to maintain brand awareness and acquire customers. Q1 FY2025 marketing and advertising expenses increased 14.4% to $100.1 million due to discretionary advertising including GoDaddy Airo; if efforts fail to generate traffic or sales, results could be harmed.
International revenue represented approximately 32% of total revenue for 2024. Geopolitical changes, tariffs, trade disruptions, sanctions, and conflicts in Russia/Ukraine and the Middle East could impair growth. Q1 FY2025 international revenue increased 10.2%.
Significant actions to support profitable growth may not succeed, and costs may be recognized before benefits. Q1 FY2025 restructuring and other decreased 90.6% to $2.1 million, but execution risk remains.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates, OECD global minimum tax of 15%, and tax audits could adversely affect results. Q1 FY2025 net income decreased 45.3%, partly due to a prior-year non-routine tax benefit of $267.4 million.
Level of indebtedness and restrictive covenants could limit flexibility and capital allocation. A change of control could require repurchase of Senior Notes and accelerate the Credit Facility.
A prior material weakness in income taxes for 2023 was remediated, but future material weaknesses could impair financial reporting, cause regulatory actions or stockholder lawsuits, and reduce investor confidence.
Failure to properly register or maintain customers' domain names or comply with laws such as the E.U. NIS2 Directive could lead to liability, regulatory action, expenses, and negative publicity.
Ability to increase sales depends on high-quality customer care. A portion of GoDaddy Guides is engaged through third parties, and disruption or misconduct could harm reputation, renewal rates, and cross-sell ability.
General macro conditions, higher interest rates, inflation, recession, tariffs, and trade disruptions could reduce demand. Although the filing says business has not yet been materially negatively impacted, customers may reduce or postpone spending.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Total bookings
Domains under management
Free cash flow
Average revenue per user (ARPU)
Total customers at period end
NEBITDA margin
Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Normalized EBITDA (NEBITDA)
Segment EBITDA - A&C
Segment EBITDA - Core
Segment EBITDA margin - A&C
Segment EBITDA margin - Core
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from GoDaddy Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2025 (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.