GoDaddy has published its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The company showed solid growth across most areas, even though net income dropped compared to last year due to a large one-time tax benefit in 2024.
Revenue and bookings see solid growth
GoDaddy’s total revenue reached $1.2 billion, an 8% increase year-over-year. Bookings, which represent customer payments during the quarter, also rose 8% to $1.4 billion.
The two main segments of GoDaddy’s business performed as follows:
- Applications and commerce revenue: $446.4 million, up 16.5%
- Core platform revenue (includes domains): $747.9 million, up 3.1%
The domain aftermarket segment also did well, growing 5% year-over-year to $128 million, with the average transaction value increasing from $261 to $321.
Operating profit and cash flow rise sharply
GoDaddy’s operating income was $247.3 million, a strong 40.6% increase from the same quarter in 2024. This gives the company a margin of 21%.
Free cash flow rose 26% year-over-year to $411.3 million, while net cash from operations increased 36% to $404.7 million. These results show the company is generating more cash from its business activities.
Net income falls due to 2024 tax benefit
Despite solid business results, net income fell to $219.5 million from $401.5 million in Q1 2024. This drop is mainly due to a one-time, non-cash tax benefit of $267.4 million in the first quarter of 2024. Excluding this, the current quarter’s profit would show a better comparison.
GoDaddy’s normalized EBITDA (NEBITDA) was $364.4 million, up 16.4% year-over-year, with a margin of 30.5%.
Share buybacks and financial position
GoDaddy has now repurchased over 25% of its fully diluted shares since 2022. It also announced a new $3 billion share buyback plan through 2027.
The company ended the quarter with $719 million in cash and $3.1 billion in net debt.
Business updates
GoDaddy expanded its AI-powered Airo® tool, adding new features such as logos and email. It also launched GoDaddy Agency, a new partner program for digital agencies to get leads and access business tools.
Outlook for 2025
GoDaddy reaffirmed its full-year forecast:
- 2025 revenue expected between $4.86 and $4.94 billion, which would be about 7% growth from 2024
- Free cash flow expected to be at least $1.5 billion, compared to $1.4 billion in 2024
- Applications and commerce to grow in the mid-teens, while Core platform grows in the low single digits
GoDaddy appears focused on steady growth, operational efficiency, and returning value to shareholders, even as one-time items affect year-over-year comparisons.
