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Applications & Commerce attach accelerates above 10%, lifting operating margins toward 26% and compounding per-share cash flow.
Core Platform renewal growth falls below 1.0% YoY.
We assign GoDaddy a Strong Buy rating as the report-date price of $97.46 on 2026-09-18 trades at a 29.8% discount to house Fair value of $138.82. While small business formation headwinds pose renewal risks, strong cash conversion supports durable compounding.346
The Strong Buy rating means the stock offers attractive risk-reward for long-term investors based on durable subscription revenues.
At $97.46 on 2026-09-18, shares trade well below house Fair value of $138.82, while Potential value reaches $171.69.
The main risk is that small business creation slows, pushing Core Platform renewal growth below 1.0% YoY. Combined with servicing $3,862.6M in debt, this would reduce free cash flow and halt buybacks.36
The strongest catalyst is cash generation: capex of $23.9M on $4,951.1M revenue yields $1,575.5M in free cash flow. Repurchases retired shares from 151.5M in FY2023 to 140.6M in FY2025, compounding EPS.45
Core Platform generated $3,062.1M in FY2025 revenue, providing predictable recurring cash flow through high domain renewal friction.6
Capex was just $23.9M or 0.48% of FY2025 revenue, allowing operating cash flow of $1,599.4M to convert into $1,575.5M in free cash flow.45
Free cash flow funded share retirements from 151,452,000 in FY2023 to 140,621,000 in FY2025, compounding EPS faster than top-line revenue.5
We rate GoDaddy a Strong Buy because sticky domain subscription renewals and exceptional free cash flow conversion fund steady share repurchases that compound per-share earnings.456
Each customer's journey is unique and they tend to be non-linear and iterative in nature. Its customers often start with the most intimate of brand considerations, their Identity, which includes their company name, domain name, logo and email address. Choosing a domain name is often an important initial step for customers as they start and grow their business.
There are no internal revenue transactions between its reportable segments.
Under stressed economic conditions, gross domain additions stall while small business closures increase subscription cancellations. Operating cash flow contracts as renewal pricing power weakens. Simultaneously, servicing $3,862.6M in total debt at elevated interest rates diverts cash away from share repurchases, halting per-share equity compounding.
Macroeconomic deceleration in small enterprise formation reduces domain renewals, while debt refinancing obligations divert operating cash flow away from share repurchases.
Core Platform generated $3,062.1M in FY2025 revenue. If renewal growth falls below 1.0% YoY, consolidated revenue growth stalls below 3.0%.56
The five developments that would weaken our investment case.
Slower renewal growth signals escalating customer attrition among small businesses, which undermines the predictable subscription revenue that funds product expansion and cash distributions to shareholders.
Current:$3,062.1M in FY2025
Alert ifDrops below 1.0% YoY over any four-quarter period
GoDaddy possesses a narrow economic moat rooted in high customer switching costs and brand intangibles. In FY2025, Core Platform generated $3,062.1M in revenue, representing 61.85% of total sales. Domain registrations and DNS configurations introduce administrative friction, which discourages customer churn.
Applications and Commerce contributed $1,889.0M in FY2025. Cross-selling software solutions into the domain registration customer base expands customer lifetime value while supporting consolidated gross profit of $3,149.6M.
GoDaddy generates an ROIC of 23.03%, comfortably exceeding its 8.15% cost of capital and 9.19% cost of equity.1
Each lens answers a different valuation question. Only included lenses set Fair value; floors and diagnostics provide context.
The highlighted cell is Fair value when every assumption sits at its base level ($138.82). Each row and column shows what Fair value becomes when one assumption moves.
Free cash flow to the firm stays positive in the first projected year at $1.1B after modeled capex of $23.9M, with terminal value at 61.5% of enterprise value. A sudden drop in free cash flow is not projected unless capital spending relative to revenue, reinvestment, or gross margin resets materially.
Core Platform maintains steady low-single-digit renewal expansion while Applications and Commerce cross-selling sustains moderate top-line growth and disciplined capital allocation.
Operating outperformance confirms that software cross-selling momentum is expanding consolidated margins.
In-line results confirm the base compounding thesis anchored by predictable subscription renewals.
Revenue contraction would challenge core subscription durability and reduce free cash flow available for buybacks.
Earnings quality is supported by reliable cash conversion, with operating cash flow consistently exceeding operating profit due to upfront subscription billing and modest working capital needs.
Domain renewals anchor recurring cash flows; customer churn directly reduces top-line predictability.
Software cross-selling lifts average revenue per user and expands .
GoDaddy generated $1,599.4M in operating cash flow and $1,575.5M in free cash flow during FY2025. Modest capex of $23.9M allows more than 100% of operating income to convert into distributable cash.45
Management deploys excess cash toward share retirements, spending $1,601.9M on repurchases in FY2025 to reduce share count. Total debt of $3,862.6M requires disciplined ongoing debt service.
Return on invested capital of 23.03% reflects expanding operating profit of $1,127.3M on $4,951.1M in FY2025 revenue.
ROIC of 23.03% substantially exceeds WACC of 8.15%, creating wide economic value spread.
FY2025 operating cash flow of $1,599.4M exceeded GAAP net income of $875.0M.
Upfront annual subscription collections provide structural liquidity.
FY2025 capex of $23.9M was just 0.48% of consolidated .
| Revenue | $4,951,100,000 |
|---|---|
| Cost of revenue | $1,801,500,000 |
| Gross profit | $3,149,600,000 |
| Operating expenses | $2,022,300,000 |
| Operating income | $1,127,300,000 |
| Non-operating items and tax | -$252,300,000 |
| Net income | $875,000,000 |
| Total assets | $8,034,900,000 |
|---|---|
| Cash | $1,080,900,000 |
| Current assets | $1,840,900,000 |
| Total liabilities | $7,819,800,000 |
| Current liabilities | $2,995,500,000 |
| Shareholders’ equity | $215,100,000 |
| Net income | $875,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Operating inflow | $1,599,400,000 |
| Depreciation and amortization | $116,600,000 |
| Stock-based compensation | $317,800,000 |
| Other operating adjustments | $290,000,000 |
| Operating cash flow | $1,599,400,000 |
| Cash available | $2,693,100,000 |
| Beginning cash | $1,089,000,000 |
| Exchange-rate effect | $4,700,000 |
| Investing outflow | $25,100,000 |
| Capex | $23,900,000 |
| Other investing activities | $1,200,000 |
| Financing outflow | $1,587,100,000 |
| Ending cash | $1,080,900,000 |
| Investing cash flow | -$25,100,000 |
| Financing cash flow | -$1,587,100,000 |
Source: SEC EDGAR · Filed 2026-02-25 · SEC EDGAR
| Revenue by operating segment | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Platform | $3.1B | 61.8% | 4.9% |
| Applications And Commerce | $1.9B | 38.2% | 14.3% |
Point-in-time financial data used in the 2026-09-20 analysis.
| Period | Revenue | EBITDA | Net income | Operating cash flow | Free cash flow | Capex | Depreciation and amortization | Stock-based compensation | Share repurchases | Dividends paid | Net debt issuance | Investing cash flow | Financing cash flow | Beginning cash | Ending cash | Cash and investments | Total debt | Operating margin | ROIC | WACC | ROIC − WACC spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-12-31 | $1.8B | $195.8M | -$16.5M | $386.5M | $325M | $61.5M | $160.1M | $56.8M | $18.8M | $18.8M | — | -$183.4M | $15.1M | — | $566.1M | $572.7M | $1B | 2.7% | — | 7.2% | — |
| 2017-12-31 | $2.2B | $395.6M | $136.4M | $475.6M | $392.4M | $83.2M | $205.8M | $76.4M | $0 | $2B | — | -$1.6B | $1.1B | $566.1M | $582.7M | $595M | $2.5B | 3.0% | — | 8.0% | — |
| 2018-12-31 | $2.7B | $405.5M | $77.1M | $559.8M | $472.1M | $87.7M | $234.1M | $125.5M | $0 | — | — | -$254.8M | $47M | $582.7M | $932.4M | $951.3M | $2.4B | 5.6% | — | 7.5% | — |
| 2019-12-31 | $3B | $428.2M | $137M | $723.4M | $635.8M | $87.6M | $209.7M | $147M | $458.6M | $99.2M | — | -$135.3M | -$456.9M | $932.4M | $1.1B | $1.1B | $2.6B | 6.8% | — | 6.2% | — |
| 2020-12-31 | $3.3B | -$201.4M | -$495.1M | $764.6M | $698.1M | $66.5M | $202.7M | $191.5M | $541.7M | $107.3M | — | -$482.3M | -$581.7M | $1.1B | $765.2M | $765.2M | $3.3B | 8.2% | — | 5.2% | — |
| 2021-12-31 | $3.8B | $579.2M | $242.3M | $829.3M | $778.2M | $51.1M | $199.6M | $207.9M | $526M | $73.4M | — | -$635.6M | $298.1M | $765.2M | $1.3B | $1.3B | $4.1B | 10.0% | — | 5.5% | — |
| 2022-12-31 | $4.1B | $697.4M | $352.2M | $979.7M | $919.6M | $59.7M | $194.6M | $264.4M | $1.3B | $50M | -$64.6M | -$132M | -$1.3B | $1.3B | $774M | $774M | $4B | 12.2% | — | 7.8% | — |
| 2023-12-31 | $4.3B | $754.1M | $1.4B | $1B | $1B | $42M | $171.3M | $296.3M | $1.3B | — | -$26.4M | -$102.4M | -$1.3B | $774M | $458.8M | $498.8M | $3.9B | 12.9% | — | 8.0% | — |
| 2024-12-31 | $4.6B | $1.1B | $936.9M | $1.3B | $1.3B | $26.6M | $135.3M | $299.9M | $676.5M | — | -$22.3M | $21.5M | -$677.4M | $458.8M | $1.1B | $1.1B | $3.9B | 19.5% | — | 8.9% | — |
| 2025-12-31 | $5B | $1.3B | $875M | $1.6B | $1.6B | $23.9M | $116.6M | $317.8M | $1.6B | — | -$24.6M | -$25.1M | -$1.6B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $3.9B | 22.8% | — | 7.4% | — |
GoDaddy Inc. (GDDY) trades at 8.8x forward earnings against a peer median of 17.7x. Its EV/EBITDA of 12.0x compares with a peer median of 19.3x. The comparison uses 4 peers: Synopsys Inc., Akamai Technologies Inc., Gen Digital Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, as of 2026-09-19 to 2026-09-20.
Technology industry capex stands at 17.8% of revenue and 2.45x depreciation, while GoDaddy spends only $23.9M or 0.48% of revenue.5
Accelerating micro-enterprise formation drives robust domain registrations and higher attach of commerce software tools.
Macroeconomic pressures dampen small business creation, lengthening sales cycles and increasing subscription churn.
Because industry capacity and lead-time metrics are unavailable, this cycle view is demand-led and evidence-limited. GoDaddy maintains superior cash generation relative to peers due to minimal capital intensity.5
Predictable subscription revenues across Core Platform and $1,575.5M in FY2025 free cash flow justify a core compounder allocation.46
Cap total portfolio position weight at 6.0% and monitor annual interest obligations against cash flow generation.
Sticky domain renewals and $1,575.5M FCF support buybacks below Fair value of $138.82.4
Software attach in Applications & Commerce ($1,889.0M) provides operating leverage.6
Debt of $3,862.6M requires monitoring interest costs and renewal stability.3
GoDaddy is rated Strong Buy. The report-date price of $97.46 on 2026-09-18 sits 29.8% below Fair value of $138.82.3
Durable FCF of $1,575.5M funds repurchases, compounding EPS toward Potential value of $171.69.
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The records this analysis drew on, as they stood when it was run.
Not every cited input appears here: internal calculations and intermediate model outputs have no external record, and some citations could not be matched to one.
Valuation multiples re-rate toward peers AKAM at 14.49x forward P/E or GEN at 8.77x forward P/E, reducing terminal exit multiple below 17.2x.2
Total debt of $3,862.6M refinancing at higher yields drives WACC above 10.15% from 8.15%, restricting capital return.13
A deceleration in software sales shows that cross-selling initiatives are faltering against specialized web creation platforms, limiting the mix shift toward higher gross margins and constraining operating profit expansion.
Current:$1,889.0M in FY2025
Alert ifDecelerates to 3.0% YoY or less in an annual filing
Diminished free cash generation reduces the excess capital available for share retirements, slowing per-share profit compounding and forcing management to choose between debt reduction and equity repurchases.
Current:$1,575.5M in FY2025
Alert ifFalls below $1,200M on a trailing twelve-month basis
Margin contraction indicates that customer acquisition expenses or technology investments are rising faster than top-line revenues, eroding the operating leverage central to the long-term investment case.
Current:22.77% in FY2025
Alert ifContracts below 20.0% across two consecutive quarters
Rising interest costs consume an increasing portion of operating profit, directly reducing net earnings and restricting balance sheet flexibility during debt refinancing cycles.
Current:$151.0M interest on $3,862.6M debt in FY2025
Alert ifExceeds $160M across four consecutive quarters
| Saturating domain registration growth across mature markets | medium | 24-36 months | Cross-selling higher-value productivity tools to existing domain cohorts sustains expansion.6 |
Limitation: Terminal value is 60.8% of this model's value, above the 60% level at which the methodology flags concentration; the value leans on the years beyond the explicit forecast.
Under the moderate discount rate, $64.38 comes from forecast-period earnings and $93.41 from the long-term value, totaling $158.
Project EPS through the explicit advantage period, fade growth as competition catches up, and discount the full stream at cost of equity.
Apply a terminal P/E to the dated forward EPS path, then discount that future share value back to the analysis date.
Convert the revenue and margin path into after-tax free cash flow, discount the annual per-share amounts and terminal value at WACC, then adjust for signed net debt per current share.
Limitation: Terminal value is 61.5% of this model's value, above the 60% level at which the methodology flags concentration; the value leans on the years beyond the explicit forecast.
Multiply the peer median PEG by this stock's forecast growth to derive an implied forward P/E, then apply it to forward EPS.
Solve for the growth rate that makes the model value equal the report-date share price.
Add depreciation to net income, subtract maintenance capex, divide by diluted shares, and apply a normalized valuation multiple.
Value each distinct segment, subtract corporate overhead and net debt, add probability-weighted optionality, and divide by diluted shares.
Applications and Commerce adoption accelerates across the domain user base, driving consolidated operating margin expansion and compounding per-share cash flow.
Cash flow funds share repurchases; working capital drain would slow per-share compounding.
Float reduction magnifies EPS expansion relative to top-line growth.
Elevated borrowing rates increase interest obligations and divert cash from repurchases.
| $5.68B |
| $5.85B |
| $6.03B |
| Operating income | $1.28B | $1.35B | $1.39B | $1.43B | $1.48B |
| NOPAT | $1.10B | $1.16B | $1.19B | $1.23B | $1.27B |
| Residual cash after reinvestment policy | $1.10B | $1.16B | $1.19B | $1.23B | $1.27B |
| Revenue growth | 5.8% | 5.3% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| Operating margin | 24.5% | 24.5% | 24.5% | 24.5% | 24.5% |
| Tax rate | 14.2% | 14.2% | 14.2% | 14.2% | 14.2% |
| Reinvestment rate | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Terminal growth | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
Diluted shares declined from 151,452,000 in FY2023 to 140,621,000 in FY2025.
Earnings per share expand faster than top-line revenue.
| Margin |
|---|
| GDDY | GoDaddy Inc. | $12.3B | 8.8x | 2.4x | 12.0x | 398.2% | — |
| SNPS | Synopsys Inc. | $73.8B | 22.0x | 7.8x | 39.0x | 3.7% | 14.5% |
| AKAM | Akamai Technologies Inc. | $15.0B | 14.5x | 3.5x | 19.5x | 8.9% | 7.6% |
| GEN | Gen Digital Inc. | $17.4B | 8.8x | 3.4x | 10.4x | 41.9% | 35.6% |
| MSFT | Microsoft Corporation | $3.67T | 20.9x | 11.0x | 19.1x | 34.0% | 45.1% |
| Applications and Commerce Growth | At or below 3.0% YoY | Lower normalized operating margin expectations. |
