GoDaddy Shares Plunge 15% After 2026 Guidance Misses Expectations
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 25 2026
0mins
Should l Buy GDDY?
Source: seekingalpha
- Guidance Misses Expectations: GoDaddy's projected revenue for 2026 is between $5.195 billion and $5.275 billion, falling short of the $5.28 billion consensus, resulting in a 15% drop in stock price during early trading on Wednesday, marking the largest decline in the S&P 500 Index.
- Quarterly Revenue Downgrade: The company expects current quarter revenue to range from $1.25 billion to $1.27 billion, below the $1.28 billion consensus estimate, indicating market concerns about its growth prospects that could impact future investor confidence.
- Multiple Price Target Reductions: Barclays cut its target from $200 to $118, Morgan Stanley lowered it from $145 to $100, and RBC Capital Markets slashed theirs to $100 from $200, reflecting a pessimistic sentiment regarding GoDaddy's future performance.
- Investor Concerns Over New Strategy: Oppenheimer analysts noted that while net adds improved quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year declines raised investor doubts about the effectiveness of the new go-to-market strategy, suggesting that discounts may be necessary to sustain growth, thereby increasing future performance uncertainty.
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Analyst Views on GDDY
Wall Street analysts forecast GDDY stock price to rise
16 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
8 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 86.760
Low
85.00
Averages
166.38
High
240.00
Current: 86.760
Low
85.00
Averages
166.38
High
240.00
About GDDY
GoDaddy Inc. is engaged in serving a market of entrepreneurs, developing and delivering easy-to-use products in a one-stop shop solution alongside personalized guidance. The Company serves small businesses, individuals, organizations, developers, designers and domain investors. The Company's segments include Applications and Commerce (A&C) and Core Platform (Core). The A&C segment primarily consists of sales of products containing proprietary software, notably its Website building products, as well as its commerce products and third-party email and productivity solutions and sales of certain products when they are included in bundled offerings of its proprietary software products. The Core segment primarily consists of sales of domain registrations and renewals, aftermarket domain sales, Website hosting products and Website security products when not included in bundled offerings of its proprietary software products, as well as sales of products not containing a software component.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
GoDaddy Reports Strong Q1 2026 Earnings Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: GoDaddy reported a 6% revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $1.3 billion, demonstrating the resilience of its business model and likely driving future market performance.
- EBITDA Margin Expansion: The company expanded its normalized EBITDA margin to 33%, up over 200 basis points, indicating success in cost control and operational efficiency, which enhances investor confidence.
- Rapid AI Product Progress: The Airo AI Builder achieved an annualized bookings run rate exceeding $10 million within weeks of beta launch, showcasing strong advancements in AI-driven products that could provide new revenue growth avenues.
- Robust Cash Flow: Free cash flow grew by 15% to $474 million, reflecting a healthy balance between investment and returns, further solidifying the company's financial health.
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- Earnings Report: GoDaddy reported Q1 GAAP EPS of $1.60, beating estimates by $0.08, with revenue of $1.27 billion exceeding expectations by $10 million, indicating stable performance in the market.
- Future Guidance: The company anticipates a significant re-acceleration in Q2 bookings, projecting at least a 6% year-over-year increase compared to 3% in Q1, although rising competitive intensity may introduce future volatility.
- Management Strategy: GoDaddy plans to launch Airo AI Builder in May while seeking cost savings through AI efficiencies in other business areas, allowing for continued margin expansion, although customer growth is expected to remain modest.
- Analyst Perspective: Analysts maintained an Equal Weight rating on GoDaddy, raising the price target from $77 to $83, but the conservative stance on full-year guidance suggests a lack of optimism regarding second-half performance.
See More
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- Roku's Robust Growth: Roku's first-quarter revenue reached $1.25 billion, exceeding the expected $1.20 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $148.4 million also above the forecast of $131.3 million, highlighting the company's ongoing growth potential in the streaming market.
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- ETF Target Price Analysis: According to ETF Channel, the Global X Information Technology Covered Call & Growth ETF (TYLG) has an implied analyst target price of $44.07 per unit, while trading recently at $38.38, indicating a 14.82% upside potential that reflects market optimism towards this ETF.
- Individual Stock Potential: Among TYLG's key holdings, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) is trading at $52.90, with an analyst target price of $80.59, suggesting a 52.34% upside, showcasing strong analyst confidence in its future performance.
- Trimble and GoDaddy Outlook: Trimble Inc (TRMB) is priced at $67.32, with a target of $91.18, indicating a potential 35.44% increase; GoDaddy Inc (GDDY) is at $86.79, with a target of $117.00, reflecting a 34.81% upside, further boosting investor confidence.
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See More
GoDaddy Q1 2026 Earnings Highlights
- Revenue Growth: GoDaddy reported a 6% revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $1.3 billion, indicating stable performance in the market and laying a solid foundation for future growth.
- Airo AI Builder Success: The newly launched Airo AI Builder product rapidly scaled to an annualized bookings run rate exceeding $10 million during its beta phase, demonstrating strong market demand and potential for new revenue streams.
- Free Cash Flow Performance: The company generated robust free cash flow of $474 million this quarter, bringing the trailing 12-month total to $1.68 billion, enhancing financial flexibility and investment capacity.
- Future Outlook: GoDaddy reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $5.195 billion to $5.275 billion, with Q2 revenue expected between $1.285 billion and $1.305 billion, reflecting management's confidence in future performance.
See More
GoDaddy Reports Strong Q1 2026 Earnings Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: GoDaddy reported a 6% revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $1.3 billion, demonstrating the resilience of its business model and likely driving future market performance.
- EBITDA Margin Expansion: The company expanded its normalized EBITDA margin to 33%, up over 200 basis points, indicating success in cost control and operational efficiency, which enhances investor confidence.
- Rapid AI Product Progress: The Airo AI Builder achieved an annualized bookings run rate exceeding $10 million within weeks of beta launch, showcasing strong advancements in AI-driven products that could provide new revenue growth avenues.
- Robust Cash Flow: Free cash flow grew by 15% to $474 million, reflecting a healthy balance between investment and returns, further solidifying the company's financial health.
See More
Atlassian and Others See Significant Stock Gains
- Atlassian's Optimistic Guidance: Atlassian shares surged 23% after projecting a 24% revenue growth for the year, exceeding its previous 22% forecast and the FactSet consensus of 22.2%, indicating strong market performance and growth potential.
- nVent Electric's Strong Earnings: nVent's stock jumped 11% as first-quarter EPS and revenue surpassed Wall Street's highest estimates, with full-year revenue growth forecasted at 26% to 28%, significantly above the consensus of 18%, reflecting robust demand in data centers and energy storage.
- Cboe Global Markets Layoffs: Cboe shares rose 9% following the announcement of a 20% workforce reduction, with first-quarter adjusted EPS at $3.70 and revenue of $728.9 million, both exceeding market expectations, demonstrating the company's commitment to operational optimization.
- Roku's Revenue Beat: Roku's stock increased by 4% after reporting first-quarter revenue of $1.25 billion, surpassing the expected $1.20 billion, with adjusted EBITDA also exceeding estimates, showcasing the company's ongoing growth potential in the streaming market.
See More
GoDaddy's Q1 Results In-Line, Shares Drop 2%
- Earnings Report: GoDaddy reported Q1 GAAP EPS of $1.60, beating estimates by $0.08, with revenue of $1.27 billion exceeding expectations by $10 million, indicating stable performance in the market.
- Future Guidance: The company anticipates a significant re-acceleration in Q2 bookings, projecting at least a 6% year-over-year increase compared to 3% in Q1, although rising competitive intensity may introduce future volatility.
- Management Strategy: GoDaddy plans to launch Airo AI Builder in May while seeking cost savings through AI efficiencies in other business areas, allowing for continued margin expansion, although customer growth is expected to remain modest.
- Analyst Perspective: Analysts maintained an Equal Weight rating on GoDaddy, raising the price target from $77 to $83, but the conservative stance on full-year guidance suggests a lack of optimism regarding second-half performance.
See More
Apple, Roku, Estée Lauder Beat Earnings Expectations
- Apple's Strong Earnings: Apple reported a fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $111.18 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.95 and $109.66 billion, although iPhone sales missed estimates for the third consecutive quarter, indicating increasing market competition pressures.
- Roku's Robust Growth: Roku's first-quarter revenue reached $1.25 billion, exceeding the expected $1.20 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $148.4 million also above the forecast of $131.3 million, highlighting the company's ongoing growth potential in the streaming market.
- Estée Lauder's Better-Than-Expected Performance: Estée Lauder reported third-quarter earnings of $0.91 per share and revenue of $3.71 billion, both exceeding analyst estimates, despite announcing job cuts as part of its turnaround strategy, reflecting its adaptive measures in a changing market.
- Moderna's Improved Financials: Moderna posted a first-quarter loss of $3.40 per share, better than the anticipated loss of $4.45, with revenues of $389 million surpassing the $236.4 million estimate, indicating its sustained competitiveness in the vaccine market.
See More
Analyst Target Price vs ETF Performance Analysis
- ETF Target Price Analysis: According to ETF Channel, the Global X Information Technology Covered Call & Growth ETF (TYLG) has an implied analyst target price of $44.07 per unit, while trading recently at $38.38, indicating a 14.82% upside potential that reflects market optimism towards this ETF.
- Individual Stock Potential: Among TYLG's key holdings, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) is trading at $52.90, with an analyst target price of $80.59, suggesting a 52.34% upside, showcasing strong analyst confidence in its future performance.
- Trimble and GoDaddy Outlook: Trimble Inc (TRMB) is priced at $67.32, with a target of $91.18, indicating a potential 35.44% increase; GoDaddy Inc (GDDY) is at $86.79, with a target of $117.00, reflecting a 34.81% upside, further boosting investor confidence.
- Need for Market Research: While analysts maintain an optimistic view on these target prices, further market research is essential to validate whether these targets are justified, especially given the rapid changes in company and industry developments, as overly high targets may lead to future downgrades.
See More
GoDaddy Q1 2026 Earnings Highlights
- Revenue Growth: GoDaddy reported a 6% revenue increase in Q1 2026, reaching $1.3 billion, indicating stable performance in the market and laying a solid foundation for future growth.
- Airo AI Builder Success: The newly launched Airo AI Builder product rapidly scaled to an annualized bookings run rate exceeding $10 million during its beta phase, demonstrating strong market demand and potential for new revenue streams.
- Free Cash Flow Performance: The company generated robust free cash flow of $474 million this quarter, bringing the trailing 12-month total to $1.68 billion, enhancing financial flexibility and investment capacity.
- Future Outlook: GoDaddy reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $5.195 billion to $5.275 billion, with Q2 revenue expected between $1.285 billion and $1.305 billion, reflecting management's confidence in future performance.
See More
