Building on its track record of profitable growth, strong cash generation and share repurchases TEMPE, Ariz., May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) today reported financial results for the first quarter that ended March 31, 2024. "We are off to a great start in 2024, and we are excited to build on this momentum as we execute on our mission of empowering entrepreneurs everywhere and making opportunity more inclusive for all," said GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani. "With a dedicated team and focus on our key initiatives and innovation, we are propelling profitable growth that maximizes free cash flow as we deliver truly magical experiences for our customers." "Our strong first quarter results underscore our commitment to sustainable growth and disciplined capital allocation," said GoDaddy CFO Mark McCaffrey. "Leveraging our unified software platform to create seamless experiences empowers our ability to drive attach, conversion and retention, laying a solid foundation for enduring shareholder value." Business Highlights Total revenue of $1.1 billion, up 7% year-over-year on a reported and constant currency basis. Applications and Commerce (A&C) revenue grew 13%, year-over-year, to $383.1 million. Annualized recurring revenue (ARR) for A&C grew 13% year-over-year, to $1.5 billion. Core Platform (Core) revenue totaled $725.4 million, growing 4% year-over year. Core ARR grew 3% year-over-year, to $2.3 billion. Total bookings of $1.3 billion, up 9% year-over-year on a reported and constant currency basis. Net income of $401.5 million, inclusive of non-routine items, up 747% year-over-year, representing a 36% margin. Normalized EBITDA (NEBITDA) of $313.0 million, up 25% year-over-year, representing a 28% margin and exceeding the first quarter guidance of 27%. Net cash provided by operating activities of $297.2 million, up 10% year-over-year. Free cash flow of $327.4 million, up 26% year-over-year. The innovative GoDaddy Airo™ experience began rolling out to the existing 21 million customer base in March and is set to expand to more markets throughout the year. Consolidated First Quarter Financial Highlights  Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 2023 Change  Constant Currency (in millions, except customers in thousands andARPU in dollars) Total Revenue $ 1,108.5 $ 1,036.0 7.0 % 6.9 % Applications and commerce revenue $    383.1 $    338.0 13.3 % Core platform revenue $    725.4 $    698.0 3.9 % International revenue $    352.9 $    340.6 3.6 % 3.5 % Net income(1) $    401.5 $      47.4 747.0 % Net income margin 36.2 % 4.6 % Net cash provided by operating activities $    297.2 $    270.3 10.0 % Segment EBITDA - A&C $    161.9 $    132.4 22.3 % Segment EBITDA margin - A&C 42.3 % 39.2 % 310bps Segment EBITDA - Core $    216.7 $    189.0 14.7 % Segment EBITDA margin - Core 29.9 % 27.1 %  280bps Non-GAAP Results(2): NEBITDA $    313.0 $    249.7 25.4 % NEBITDA Margin 28.2 % 24.1 % 410bps Unlevered free cash flow $    358.6 $    303.9 18.0 % Free cash flow $    327.4 $    259.2 26.3 % Operating and Business Metrics: Total bookings $ 1,312.7 $ 1,199.2 9.5 % 9.5 % Total customers at period end 20,995 20,997 — % Average revenue per user (ARPU) $       206 $       197 4.6 % Annualized recurring revenue (ARR) $ 3,772.6 $ 3,543.2 6.5 % _______________________________ (1) Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 includes $22.4 million in restructuring and other charges. In addition, during the first quarter of 2024, we recorded a non-routine, non-cash benefit to income taxes of $267.4 million related to the conversion of our Desert Newco, LLC subsidiary from a partnership to a disregarded entity for U.S. income tax purposes. (2) Reconciliations of our non-GAAP results to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.   Share Repurchases Year-to-date through April 30, 2024, GoDaddy repurchased 2.8 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $345.6 million, with an average price per share of $121.49. Cumulatively, these repurchases represent an approximate 22% reduction in fully diluted shares from those outstanding at the inception of the current $4.0 billion buyback authorization. Balance Sheet As of March 31, 2024, total cash and cash equivalents were $664.0 million, total debt was $3.9 billion and net debt was $3.2 billion. Infrastructure Simplification In the first quarter, GoDaddy implemented restructuring efforts to further reduce future operating expenses and improve cash flows through a reduction in force impacting approximately 180 employees. GoDaddy recorded $22.4 million of pre-tax restructuring and other charges in its statements of operations, primarily for severance and other employee benefits related to these activities as well as charges related to the abandonment of certain operating leases.  Desert Newco Conversion During the first quarter, pursuant to a series of transactions undertaken to simplify our capital structure and provide additional strategic flexibility, our Desert Newco, LLC subsidiary was converted from a partnership to a disregarded entity for U.S. income tax purposes. As a result, we recognized a non-cash benefit of $267.4 million recorded to income taxes. Business Outlook For the second quarter ending June 30, 2024, GoDaddy expects total revenue in the range of $1.10 billion to $1.12 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 6% at the midpoint, versus the same period in 2023. Within total revenue, GoDaddy expects second quarter A&C revenue growth in the low- to mid-teens and Core revenue growth in the low single digits. For the second quarter ending June 30, 2024, GoDaddy expects NEBITDA margin to be approximately 28%. For the full year 2024, GoDaddy raised its revenue expectations to a range of $4.50 billion to $4.56 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 6.5% at the midpoint. GoDaddy expects full-year NEBITDA margin of approximately 29%, with a fourth quarter Normalized EBITDA margin of approximately 31%.  For the full year 2024, GoDaddy expects unlevered free cash flow of at least $1.4 billion, representing growth of 12%, year-over-year, versus $1.3 billion of unlevered free cash flow generated in 2023. GoDaddy expects free cash flow of at least $1.2 billion, representing growth of 11%, year-over-year, versus the $1.1 billion of free cash flow generated in 2023. GoDaddy's consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). GoDaddy does not provide reconciliations from non-GAAP guidance to GAAP equivalents because projections of changes in individual balance sheet amounts are not possible without unreasonable effort and presentation of such reconciliations would imply an inappropriate degree of precision. GoDaddy's reported results provide reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their nearest GAAP equivalents. Quarterly Earnings Webcast GoDaddy will host a webcast to discuss first quarter 2024 results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 2024. To participate in the webcast, please preregister online at https://investors.godaddy.net/investor-relations/overview/default.aspx. A live webcast of the event, together with a slide presentation including supplemental financial information and reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, will be available through GoDaddy's Investor Relations website at https://investors.godaddy.net. A transcript of pre-recorded remarks will be available on the Investor Relations website at the time of the webcast. Following the event, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the website. GoDaddy uses its Investor Relations website at https://investors.godaddy.net as a means of disclosing material non-public information and to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor GoDaddy's Investor Relations website, in addition to following press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, public conference calls and webcasts. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on estimates and information available to us at the time of this press release and are not guarantees of future performance. Statements in this press release involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, our results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to any statements regarding: our business outlook; launches of new or expansion of existing products or services, including GoDaddy Airo™, any projections of product or service availability, technology developments and innovation, customer growth, or other future events; historical results that may suggest future trends for our business; our plans, strategies or objectives with respect to future operations, partnerships and partner integrations and marketing strategy; future financial results; our ability to integrate acquisitions and achieve desired synergies and vertical integration; the expected impacts of our restructuring efforts and our debt repricing; our forecasted levels of future taxable income and ability to realize our deferred tax assets; and assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Actual results could differ materially from our current expectations as a result of many factors, including, but not limited to: the unpredictable nature of our rapidly evolving market; fluctuations in our financial and operating results; our rate of growth; interruptions or delays in our service or our web hosting; our dependence on payment card networks and acquiring processors; breaches of our security measures; the impact of any previous or future acquisitions or divestitures; our ability to continue to release, and gain customer acceptance of, our existing and future products and services; our ability to deploy new and evolving technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics and similar tools, in our offerings; our ability to manage our growth; our ability to hire, retain and motivate employees; the effects of competition; technological, regulatory and legal developments; intellectual property litigation; the impact of our restructuring efforts; macroeconomic conditions and developments in the economy, financial markets and credit markets; continued escalation of geopolitical tensions; the level of interest rates and inflationary pressures; execution of share repurchases; and our ability to remediate the identified material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect GoDaddy's business and financial results are included in the filings we make with the SEC from time to time, including those described in "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ...