- Tech Stock Insider
- Posts
- This Is Not A Domain Company Anymore, And The Stock Is Pricing That In Reverse
This Is Not A Domain Company Anymore, And The Stock Is Pricing That In Reverse
Noah Zelvis
February 01, 2026
This company used to be simple: buy a domain, maybe buy hosting, and move on. That version of the company still exists, but it is no longer the story the market cares about.
The real setup today is that it has a massive distribution engine aimed at small businesses, creators, and side hustles, and it keeps adding higher-margin products on top.
Pre-IPO Access (Sponsored)
This is urgent, so we’ll keep it simple.
James Altucher is revealing how everyday investors can potentially invest pre-IPO in SpaceX—with as little as $100.
In other words, there may be a way to get positioned before the next major SpaceX liquidity event—without needing insider access or venture capital connections.
Even better:
You don’t need a private placement
You don’t need millions
You can do it through a standard brokerage account
All you need is the single ticker symbol James shares for free in this short video.
Click here to watch now
What Just Happened
GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) has had a rough year in price terms, down about 49% over the past 12 months, even though it has increasingly been run like a disciplined cash compounding machine.
The market is basically arguing with itself about two things:
Is this still a slow-growth “domain registrar” that deserves a lower multiple?
Or is it a software platform with real operating leverage that should be valued differently once the product mix matures?
That tension is why you get a stock that can look “cheap” and still feel uncomfortable.
Never Miss Our Top Tech Recommendations Again!
We now send our tech picks via text, too, so you’ll get the same tech breakout news without having to open your inbox.
The Business People Forget They Already Use
GoDaddy’s hidden advantage is not innovation. It is distribution.
It is one of the first places many people go when they decide they need to exist online. That initial moment is powerful because it is a high-intent customer: someone starting something. And once GoDaddy has that customer, it can keep selling the next layer.
Think of the core stack like this:
The entry point: domains and basic presence
The expansion path: hosting, website builder, managed WordPress, professional email
The monetization engine: commerce tools, payments integrations, marketing, security add-ons
The “stickiness” layer: bundled subscriptions and workflows that make switching annoying
If GoDaddy keeps moving customers up that ladder, the company gets more recurring revenue and better margins without needing explosive user growth.
Hold Forever (Sponsored)
While President Trump's official salary is $400,000 per year... his tax returns reveal he's been collecting up to $250,000 PER MONTH from one hidden source.
Until recently, most Americans couldn't touch the type of investment that makes up this investment.
But thanks to Executive Order 14330, that just changed. If you love investing in disruptive new companies...
Discover how to invest in the fund Trump uses to collect this income
Poll: You’re offered $10,000 but you must give up ONE thing for a year. What’s the easiest to drop? |
Why The Stock Looks Cheap On Purpose
GoDaddy is not trying to be a “story stock.” It is trying to be a cash flow and capital return story.
One of the clearest signals is how aggressive the company has been with repurchases. In its reported results, GoDaddy disclosed cumulative buybacks of 43.7 million shares since the 2022 authorization began, representing a gross reduction of over 25% in fully diluted shares outstanding.
That matters because it changes how the stock works:
Even if revenue growth is not thrilling, EPS can still climb as the share count falls.
If the business is stable, repurchases can quietly create a compounding effect.
The downside is perception. Investors often treat heavy buybacks as a “no-growth admission.” Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is just smart capital allocation.
Quiet Advantage (Sponsored)
Political transitions historically increase uncertainty—and this cycle is no exception.
Tariff expansion is reviving crash-risk conversations across Wall Street.
Asset protection strategies are gaining attention as volatility accelerates.
Ignoring structural risk has consequences during regime shifts.
Awareness precedes action.
No guarantees are implied.
This content is not a recommendation to buy or sell.
Download the FREE Presidential Transition Guide now.
The Real Bet: Turning Domains Into Recurring Software
The bull case is not that domains suddenly become a growth rocket.
The bull case is that GoDaddy keeps converting a huge base of customers into higher-value subscriptions, and the mix shift does the heavy lifting over time.
A few things make that plausible:
The customer is underserved
Most small businesses do not want complexity. They want a single vendor that helps them launch, sell, market, and not get hacked.Cross-selling is structurally cheaper than acquisition
GoDaddy already has the relationship at the moment of purchase intent. That can reduce the cost of attaching new products.The toolkit keeps expanding
As GoDaddy adds more applications and commerce features, the platform becomes more “all-in-one” and less “domain-only.”
This is also where the AI angle fits. AI does not need to be futuristic here. If it helps a small business build a site, write marketing copy, set up basic commerce flows, and handle admin tasks faster, that is real value.
What The Financials Suggest
GoDaddy’s model has increasingly been framed around free cash flow, operating discipline, and buybacks.
From management commentary in prepared remarks, the company highlighted meaningful free cash flow growth and strength in Applications and Commerce bookings (bookings were noted as up 20% year over year in the cited remarks).
That is the important distinction:
Bookings and product attachment are the early signals
Revenue and margin expansion are the lagging confirmation
If the business keeps pushing customers into higher-value subscriptions, you can get a multi-year improvement in the quality of earnings even if top-line growth stays “reasonable.”
Why This Is Not Just A Cheap Stock Story
The best version of this setup is not “the stock bounces because it got crushed.”
It is this:
GoDaddy keeps executing the mix shift
Cash flow stays durable
Share count continues to fall
The market slowly accepts it as a higher-quality recurring revenue platform
If that happens, the stock does not need hype. It just needs time.
The Risks You Should Take Seriously
This is not a free lunch. The key risks are straightforward:
Small business sensitivity: If SMB formation slows or budgets tighten, attach rates and churn can worsen.
Competition: Website and commerce tools are crowded. Differentiation has to come from bundling and ease.
Execution risk: Product sprawl can dilute focus if the suite becomes messy instead of integrated.
Multiple risk: If the market stays in a “show me growth” mood, the stock can remain capped even with solid cash flow.
What Needs To Happen Next
If you are watching this as a potential position, the checklist is simple:
Continued evidence that higher-value products are expanding inside the base
Stable churn and retention signals
Free cash flow staying strong enough to support ongoing repurchases
Clear product narrative: fewer “random tools,” more “one platform”
Also worth noting: in its quarterly filing, GoDaddy describes its repurchase authorization framework and history tied to the $4.0B program.
That gives you a paper trail to track how serious management is about capital return.
How I’d Frame A Position
This is not a moonshot.
It is a “quality compounder if execution holds” setup, with the main debate being whether GoDaddy deserves to be valued like a slow utility or a maturing software platform.
A reasonable approach in this type of name:
Starter position if you like the mix shift and buyback math
Add only on proof, meaning improving product attach and steady cash flow
Respect the downside if SMB demand cracks, because sentiment can turn fast
Bottom Line
GoDaddy is trying to win a specific game: become the default “all-in-one” platform for small businesses that need to exist and operate online, then compound cash flow while shrinking the share count.
The stock has sold off hard, which suggests the market is skeptical that the platform story is strong enough to justify the prior valuation. If the company keeps proving that it can upsell higher-margin subscriptions into an enormous base, the downside narrative weakens and the multiple has room to recover over time.
Action Recap
✅ The Setup: Massive installed base + steady product attachment + buybacks
✅ What To Watch: Applications and Commerce momentum, retention, free cash flow durability
⚠️ Main Risk: SMB slowdown or rising churn that breaks the mix shift story
🧭 Mindset: Patient compounder, not an adrenaline trade
That's our coverage for today; thanks for reading! Reply to this email with feedback or any tech stocks you want me to check out.
Best Regards,
—Noah Zelvis
Tech Stock Insider