GoDaddy CFO: AI Tools Drive ARPU, Not Price Hikes

The comments add texture to GoDaddy's recent quarterly results. The company reported July 30 that second-quarter revenue rose 7.4% to $1.22 billion, with applications and commerce revenue up 16%. Total subscribers edged down 1% to 21.5 million, while ARPU hit $229, up 8% from a year earlier.

McCaffrey attributed the subscriber dip to a deliberate shift away from low-value promotional customers. "We're not trying to maximize raw subscriber count," he said. "We want the customers who stay, buy more, and tell their friends."

The CFO also addressed the competitive landscape, noting that Wix and Squarespace have rolled out similar generative features. "We've been doing this longer and we have more first-party data on what small businesses actually try to sell," he said. "That's a moat that doesn't show up on a balance sheet."

A question from the audience zeroed in on churn. McCaffrey said annual churn rates for the core subscription base have held steady in the low teens, in line with historical ranges. The churning cohort, he said, skews toward the cheapest plans.

GoDaddy has roughly 21 million customers worldwide and generates over $4.8 billion in annual revenue. The stock is up 18% year to date. The company's next formal update comes at an investor day in early November.