GoDaddy raises annual revenue forecast on strong domain spending

(Reuters) - Internet services provider GoDaddy raised forecast for fiscal 2024 revenue on Thursday, as it sees robust demand for its services helped by a growing number of businesses that are expanding their online presence.

Shares of the company rose around 8% in extended trading.

GoDaddy's clientele comprises primarily of small- and medium-scale businesses that avail company's services spanning from domains to online presence tools and payments.

Analysts at Citi refer to the Tempe, Arizona-based company as more of an "essential one-stop-shop for micro businesses".

The company, in March, launched GoDaddy Airo, an AI-powered solution designed to build and help grow businesses online.

GoDaddy expects fiscal 2024 revenue of $4.53 billion to $4.57 billion, up from its prior forecast of between $4.50 billion and $4.56 billion.

For the third quarter, GoDaddy sees revenue in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.15 billion, in line with analysts' expectations, according to LSEG data.

GoDaddy reported revenue of $1.12 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.11 billion.

It reported net income of $146.3 million in the second quarter, compared with $83.1 million, a year ago.

Total bookings in the quarter stood at $1.26 billion, up 10.6% from a year ago.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)