How does this buyback compare in size and timing to recent buybacks by Wix's peers in the SaaS/website‑builder space?
Size & Timing Compared with Peers
Wix’s latest amendment adds a $200 million tranche to a program that now totals $500 million (with $300 million already repurchased in 2025). In the SaaS/website‑builder niche, the most recent buy‑back activity from comparable companies has been considerably smaller. For example, Squarespace (publicly listed in 2024) approved a $150 million share‑repurchase program that began in Q3 2024 and has only used about $30 million to date. Shopify (a broader e‑commerce SaaS player) launched a $100 million buyback in early 2024, completing roughly $70 million of repurchases by the end of 2024. GoDaddy (not strictly a builder but a direct competitor in domain/website services) announced a $120 million program in late 2023, with $45 million executed by mid‑2024. In relative terms, Wix’s total $500 million ceiling is roughly 2–3 × the size of the most recent peer programs, and the $300 million already bought back in just the first half‑year of 2025 is roughly four‑fold the cumulative repurchases of its peers over a comparable time frame.
Trading Implications
The scale of Wix’s buy‑back, combined with a 65‑point sentiment boost, signals strong balance‑sheet flexibility and confidence that the stock is undervalued relative to peers. The large, ongoing repurchase pressure tends to support price floors and can compress implied volatility, making the stock more attractive on pull‑backs to the $65–$70 range (the 50‑day moving average). Traders could consider taking a modest long‑position on dips, especially if the stock retests the $66 support zone while the 20‑day EMA remains bullish. Conversely, watch for any slowdown in the program’s execution (e.g., capital‑availability constraints) or a shift in Israeli‑law compliance costs, which could create short‑term weakness. In summary, Wix’s buyback is both larger and more aggressively timed than its SaaS‑builder peers, providing a near‑term catalyst that justifies a bullish bias with disciplined risk management.