Writer: Jordan Sprogis
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Cristian Lopez
Key Takeaways
- Wix’s Q1 revenue beat expectations, rising 13% year over year, though earnings per share (EPS) came in just below forecasts.
- Despite the EPS miss, Wix’s long-term outlook remains strong thanks to its ongoing investment in user-centric personalization.
- Specifically, Wix continues to roll out in-demand personalization features, including AI-powered tools and new integrations that keep it competitive with other major players.
Wix’s Q1 2025 earnings proved to be a mixed bag, but that doesn’t change the underlying momentum of an empire the software company is building across AI, personalization, and brand presence.
Revenue came in about $2 million above expectations ($473 million), but earnings per share (EPS) missed the mark, reporting $1.55 instead of the expected $1.60.
Analysts will tell you that any type of EPS miss is still a miss, especially since investors will focus on whether companies meet or exceed expectations rather than on absolute numbers.
In fact, some analysts have already adjusted their numbers:
- Piper Sandler: $262 to $225
- Benchmark: $245 to $230
- Wells Fargo: $176 to $173
- UBS: $255 to $230
In other words, investors want predictability. A volatile market is nobody’s friend. But it’s all par for the course: It’s a classic case of “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
Brand Awareness Beats Short-Term Gains
What matters more than a few cents of missed EPS is the fact that Wix is playing the long game. One key feature is the revenue breakdown of Wix’s Q1 2025 earnings:
- Creative Subscriptions, whose suite covers site building, hosting, and domains, brought in $337.7 million — up 11% YoY
- Business Solutions, whose suite focuses on payments, POS, and other tools, earned $136 million — up 18% YoY
And yet, most of its 288 million users only use the free plan features. But even if Wix’s free-plan users may not be bringing in revenue right now, they are keeping Wix in circulation.
That kind of brand presence pays off over time — a report by Webflow found that websites are the core driver of customer engagement and business growth.
“As a key customer engagement tool and growth driver, the website remains the most critical marketing asset for every business,” said Chloe Byrne, a researcher at Vanson Bourne.
Another report by Sitecore found that 92% of marketers view personalization as crucial to business success.
And personalization delivers big returns. McKinsey found that companies excelling at it generate 40% more revenue than competitors.
In this 21st-century market, personalization is the key factor that sets brands apart: Consumers today aren’t settling for what they can get; they’re researching and choosing the option that fits them best.
Wix’s freemium model itself is a genius form of personalization, as it gives users multiple entry points based on their needs and budget:
- Free ($0/month): 500MB storage, 1GB bandwidth, Wix-branded domain, ads, no eCommerce or advanced analytics
- Light ($17/month): 2GB storage, multicloud hosting, light marketing tools for basic sites
- Core ($29/month): 50GB storage, basic eCommerce, support for up to 5 collaborators
- Business ($36/month): 100GB storage, standard eCommerce, advanced marketing features
- Business Elite ($159/month): Unlimited storage, full eCommerce suite, up to 100 collaborators
If Wix needs any advice, it should never get rid of its freemium model.
(Of course, that doesn’t mean that Wix isn’t trying. It almost always has sales to sway those free users to upgrade to a premium plan.)
Keeping Up with the Trends
In Q1, Wix introduced several AI-driven features and tools.
It’s something most web builders and hosts are doing as AI becomes more commonplace for the average user. It’s especially prevalent in website development, where vibe coding is currently ruling.
In April, the company introduced a new MCP Server, which allows developers to expand their hosting stack and plug in their favorite LLMs, like ChatGPT or Claude, directly into their workflows.
But according to the Sitecore report, only 18% of CMS platforms are equipped to use AI effectively. And while Wix is a CMS, its abilities are what differentiate it from traditional CMSes, such as WordPress.
“The growing importance and capabilities of AI will be essential to a website e.g., chatbots/virtual assistants, delivery of highly personalized content, etc.,” said an anonymous CMO in the report.
There’s a reason newbies will often float toward drag-and-drop solutions like Wix versus WordPress, which requires a bit more creative and technical know-how.
Expectations are high: Consumers want ease of use, plain and simple.
It’s no surprise that Sitecore’s report found that the future of CMS lies in deep investments in personalization, AI, and advanced analytics.
All three are areas that Wix has been excelling in for a while now.
So, what should other web hosting providers and site builders take from all this?
- Freemium works — not just for hopeful conversions, but for long-term brand recognition.
- Personalization is a simple advantage, and those who explore/invest in it early will be among the first to reap the benefits.
- AI isn’t a gimmick: Trends show it’s the future of web management and customer engagement.
Wix may have taken a small hit in Q1, but if history is any indication, the web builder is still poised to come out on top in the long run — and hosting providers would be smart to follow suit.
