Rocket.com revisited

While I continue to discover previously unreported domain name transactions in public financial statements, I am mostly refraining from posting new articles due to the widespread and repeated parastic copycat “journalism” in the domain name industry. To understand why parasitic “journalism” is harmful, see this document by Grok, or this document by ChatGPT.

That being said, it’s worth revisiting the prior article regarding the Rocket.com domain name transaction, where I was first (like usual) to report on the transaction price, due to meticulous research. In that article, it was clear that the seller

obtained $14 million for the domain name, on a net basis.

However, further analysis of the buyer’s financial statements provides insights on what they might have paid for the domain name (on a gross basis). In particular, page 105 of the Rocket Companies, Inc.’s recent annual report shows a chart of its intangible assets:

We can also see the relevant chart for 2022 and 2021 from page 110 of the 2022 annual report:

I’ve circled in red the numbers that appear interesting. The definite-lived intangible assets “other” category stayed relatively steady in 2021, 2022, and 2023, with values of $6,973,000, $6,984,000 and $7,038,000 respectively.  However, in 2024, the value jumped to $22,024,000, an increase of $14,986,000.

It’s very possible that most, if not all, of that $14,986,000 represents what the buyer paid for the Rocket.com domain name (a transaction that took place in 2024). The figure is approximately 7% more than what the seller obtained, which might represent a buyer’s premium for the domain name, i.e. the fees that the broker/advisor earned for the transaction, which is not entirely unreasonable.