VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million.

Here are the key takeaways from VeriSign’s conference call:

• Record domain base of 176.1 million names with 11.5 million new registrations (the largest since H1 2021) and a stronger renewal rate of 76.3%, and management raised full‑year domain base growth guidance to 3.1%–4.3%.
• Q1 revenue was $429 million (+6.6% YoY) and diluted EPS was $2.34 (+11.4% YoY); full‑year revenue is guided to $1.73B–$1.745B with operating income guided to $1.17B–$1.185B.
• Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, the company returned over 100% of free cash flow in the last 12 months totaling $1.13 billion, and $863 million remains available under the share repurchase program.
• VeriSign announced a .com wholesale price increase of $0.71 to $10.97 effective November 1, 2026, which could boost wholesale revenue but actual retail impact depends on registrar pricing and customer elasticity.
• Management emphasized its high‑assurance infrastructure (100% availability approaching 29 years, ~600 billion transactions/day), plans to roll out enhanced security services, and is evaluating participation in the upcoming ICANN new gTLD round (potential launches not expected until ~2028).

VeriSign Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $7.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $276.95. 1,036,332 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,694. VeriSign has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.72.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 36.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total transaction of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,490 shares of company stock valued at $626,690. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.00.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.