VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) released its earnings results on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11), FiscalAI reports. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.06% and a negative return on equity of 38.74%. The business had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $440.58 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share.

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

• Domain growth accelerated: The combined .com and .net base reached 182.5 million names, up 6.1% year over year, supported by record quarterly registrations of 13.1 million. Verisign raised and narrowed its 2026 domain-base growth outlook to 6.5%–7%.
• .web launch remains on track, with the sunrise period planned for mid-December, limited registration beginning in mid-January 2027, and general availability expected around April 2027. Verisign plans to use flexible pricing, including premium names, and expanded registrar marketing capabilities.
• Third-quarter revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $443 million, while diluted EPS was $2.35 versus $2.27 a year ago. Results included a $7.5 million pre-tax loss on assets held for sale, which reduced EPS by $0.06, and free cash flow declined to $261 million from $303 million largely because of higher cash taxes and employee and vendor payments.
• Verisign Informed, a certificate-revocation and digital-credential security service, is operational in Verisign’s infrastructure, with pricing expected by year-end and production delivery targeted for the first half of 2027. Management believes the service can leverage Verisign’s high-performance DNS infrastructure and existing registrar and security-provider channels.
• The renewal rate is expected to be 74.3%, down from 75.4% a year ago, because the domain base contains a larger mix of first-time renewals, which renew at roughly mid-40% rates versus mid-80% rates for previously renewed names. Management said first-time renewal rates have remained broadly stable so far.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $300.32 on Friday. VeriSign has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $293.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.84%.

Key VeriSign News

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $443 million, exceeding analyst expectations, while operating income increased to $296 million. Record domain registrations and the planned launch of the .web domain supported the company’s growth outlook. VeriSign Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its VeriSign price target to $380 from $355 and maintained an Outperform rating, while Citigroup lifted its target to $345 from $325. The revisions signal continued analyst confidence in domain growth and the company’s long-term earnings potential. Baird Adjusts VeriSign Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: VeriSign reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of approximately $1.8 billion, in line with consensus estimates. The company also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, or $3.24 annually, yielding about 1.1%. VeriSign Updates 2026 Earnings Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly earnings per share missed consensus estimates despite year-over-year growth, creating the main source of selling pressure. Operating expenses also increased to $147 million from $135 million a year earlier, raising concerns about margin pressure. VeriSign Lags Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for approximately $1.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Although the sale was scheduled, it adds a modest insider-selling signal after several similar transactions. VeriSign Insider Sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $341.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total transaction of $960,597.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 394,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,959,300.43. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 43,100 shares of company stock worth $12,574,391 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company’s services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.