- Company name
- VeriSign
- Sector
- Internet domain infrastructure software
- About
- VeriSign, Inc. (Verisign) is a provider of internet infrastructure and domain name registry services. It is based in Reston, Virginia. It is the registry operator of the .com and .net domains and operates two of the 13 global internet root servers. It also does the Root Zone Maintainer work. It had 182.5 million .com and .net domain name registrations at September 30, 2026. Registrars pay it a fee for each registration or renewal, in advance. Revenue was $1,306.5 million in the first nine months of 2026, and operating income was $886.4 million. Jim Bidzos is Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Verisign files 10-K and 10-Q reports with the SEC, and its common stock trades on Nasdaq in US dollars.
- Thesis
- The price of Verisign depends on how long .com and .net registrations and fees keep growing. Revenue rose 5.7% in Q3 of 2026, and the operating margin was 66.9%. The domain name base grew 6.1% in a year, and the company has announced a rise of the .com fee for November 2026. Its contract allows a rise of up to 7% in each of the final four years of the six-year period that began on October 26, 2024. Its book equity is negative, because it has repaid $16.38 billion to owners through buybacks since it began. This does not show distress, because the company earns cash and gets fees in advance. The market has to weigh the steady growth against three things that can change it: government and ICANN control of the price, the renewal rate, which was 75.2% for Q2 against 75.5% a year before, and other ways for people to get an online presence. For the price to hold or rise, three things must be true. The domain base must keep growing at about the present rate, helped by new registrations. The announced fee rises must hold: the .com fee goes from $10.26 to $10.97 on November 1, 2026, and the .net fee goes from $10.91 to $12.00 on March 1, 2027. The company must keep the .com agreement, which runs through November 30, 2030, and the pricing terms in it. The next tests are the Q4 report in February 2027 and the first full quarter at the new .com fee.
- Risks
- Nearly all revenue comes from the .com and .net registries. Any loss or change of the right to run .com under the Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Commerce and the .com agreement with ICANN would hurt the business. Fees need a clear contract basis, and the company says that its pricing terms have been challenged and may be challenged again.
Demand for domain names can slow. The renewal rate was 75.2% for Q2, and other domains and other ways to get an online presence compete for attention. Fee rises can also cut demand.
A cyber attack or a failure of the name system would hurt trust in Verisign. It runs the .com and .net registries and two root servers, and it says that attacks and outages are among its main risks.
The company is financed with debt and has negative book equity. It has $1.8 billion of senior notes. Higher interest rates would raise the cost of each refinancing, as the 5.10% rate of the 2026 notes shows.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: $476M
Debt: $1.8B
Net debt: $1.3B
Undrawn credit line: $200M
At September 30, 2026, Verisign had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $476.1 million. Its senior notes had a principal amount of $1.8 billion: $550.0 million at 5.10% due July 15, 2031, $750.0 million at 2.70% issued in 2021 and $500.0 million at 5.25% issued in 2025. It had no borrowings under its credit facility of $200.0 million, which matures in 2028. Total stockholders' deficit was $2,284.7 million, because buybacks of $16.38 billion since the start have cut paid-in capital. Deferred revenue was $1.46 billion, because registrars pay in advance. In the first nine months, operating cash flow was $772.3 million, the company paid $620.0 million for buybacks and $220.8 million of dividends, and it booked $59.3 million of interest expense.
As of Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Dec 2026 (estimate): .web roll-out. Pending. Watch: Verisign opens .web to registrars on its plan and the registrations add to the base, and this passes; a delay or weak demand fails.
Feb 4, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 results: domain base and renewal rate. Pending. Watch: The .com and .net base keeps growing at about 6% a year and the renewal rate holds above 75%, and this passes; a clear slowdown fails.
Apr 2027 (estimate): Q1 2027 results: effect of the .com and .net fee rises. Pending. Watch: Revenue growth rises above the 5.7% of Q3 2026 as the new .com fee takes effect, and this passes; lower growth fails.
- Recent events
- Oct 22, 2026: Verisign reported Q3 2026 results. Revenue was $443.0 million, up 5.7%, operating income was $296.5 million and diluted EPS was $2.35. The .com and .net base was 182.5 million, up 6.1% from a year before. The final renewal rate for Q2 was 75.2%. The company said that the roll-out of .web, which went into the global root zone in July 2026, is on track.
Oct 22, 2026: In Q3, Verisign bought back 0.7 million shares for $189 million. About $1.36 billion remains under its authorization. The board approved a dividend of $0.81 per share, payable on November 24, 2026.
Aug 27, 2026: Verisign announced that it will raise the .net fee from $10.91 to $12.00 on March 1, 2027.
Jul 23, 2026: The board raised its repurchase authorization by $884.2 million, to a total of up to $1.50 billion with the amount that was left. The program has no end date.
Jun 26, 2026: Verisign sold $550.0 million of 5.10% senior notes due July 15, 2031. On July 20 it used the money and cash to redeem all $550.0 million of its 4.75% notes of 2017, which were due in July 2027.
Apr 23, 2026: Verisign announced that it will raise the .com fee from $10.26 to $10.97 on November 1, 2026.