VeriSign

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.

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.

1. Dec 2026 · est.Pending

   .web roll-outVerisign opens .web to registrars on its plan and the registrations add to the base, and this passes; a delay or weak demand fails.
2. Feb 4, 2027 · est.Pending

   Q4 2026 results: domain base and renewal rateThe .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.
3. Apr 2027 · est.Pending

   Q1 2027 results: effect of the .com and .net fee risesRevenue growth rises above the 5.7% of Q3 2026 as the new .com fee takes effect, and this passes; lower growth fails.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• October 22, 2026Verisign 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.
• October 22, 2026In 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.
• August 27, 2026Verisign announced that it will raise the .net fee from $10.91 to $12.00 on March 1, 2027.

Last earnings

October 22, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about February 4, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 30, 2026Filed October 22, 2026 · vrsn-20260930
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled October 22, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KOther company newsFiled August 27, 2026 · vrsn-20260827
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed July 23, 2026 · vrsn-20260630
• 8-KEarnings release and Other company newsFiled July 23, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KNew material agreementFiled June 26, 2026 · Read it on sec.gov
• 8-KOther company newsFiled June 26, 2026 · Read it on sec.gov
• 8-KChange of directors or officers and Shareholder vote resultsFiled May 21, 2026 · vrsn-20260521
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Mar 31, 2026Filed April 23, 2026 · vrsn-20260331
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled April 23, 2026 · Press release and exhibits

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 1014473)

• 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.

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. Read more

Yield at the current rate

1.0% (current annual rate, at today’s price)

Dividend yield

1.0% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $314.09)

Paid per share

$3.20 in the last 12 months (4 payments)

Current annual rate

$3.24 ($0.81 × 4 a year)

Payout ratio

26% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)

Latest ex-dividend date

August 19, 2026, $0.81 per share

Dividends per share by year

Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.