VRSN US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording
Verisign (VRSN) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $314.09 · 2026-11-11
Verisign provides critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, including the management of .com, .net, and .name top-level domains. The company operates global DNS servers and provides registration services for individuals and organizations to establish online identities. It operates its infrastructure through a global network of data centers and points of presence. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-05)
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · published 22 Oct 2026 and 23 Jul 2026
Net income down 1.8% on the previous quarter. Management sounded restrained, in its script and in answers to analysts.
1 · Numbers
−1.8%
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 212.6M vs 216.5M
Revenue +1.9%
2 · How management spoke
Restrained
Less upbeat than 75% of company calls
Answers to analysts: typical, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
The combined .com and .net domain name base reached 182.5 million names, up 6.1% year over year, with a record 13.1 million new registrations in the third quarter.
Valuation
Is Verisign undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At 5.2% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $207.55 a share — the stock trades 51% above it. Today's price assumes 11.1% growth a year.
Current price
$314.09
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+11.1% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$207.55
Buy below
$155.67
Price vs fair value
Overvalued 51%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued 102%
Management expects
Growth +6.5% · from the Q3 2026 report: “The company increased and narrowed its 2026 domain name base growth guidance to between 6.5% and 7% based on observed trends and expectations for the remainder…”
A guidance figure for growth, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.
Read between the lines
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Key theme
Operating income is expected to be between $1,188,000,000 and $1,192,000,000 due to a $7.5 million expense booked during the third quarter.
Source quote
“Operating income is now expected to be between $1,188,000,000 and $1,192,000,000, which reflects the $7.5 million expense booked during the third quarter as mentioned before.”
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Key theme
Management expects 50% of the dot-com price increase to flow through into revenue in 2027, with most of the remainder expected in 2028.
Source quote
“We said last call that expect about 50% of the dot-com price increase to flow through in revenue in 2027, most of the rest of that in 2028.”
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Guidance
The company increased and narrowed its 2026 domain name base growth guidance to between 6.5% and 7% based on observed trends and expectations for the remainder of the year.
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Figure
First-time renewal rates remained steady in the mid-40% range through the third quarter.
Source quote
“Through the third quarter, what we've seen with our first-time renewal rates is they've remained fairly steady in the mid-40% range.”
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Guidance
Financial data from 2024 through 2026 guidance now includes all VI expense.
4 more
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Figure
The combined .com and .net domain name base reached 182.5 million names, up 6.1% year over year, with a record 13.1 million new registrations in the third quarter.
Source quote
“The combined.com and.net domain name base now totals 182.5 million names, up 6.1% year over year, with a record 13.1 million new registrations processed during the third quarter.”
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Figure
The company plans to establish pricing and pricing structure by the end of the year and aim for service availability in the first half of 2027.
Source quote
“So the high-level plan, as I mentioned, is pricing by the end of the year, pricing structure, and availability of the service in the first half of 2027.”
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Figure
What John described, a first-time renewal rate in the 40s and a second or subsequent renewal rate in the mid-80s has held pretty constant.
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Key theme
The company is on track to bring .web to market in just a few months.
Source quote
“We're very pleased to be on track to bring.web to market in just a few months.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“But I think the strength of running on our reliable infrastructure with its track record, providing more choice to our customers with a short relevant TLD is going to be...”
“As announced in today's earnings release, VeriSign's Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.81 per share of VeriSign's outstanding common stock to shareholders of record as of the...”
“The factors driving the solid domain name-based trends the past several quarters further accelerated during the third quarter.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-09-30)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-09-30 | Q2 2026period end 2026-06-30 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 443.0M | 434.6M | +1.9% | 419.1M | +5.7% |
| Gross profit | 393.2M | 384.6M | +2.2% | 370.3M | +6.2% |
| Operating income | 296.5M | 296.3M | +0.1% | 284.3M | +4.3% |
| Net income | 212.6M | 216.5M | −1.8% | 212.8M | −0.1% |
| P/E today 49.5 | — | — | — | — | — |
Topics
Most discussed now
- It is a short, generic, relevant TLD operating in Verisign's infrastructure, its high assurance infrastructure.
- New There are standards engagement, and Verisign is engaged with a variety of service providers, and it will be providing updates on that...
- There is greater reliance on digital services, cloud service providers, new entrants offering new services, more businesses converting to…
- I see the combination of that long trend line of just simple growth and adoption of online services, the ongoing...
Faded since Q2 2026
- Dropped Active registrar engagement with and strong execution of Verisign's marketing programs is definitely helping.
- Fading As Verisign looks at the significant increase in new registrations, for example, up 14% year-over-year in the first quarter and...
- Fading I'd say the most obvious difference with .web from .com and .net is that Verisign has complete wholesale pricing flexibility...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Verisign reported revenue of $443 million for the third quarter of 2026, up 5.7 percent from the same quarter in 2025, with a net income of $213 million.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
VeriSign, Inc. announced an increase in the registry-level wholesale price for new and renewal .net domain names from $10.91 to $12.00, effective March 1, 2027.
- Results of operations; Other events · SEC 8-K
Verisign reported revenue of $435 million for the second quarter of 2026, up 6.0 percent from the same quarter in 2025, with net income of $217 million compared to $207 million a year earlier.
- Material agreement · SEC 8-K
VeriSign, Inc. completed a registered offering of $550 million of its 5.100% Senior Notes due 2031 on June 26, 2026.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
VeriSign, Inc. entered into an underwriting agreement for a registered offering of $550 million aggregate principal amount of 5.100% Senior Notes due 2031, with expected net proceeds of approximately $545 million.
- Director or officer change; Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K
Stockholders approved the amendment of the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, extending its termination date to May 21, 2036, and approved the election of six directors and the executive compensation.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Verisign reported revenue of $429 million for the first quarter of 2026, up 6.6 percent from the same quarter in 2025, with a net income of $215 million.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
Verisign reported fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $425 million, up 7.5% from the same period in 2024, and full-year 2025 revenue of $1.66 billion, up 6.4% from 2024.
Balance sheet & ownership
From SEC filings; short interest is FINRA data via Yahoo. Collected 2026-10-27.
Cash & runway
Cash & equivalents
$206.8M
2026-09-30
Short-term investments
$269.3M
total $476.1M
Implied runway
—
operating cash flow positive over the TTM window
Dilution
weighted-average basic shares, per quarter. Change: -3.4% YoY, -0.8% QoQ.
| Quarter | Shares |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | 94.6M |
| Q2 2025 | 93.8M |
| Q3 2025 | 93.3M |
| Q1 2026 | 91.6M |
| Q2 2026 | 90.8M |
| Q3 2026 | 90.1M |
Shares outstanding: 89.7M (2026-10-16)
Insider transactions
Form 4 open-market trades (codes S/P), trailing 12 months. Coverage: newest 50 of 95 filings; 50 filings parsed.
Sold by insiders
74.8K shares
$21.2M · 114 transactions
Bought by insiders
35 shares
$10.6K · 4 transactions
Net direction
net selling
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
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November 17, 2026
record date for cash dividend
Source quote
“As announced in today's earnings release, VeriSign's Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.81 per share of VeriSign's outstanding common stock to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 17, 2026, payable on November 24, 2026.”
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mid-December
start of the 30-day sunrise period for .web
Source quote
“We have been communicating to our registrars that the required 30-day sunrise period is planned to begin in mid-December.”
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mid-January
start of a limited registration period (LRP) for .web
Source quote
“In mid-January, we are planning to begin a limited registration period, or LRP, which could run into early April 2027.”
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over the next few weeks
communicating pricing plans to registrars
Source quote
“We're in the process of finalizing pricing, and we'll be communicating our pricing plans to registrars over the next few weeks.”
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full year 2026
revenue guidance
Source quote
“Revenue is now expected to be between $1,755,000,000 and $1,760,000,000.”