VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) released its earnings results on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

• Verisign reported continued domain strength with the .com/.net base up 2.6% to 173.5 million names, 41.7 million new registrations in 2025 (highest since 2021), and a Q4 preliminary renewal rate of ~75%.
• Financially the company delivered solid results—2025 revenue of $1.66 billion (+6.4%), EPS of $8.81 (+10.1%), free cash flow of $1.07 billion, and returned $1.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and a newly instituted dividend (raised to $0.81/share).
• 2026 guidance calls for revenue of $1.715–1.735 billion and operating income of $1.16–1.18 billion, but expects higher capex ($55–65 million) driven by equipment refresh and AI-related capacity costs, and a GAAP tax rate of 22–25%.
• Management signaled possible new security/functionality services aligned with its DNS stewardship and said it is studying the upcoming ICANN gTLD round; it also reiterated the option to raise .com prices in the April/October timing window but gave no commitment.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $1.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $242.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,234,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,631. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $246.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.12. The stock has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign has a one year low of $216.43 and a one year high of $310.60.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 domain-registration growth — The Domain Name Industry Brief shows total domain registrations rose to 386.9 million at the end of Q4 (up 8.4M, +2.2% QoQ), supporting the company’s recurring registry revenue base and long-term visibility into .com/.net volumes. DNIB domain report
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue slightly beat estimates and margin remains high — Q4 revenue came in at $425.3M versus ~$424.0M consensus, and VeriSign reported a near-50% net margin, underlining strong cash generation from its registry business. That beat helps offset investor concern over the EPS miss. Earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: FY?2026 guidance roughly in line with consensus — Management updated FY?2026 guidance (revenue centered around ~$1.7B), which appears to be consistent with street expectations and so is unlikely to be a major surprise either way. Review the guidance commentary in the call transcript for details. Earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call commentary available — Management’s Q&A and color on trends (domains, pricing, costs, buybacks/capital allocation) are in the transcript and may guide intraday moves as investors parse near-term outlook vs. long-term durability. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss — Reported EPS was $2.23 vs. $2.27 consensus (a $0.04 miss). Even a small miss can create short-term selling pressure, especially among traders focused on beat/miss metrics. Earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 498 shares (~$124k). The trade is small relative to institutional holdings but will be noted by some investors as incremental negative signaling. Insider trade disclosure

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.00.

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 value of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,501,044.20. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,497 shares of company stock worth $9,491,845. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 13.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in VeriSign by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,049,235 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $293,335,000 after buying an additional 44,743 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 35.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 489,134 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $136,747,000 after purchasing an additional 127,299 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About VeriSign

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.