◆ Inside the Latest Quarter (Q2 2026)

VeriSign (VRSN) — the variant view

A record quarter of new registrations, guidance raised, and a top-level domain that took ten years and $135 million to acquire.

📈 VRSN valuation, revenue & earnings — P/E, P/S, revenue, EPS →

VeriSign's second quarter of 2026, reported on 23 July, was the sort of quarter this company almost always has, with one genuinely new item in it.

VeriSign Q2 2026 ($M)$434.6M +6.0%Revenue$296.3MOperating income$216.5MNet income$196.8MShare repurchasesEPS of $2.38 missed a consensus nearer $2.45. Guidance was raised anyway.
A record 12.7 million new registrations, and a top-level domain that took ten years to acquire.

The numbers. Revenue $434.6 million, up 6.0%. Operating income $296.3 million, against $281 million a year earlier. Net income $217 million and diluted EPS $2.38, up from $2.21.1 The EPS figure came in below consensus and the shares gave some ground, which tells you more about the precision with which this business is modelled than about the quarter.

The operating detail is where the interest is. The domain name base ended at 179.1 million .com and .net registrations, up 5.1% year over year and up 3.05 million in three months — after a stretch in 2023 and 2024 when it fell for six consecutive quarters. VeriSign processed a record 12.7 million new registrations, against 10.4 million a year earlier. The final renewal rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 76.3%, against 75.5%. Management raised full-year guidance to $1.745–1.755 billion of revenue and $1.185–1.195 billion of operating income, with the base now expected to grow 5.2% to 6.0%.2

Capital came back, as it always does. VeriSign repurchased 0.7 million shares for $197 million, the board added $884 million to the authorisation to bring it back to $1.50 billion, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 — a payout that only began in the second quarter of 2025. The CEO's phrasing was that the company returned "more than 100% of our free cash flow to the investing public," which is precisely what a business with no capital requirements and no acquisitions to make ought to do. Cash and securities still rose to $1.03 billion, helped by a $550 million issue of 5.10% notes due 2031 used to redeem $550 million of 4.75% notes due 2027 — a refinancing at a higher coupon, which is what the last three years of interest rates did to everyone.

The new item is .web. After a decade of arbitration, .web has been delegated into the root zone with VeriSign as registry operator, and the company expects to offer it through its registrar channel later this year. Management was explicit that it expects no meaningful revenue or expense from .web in 2026. That is the honest framing: the asset arrived, the launch has not.

Nothing in the quarter changes the thesis in either direction. Revenue rose because price rose and the base grew; margin held; shares fell; the contract stayed where it was. The number to keep watching is the renewal rate, because it is the only figure here that measures whether the names already registered are worth keeping.

References
  1. ReportedSecond-quarter 2026 revenue was $435 million (up 6.0%), operating income $296 million, net income $217 million and diluted EPS $2.38; the base ended at 179.1 million registrations up 5.1% and 3.05 million in the quarter, on a record 12.7 million new registrations against 10.4 million, with a first-quarter renewal rate of 76.3% against 75.5%; 0.7 million shares were repurchased for $197 million, $884 million was added to the authorisation to reach $1.50 billion, a $0.81 dividend was declared, cash and securities reached $1.03 billion helped by a $550 million 5.10% note issue redeeming $550 million of 4.75% notes, and .web was delegated with VeriSign as registry operator.
    VeriSign, Inc., Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results — Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, 23 July 2026. Revenue $435 million, up 6.0% year over year; operating income $296 million against $281 million; net income $217 million and diluted EPS $2.38 against $207 million and $2.21. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities $1.03 billion, up $454 million from year-end 2025; deferred revenues $1.45 billion at 30 June 2026, up $64 million from year-end. Cash flow from operations $232 million. On 26 June 2026 VeriSign issued $550 million of 5.10% Senior Notes due 2031 and on 20 July 2026 used the proceeds with cash on hand to redeem $550 million of 4.75% Senior Notes due 2027. 0.7 million shares repurchased for $197 million; an additional $884 million authorised effective 23 July 2026 bringing the total authorisation to $1.50 billion; a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share declared on 20 July 2026. The domain name base ended at 179.1 million .com and .net registrations, a 5.1% increase year over year and a net increase of 3.05 million in the quarter; a record 12.7 million new registrations were processed against 10.4 million; the final first-quarter 2026 renewal rate was 76.3% against 75.5%. CEO Jim Bidzos: the record of 100% availability for the .com and .net domain name resolution system was extended to 29 years, and more than 100% of free cash flow was returned to the investing public through dividends and share repurchases. The .web top-level domain has been delegated into the DNS root zone with VeriSign as the designated registry operator. — Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-07-23 · source ↗
  2. ReportedFull-year 2026 guidance was raised to $1.745–1.755 billion of revenue and $1.185–1.195 billion of operating income, with the domain name base expected to grow 5.2% to 6.0% and no meaningful .web revenue or expense in 2026.
    VeriSign, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (SEC, CIK 1014473). Revenues $434.6M for the quarter and $863.5M for the six months, each up 6%; operating income $296.3M and $589.9M, up 6% and 7%. Net income $216.5M and $431.0M; diluted EPS $2.38 and $4.71 on 91.1 and 91.4 million diluted shares. Total assets $1,802.8M; deferred revenues $1,084.8M current and $364.1M long-term; current senior notes $549.3M and long-term senior notes $1,785.1M. Net cash provided by operating activities $504.0M for the six months against $493.8M; deferred revenues increased $64.5M. 90,300,000 shares of common stock were outstanding at 17 July 2026. The domain name base was 179.1 million at 30 June 2026, up 5.1%; 12.7 million new registrations were processed in the quarter; the final first-quarter 2026 renewal rate was 76.3%. $666.0 million remained for repurchases at 30 June 2026 before an additional $884.2 million was authorised effective 23 July 2026. — Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-07-23 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026