VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 24th, 2026

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

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

VeriSign reported a strong Q2 with revenue up 6% to $435 million and diluted EPS up 7.7% to $2.38, while operating income and free cash flow also improved year over year.
The company said the .com and .net base reached 179.1 million names, driven by a record 12.7 million new registrations in the quarter and solid renewal performance. Management raised and narrowed 2026 domain base growth guidance to 5.2% to 6%.
VeriSign increased its share repurchase authorization by $884 million to $1.5 billion and continued its quarterly dividend, including a newly घोषित $0.81 per share cash dividend. The company said it returned more than 100% of free cash flow to shareholders over the last 12 months.
.web was delegated into the root zone, and VeriSign plans to launch it through channel partners later this year. Management said it expects no meaningful revenue or expense impact in 2026, though there may be modest marketing costs and the rollout timing suggests revenue recognition will be gradual.
The company kept full-year 2026 revenue guidance at $1.745 billion to $1.755 billion and operating income guidance at $1.185 billion to $1.195 billion. It also said higher interest expense from recent refinancing and elevated CapEx costs are already reflected in guidance.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $12.98 on Friday, hitting $274.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 548,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,023. The company has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $276.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.75.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total transaction of $67,307.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 1,035.6% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,189,285,000 after acquiring an additional 321,737 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in VeriSign by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,247,000 after acquiring an additional 246,887 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting VeriSign

Here are the key news stories impacting VeriSign this week:

Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on VeriSign to $324 from $318 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels. Benzinga
Positive Sentiment: VeriSign reported Q2 2026 EPS of $2.38, slightly ahead of estimates, with revenue of about $435 million, also above expectations and up 6% year over year. Business Wire
Positive Sentiment: The company said it expects 2026 revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, which suggests continued growth in its core domain registry business. Business Wire
Positive Sentiment: VeriSign highlighted strong domain demand, with DNIB.com reporting 401.6 million domain registrations at the end of Q2, up 2.3% sequentially, reinforcing the health of the market. Business Wire
Positive Sentiment: VeriSign announced that .web has been delegated into the DNS root zone with Verisign as registry operator, a potentially meaningful long-term catalyst if the new domain gains traction. Business Wire
Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings-call transcript and snapshot articles echoed the same story: steady revenue growth, record domain registrations, and management confidence in future domain-base expansion. Seeking Alpha

VeriSign Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.