VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Announces Earnings Results

05 Feb 2026, 23:36 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%.

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 Up 0.7%

VeriSign stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $242.62. 1,234,602 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 694,631. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign has a twelve month low of $216.43 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.24.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total transaction of $1,240,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,516,353.46. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,497 shares of company stock worth $9,491,845. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $985,063,000 after buying an additional 426,492 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 383,771 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1,596.7% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 211,339 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,035,000 after acquiring an additional 198,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 567.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 209,654 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $58,613,000 after acquiring an additional 178,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

View Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign

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.