Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

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cash equivalents financial

Cash equivalents are short-term, highly safe investments that a company can quickly turn into cash, such as Treasury bills, money-market accounts or very short-term bank deposits. Think of them like a spare set of ready cash in a high-quality savings jar that can be tapped immediately. Investors watch this balance because it shows how easily a company can cover bills, weather shocks, or seize sudden opportunities without selling long-term assets.

marketable securities financial

Marketable securities are financial assets — such as publicly traded stocks, bonds, and short-term government bills — that a company can quickly sell for cash at a known price. Investors watch them because they show how much ready cash a company can access without selling core operations, like keeping money in a highly liquid savings account versus being tied up in a house, and they affect short-term risk, financial flexibility, and balance-sheet strength.

cash flow from operations financial

Cash flow from operations is the money a company actually generates from its core business activities—sales, services and day-to-day operations—after paying routine costs like wages and suppliers. Investors watch it like a company’s operating “paycheck” because it shows whether the business can fund growth, pay debts and return cash to shareholders without relying on loans or one-time asset sales; steady positive cash flow is a sign of financial health.

deferred revenues financial

Deferred revenues are cash a company has received up front for goods or services it has not yet delivered; the company records this as a promise to fulfill an obligation later rather than as current earned sales. Investors care because deferred revenues show how much future work a firm must complete before that cash counts as profit, similar to buying a prepaid subscription or gift card that the seller still needs to honor.

dividend financial

A dividend is a payment that a company gives to its shareholders, usually from its profits. It’s like a bonus or reward for owning the company's stock, and it can provide a steady income stream for investors. Companies pay dividends to share their success with the people who own their stock.

renewal rate financial

Renewal rate measures the percentage of customers, subscriptions, or contracts that are renewed over a given period, showing how many existing buyers continue paying or extend their agreement instead of leaving. It matters to investors because a high renewal rate signals predictable, repeatable revenue and lower marketing costs—like a neighborhood store with loyal regulars—while a low rate warns of customer churn and greater risk to future income.

04/23/2026 - 04:05 PM

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2026.

VeriSign, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $429 million for the first quarter of 2026, up 6.6 percent from the same quarter in 2025. Operating income was $294 million for the first quarter of 2026, compared to $271 million for the same quarter of 2025. Verisign reported net income of $215 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $2.34 for the first quarter of 2026, compared to net income of $199 million and diluted EPS of $2.10 for the same quarter of 2025.

“Through the first quarter of 2026 we continued to execute on our primary mission, extending into its 29th year our unparalleled record of providing 100% availability of our resolution service for the .com/.net domains. For the quarter, we delivered both steady growth in registrations and solid financial results,” said Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Financial Highlights

Verisign ended the first quarter of 2026 with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $556 million, a decrease of $24 million from year-end 2025.
Cash flow from operations was $272 million for the first quarter of 2026, compared to $291 million for the same quarter of 2025.
Deferred revenues as of March 31, 2026 totaled $1.43 billion, an increase of $45 million from year-end 2025.
During the first quarter of 2026, Verisign repurchased 0.9 million shares of its common stock for $214 million. As of March 31, 2026, there was $863 million remaining for future share repurchases under the share repurchase program, which has no expiration.
On April 20, 2026, Verisign’s Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.81 per share of Verisign’s outstanding common stock to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 19, 2026, payable on May 27, 2026.

Business Highlights

Verisign ended the first quarter of 2026 with 176.1 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 3.7 percent increase from the end of the first quarter of 2025, and a net increase of 2.54 million domain names during the first quarter of 2026.
During the first quarter of 2026, Verisign processed 11.5 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, compared with 10.1 million for the first quarter of 2025.
The final .com and .net renewal rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 75.0 percent compared to 74.0 percent for the same quarter of 2024. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.
Verisign announces that it will increase the annual registry-level wholesale fee for each new and renewal .com domain name registration from $10.26 to $10.97 effective Nov. 1, 2026.

Today’s Conference Call

Verisign will host a live conference call today at 4:30 p.m. (EDT) to review the first quarter 2026 results. The call will be accessible by direct dial at (888) 676-VRSN (U.S.) or (646) 769-9200 (international), conference ID: Verisign. A listen-only live web cast of the conference call and accompanying slide presentation will also be available at https://investor.verisign.com. An audio archive of the call will be available at https://investor.verisign.com/events.cfm. This news release and the financial information discussed on today’s conference call are available at https://investor.verisign.com.

About Verisign

Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, enables internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. Verisign helps enable the security, stability, and resiliency of the Domain Name System and the internet by providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net top-level domains, which support the majority of global e-commerce. To learn more please visit verisign.com.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, attempted security breaches, cyber-attacks, and DDoS attacks against our systems and services; the introduction of undetected or unknown defects in our systems or services; vulnerabilities in the global routing system; system interruptions or system failures; damage or interruptions to our data centers, data center systems or resolution systems; risks arising from our operation of root servers and our performance of the Root Zone Maintainer functions; any loss or modification of our right to operate the .com and .net gTLDs; changes or challenges to the pricing provisions of the .com Registry Agreement; new or existing governmental laws and regulations in the U.S. or other applicable non-U.S. jurisdictions; new laws, regulations, directives or ICANN policies that require us to obtain and maintain personal information of registrants; economic, legal, regulatory, and political risks associated with our international operations; unfavorable changes in, or interpretations of, tax rules and regulations; risks from the implementation of ICANN’s consensus and temporary policies, technical standards and other processes; the weakening of, or changes to, the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance; the outcome of claims, lawsuits, audits or investigations; challenging economic conditions; our ability to compete in the highly competitive business environment in which we operate; changes in internet practices and behavior and the adoption of substitute technologies, or the negative impact of wholesale price increases; our ability to expand our services into developing and emerging economies; our ability to maintain strong relationships with registrars and their resellers; our ability to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled employees; the continuity of our quarterly dividend; our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; challenges from the use of AI technology by third-parties or us; and the impact on our stock price from the dissemination of false or misleading information by unrelated third parties. More information about potential factors that could affect our business and financial results is included in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Verisign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this announcement.

©2026 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved. VERISIGN, the VERISIGN logo, and other trademarks, service marks, and designs are registered or unregistered trademarks of VeriSign, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and in foreign countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

VERISIGN, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In millions, except par value) (Unaudited)
	March 31, 2026			December 31, 2025
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	476.7		$	307.9
Marketable securities		79.7			272.6
Other current assets		69.6			72.0
Total current assets		626.0			652.5
Property and equipment, net		214.2			213.7
Goodwill		52.5			52.5
Deferred tax assets		227.9			233.2
Deposits to acquire intangible assets		145.2			145.2
Other long-term assets		31.4			28.8
Total long-term assets		671.2			673.4
Total assets	$	1,297.2		$	1,325.9
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	283.9		$	298.0
Deferred revenues		1,071.2			1,035.1
Total current liabilities		1,355.1			1,333.1
Long-term deferred revenues		358.2			349.4
Long-term senior notes		1,788.8			1,788.2
Long-term tax and other liabilities		8.5			9.4
Total long-term liabilities		2,155.5			2,147.0
Total liabilities		3,510.6			3,480.1
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ deficit:
Preferred stock—par value $.001 per share; Authorized shares: 5.0; Issued and outstanding shares: none		—			—
Common stock and additional paid-in capital—par value $.001 per share; Authorized shares: 1,000; Issued shares: 355.8 at March 31, 2026 and 355.6 at December 31, 2025; Outstanding shares: 91.1 at March 31, 2026 and 91.9 at December 31, 2025		9,349.9			9,623.5
Accumulated deficit		(11,560.5	)		(11,775.0	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(2.8	)		(2.7	)
Total stockholders’ deficit		(2,213.4	)		(2,154.2	)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	$	1,297.2		$	1,325.9

VERISIGN, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (In millions, except per share data) (Unaudited)
	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2026			2025
Revenues	$	428.9		$	402.3
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenues		49.2			49.4
Research and development		27.5			26.0
Selling, general and administrative		58.6			55.7
Total costs and expenses		135.3			131.1
Operating income		293.6			271.2
Interest expense		(18.9	)		(20.3	)
Non-operating income, net		4.7			7.5
Income before income taxes		279.4			258.4
Income tax expense		(64.9	)		(59.1	)
Net income		214.5			199.3
Other comprehensive loss		(0.1	)		(0.3	)
Comprehensive income	$	214.4		$	199.0

Earnings per share:
Basic	$	2.34		$	2.11
Diluted	$	2.34		$	2.10
Shares used to compute earnings per share
Basic		91.6			94.6
Diluted		91.8			94.8

VERISIGN, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In millions) (Unaudited)
	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2026			2025
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	214.5		$	199.3
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment		6.4			8.9
Stock-based compensation expense		19.1			17.5
Amortization of discount on investments in debt securities		(1.6	)		(3.6	)
Other, net		0.4			1.1
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Other assets		(0.4	)		0.2
Other liabilities		(16.2	)		6.6
Deferred revenues		44.9			57.2
Net deferred income taxes		5.3			4.1
Net cash provided by operating activities		272.4			291.3
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from maturities and sales of marketable securities		273.8			358.6
Purchases of marketable securities		(79.4	)		(35.2	)
Purchases of property and equipment		(7.2	)		(5.8	)
Net cash provided by investing activities		187.2			317.6
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repurchases of common stock		(225.4	)		(241.7	)
Payment of dividends		(74.2	)		—
Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan		8.5			7.9
Repayment of borrowings		—			(500.0	)
Proceeds from senior note issuance, net of issuance costs		—			493.9
Net cash used in financing activities		(291.1	)		(239.9	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash		0.3			(0.3	)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash		168.8			368.7
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period		309.5			212.1
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period	$	478.3		$	580.8
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Cash paid for interest	$	13.1		$	26.2
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received	$	28.7		$	20.0

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260423135311/en/

Investor Relations: David Atchley, datchley@verisign.com, 703-948-3447
Media Relations: David McGuire, davmcguire@verisign.com, 703-948-3800

Source: VeriSign, Inc.

Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

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