AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 4/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat63
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 3/4 · Sole .com registry rights through November 2030 establish a strong current contractual barrier. Registrars register the domains with VeriSign; the advantage is supported by disclosed rights rather than inferred from profitability.
durability · 2/4 · The renewed agreement provides a defined multiyear runway, but the passages do not establish rights beyond 2030. Regulatory constraints and substitute online identities limit demonstrated longer-term durability.
customer dependency · 3/4 · Registrars depend on VeriSign to register domains in its registries, and renewal rates improved alongside a 179.1 million registration base. This demonstrates recurring demand and registry dependence, but does not quantify end-user migration costs or renewal rates.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Registrations, renewals and customer receipts improved despite competing TLDs and alternative online identities. That supports current resilience, while marketing contributions and untested technological substitution leave longer-term resistance mixed.
Pricing power69
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 3/4 · The September 2024 wholesale fee increase was implemented, and subsequent disclosures attribute increased revenue and customer receipts partly to .com price increases. Promotional discounts prevent equating headline fees with realized net prices. The announced November 2026 increase is excluded from realized outcomes.
retention · 3/4 · Higher renewal rates in 2025 and 2026 demonstrate improving repeat demand alongside prior price increases. No numerical renewal rates or cohort data are supplied; total registration growth also includes new customers.
margin resilience · 3/4 · Operating income increased from $1,000.6 million in 2023 to $1,121.0 million in 2025, and first-half 2026 operating income grew faster than revenue. Operating profitability remained broadly stable across the supplied periods. This supports resilience without establishing the moat by itself or isolating pricing from other cost effects.
contractual freedom · 2/4 · The agreement permits increases of up to 7% in four years of each six-year period, providing meaningful but bounded discretion. Restrictions also cover bundling, marketing, distribution and new registry services.
Predictability99
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 100.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 1.21
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 3.57
Financial strength—
Missing required inputs: debtFcfGrade, netDebtEbitGrade. Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- interestCoverageGrade
- 100.00
- currentRatioGrade
- 0.00
- Interest coverage (x)
- 14.56
- Current ratio (x)
- 0.49
Capital allocation—
Missing required inputs: operatingReturn. Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -4.66
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 4.04
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management69
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Operating cash generation increased over 2023–2025, and diluted shares declined. However, first-half 2026 repurchases and dividends totaled $574.6 million against $504.0 million operating cash flow and $26.0 million capital expenditure. Debt refinancing was completed, but buyback value creation and returns on committed capital are not established.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Actual February 2026 CEO PSU vesting was reduced to 64% of target after operating-income growth missed its target, demonstrating that compensation responded to performance. A stock retention policy supplies further alignment. Ownership amounts and the effectiveness of the full compensation package are not established.
execution · 3/4 · Revenue, operating income, registrations and renewal trends improved, and the .com agreement was renewed. These operating outcomes support strong execution, although operating-income growth missed the PSU target. The .web delegation is a completed milestone rather than evidence of commercial returns; comparative service reliability is unavailable.
governance · 3/4 · An approximately 86% independent board, independent key committees, one-share-one-vote rights and a 10% special-meeting threshold demonstrate substantial governance safeguards. Combined chairman and CEO roles constrain the assessment; disclosed structures do not establish exceptional oversight outcomes.
Evidence
In November 2024, we renewed the .com Registry Agreement with ICANN, pursuant to which we will remain the sole registry operator for the .com registry through November 30, 2030.
MD&A / .com Registry Agreement renewal and sole operator term · Filed 23/07/2026
Individual customers, called registrants, contract directly with registrars or their resellers, and the registrars, who are our direct customers, in turn register the domain names with Verisign.
MD&A / registrant, registrar and registry relationships · Filed 23/07/2026
Under the .com Registry Agreement, we are permitted to increase the price of a .com domain name registration by up to 7% in each of the final four years of each six-year period.
MD&A / permitted .com wholesale price increases · Filed 23/07/2026
We increased the annual registry-level wholesale fee for each new and 14 Table of Contents renewal .com domain name registration from $9.59 to $10.26 effective September 1, 2024.
MD&A / September 2024 realized .com wholesale fee increase · Filed 23/07/2026
A comparison of revenues is presented below: Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 % Change 2025 2026 % Change 2025 (Dollars in millions) Revenues $ 434.6 6% $ 409.9 $ 863.5 6% $ 812.2 The following table compares the .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base: June 30, 2026 % Change June 30, 2025 .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base 179.1 million 5% 170.5 million Revenues increased during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, as compared to the same periods last year, primarily due to an increase in the domain name base as of June 30, 2026 compared to June 30, 2025 and the .com price increases.
MD&A / revenue and domain registration base comparison · Filed 23/07/2026
Our domain name base increased during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 compared to June 30, 2025, as the positive domain name base trends that began in 2025 continued into 2026 with higher new registrations and renewal rates.
MD&A / higher new registrations and renewal rates · Filed 23/07/2026
Cash received from customers increased primarily due to the .com price increases and higher .com domain name registrations and renewals.
Liquidity and Capital Resources / customer cash receipts · Filed 23/07/2026
Under our agreements with ICANN, we are subject to certain restrictions in the operation of .com, .net and .name on pricing, bundling, marketing, methods of distribution, introduction of new registry services, and use of registrars, that do not apply to ccTLDs and other gTLDs and therefore may create a competitive disadvantage.
Business / competition and contractual operating restrictions · Filed 05/02/2026
We also offer promotional incentive-based discount programs to registrars based upon market conditions and the business environment in which the registrars operate.
MD&A / registrar promotional discount programs · Filed 23/07/2026
However, the demand for .com and .net domain names may be limited by competitive pressure from other TLDs and alternatives for an online presence.
MD&A / competing TLDs and alternatives for an online presence · Filed 23/07/2026
Similarly, if internet users’ preferences or practices shift away from recognizing and relying on web addresses or if internet users were to significantly decrease the use of web browsers in favor of applications to locate and access content, demand for domain names in the gTLDs we operate could be negatively impacted.
Risk Factors / potential shifts away from web addresses and browsers · Filed 05/02/2026
On April 23, 2026, we announced that we will increase the annual registry-level wholesale fee for each new and renewal .com domain name registration from $10.26 to $10.97 effective November 1, 2026.
MD&A / announced November 2026 wholesale fee increase · Filed 23/07/2026
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (In millions, except per share data) Year Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 Revenues $ 1,656.6 $ 1,557.4 $ 1,493.1 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenues 196.3 191.4 197.3 Research and development 103.6 96.7 91.0 Selling, general and administrative 235.7 211.1 204.2 Total costs and expenses 535.6 499.2 492.5 Operating income 1,121.0 1,058.2 1,000.6 Interest expense (77.0) (75.3) (75.3) Non-operating income, net 24.5 39.0 51.2 Income before income taxes 1,068.5 1,021.9 976.5 Income tax expense (242.8) (236.2) (158.9) Net income 825.7 785.7 817.6 Other comprehensive (loss) income (0.2) 0.1 0.1 Comprehensive income $ 825.5 $ 785.8 $ 817.7 Earnings per share: Basic $ 8.83 $ 8.01 $ 7.91 Diluted $ 8.81 $ 8.00 $ 7.90 Shares used to compute earnings per share Basic 93.5 98.1 103.4 Diluted 93.8 98.2 103.5 See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income / 2023–2025 results · Filed 05/02/2026
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (In millions, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Revenues $ 434.6 $ 409.9 $ 863.5 $ 812.2 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenues 50.0 49.1 99.2 98.5 Research and development 27.5 25.7 55.0 51.7 Selling, general and administrative 60.8 54.4 119.4 110.1 Total costs and expenses 138.3 129.2 273.6 260.3 Operating income 296.3 280.7 589.9 551.9 Interest expense (19.2) (18.9) (38.1) (39.2) Non-operating income, net 4.5 5.5 9.2 13.0 Income before income taxes 281.6 267.3 561.0 525.7 Income tax expense (65.1) (59.9) (130.0) (119.0) Net income 216.5 207.4 431.0 406.7 Other comprehensive loss — — (0.1) (0.3) Comprehensive income $ 216.5 $ 207.4 $ 430.9 $ 406.4 Earnings per share: Basic $ 2.38 $ 2.21 $ 4.73 $ 4.32 Diluted $ 2.38 $ 2.21 $ 4.71 $ 4.31 Shares used to compute earnings per share Basic 90.8 93.8 91.2 94.2 Diluted 91.1 94.0 91.4 94.4 See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income / June 2026 results · Filed 23/07/2026
5 Table of Contents VERISIGN, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In millions) (Unaudited) Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 431.0 $ 406.7 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation of property and equipment 13.0 17.2 Stock-based compensation expense 38.5 33.4 Other, net (1.7) (3.4) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Other assets (19.7) (19.9) Other liabilities (31.8) (24.8) Deferred revenues 64.5 75.5 Net deferred income taxes 10.2 9.1 Net cash provided by operating activities 504.0 493.8 Cash flows from investing activities: Proceeds from maturities and sales of marketable securities 274.2 396.8 Purchases of marketable securities (192.2) (278.6) Purchases of property and equipment (26.0) (13.6) Net cash provided by investing activities 56.0 104.6 Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from senior note issuance, net of issuance costs 546.4 493.3 Repurchases of common stock (426.8) (408.5) Payment of dividends (147.8) (72.1) Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan 8.5 7.9 Payment of excise tax on repurchase of common stock (7.9) (11.6) Repayment of borrowings — (500.0) Net cash used in financing activities (27.6) (491.0) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 0.6 0.1 Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 533.0 107.5 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period 309.5 212.1 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period $ 842.5 $ 319.6 Supplemental cash flow disclosures: Cash paid for interest $ 36.4 $ 42.3 Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received $ 125.5 $ 149.4 See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows / first-half 2026 spending and financing · Filed 23/07/2026
On July 20, 2026, the Company used the net proceeds from the 2026 Notes and cash on hand to redeem all of its 2017 Notes.
Note 4 / completed July 2026 debt redemption · Filed 23/07/2026
Note 6. Calculation of Earnings per Share The following table presents the computation of weighted-average shares used in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share: Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 (In millions) Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding 90.8 93.8 91.2 94.2 Weighted-average potential shares of common stock outstanding: Unvested RSUs and ESPP 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 Shares used to compute diluted earnings per share 91.1 94.0 91.4 94.4 The calculation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding excludes performance-based RSUs granted by the Company for which the relevant performance criteria have not been achieved and any awards that are antidilutive.
Note 6 / weighted-average shares and performance-based award treatment · Filed 23/07/2026
The CAGR of operating income for the performance period was 5.9% compared to the target of 8.8%.
Executive Compensation / operating-income growth versus PSU target · Filed 10/04/2026
James Bidzos 28,186 64% 18,039 John D.
Executive Compensation / CEO PSUs actually earned and vested in February 2026 · Filed 10/04/2026
Stock Retention Policy •Directors and executives are subject to a stock retention policy.
Governance highlights / director and executive stock retention policy · Filed 10/04/2026
Independent directors thus compose approximately 86% of the Board, well above the majority required by Nasdaq.
Independent chair proposal discussion / independent director proportion · Filed 10/04/2026
Board Committees •We have an Audit Committee, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Compensation Committee, each of which is composed entirely of independent directors.
Governance highlights / independent board committees · Filed 10/04/2026
•Stockholders owning together at least 10% of outstanding common stock may call a special meeting of stockholders.
Governance highlights / stockholder special meeting rights · Filed 10/04/2026
One Share, One Vote •Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote.
Governance highlights / one share, one vote · Filed 10/04/2026
Sincerely, /s/ D. James Bidzos D. James Bidzos Chairman of the Board of Directors, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Table of Contents Notice of 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders The 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) will be held for the following purposes: Date and Time May 21, 2026 (Thursday) 10:00 a.m.
Proxy letter / combined chairman and CEO roles · Filed 10/04/2026
•On July 22, 2026, we announced that the .web TLD has been delegated into the global DNS root zone, with Verisign as the designated registry operator.
Business Highlights / .web delegation announcement · Filed 23/07/2026
Growth in the domain name base has been positively impacted by continued registrar focus on customer acquisition and engagement with our marketing programs, as well as the evolution of AI tools used in content and website creation.
MD&A / marketing engagement and AI tools contributing to registration growth · Filed 23/07/2026
30 Table of Contents In summary, our cash flows were as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 (In millions) Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,091.1 $ 902.6 $ 853.8 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 109.1 286.3 (97.4) Net cash used in financing activities (1,102.8) (1,221.5) (889.8) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash — (0.8) (0.1) Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 97.4 $ (33.4) $ (133.5) Cash flows from operating activities Our largest source of operating cash flows is cash collections from our customers.
Liquidity and Capital Resources / 2023–2025 operating cash flow · Filed 05/02/2026
