Verisign (VRSN)

Information Technology · $27.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0001014473

Next reports on Feb 3, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $2.50 in earnings per share.

52-week range $208.86 to $324.63. 4% below its 52-week high and 49% above its low.

The case for VRSN

• Generated $1.1B of free cash flow in FY2025, 64% of revenue.
• 49% of revenue drops through to net profit.
• Earns 60% a year on everything it owns (return on assets).
• Gross margin of 89% absorbs cost shocks.
• Moves less than the market (beta 0.66).
• Pays a modest 1.1% dividend.

The case against

• Expensive for its growth: 32.3× earnings, where 5% a year of growth plus a 1.1% dividend would justify about 18×.
• Priced at 15.9× sales, which leaves no room for a stumble.
• Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is −$2.2B, usually the result of buybacks funded with debt. ROE and price-to-book mean little here.
• Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.42).
• Revenue growth of +6.5% is slower than 88% of Information Technology companies.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Information Technology companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Shareholder equity is negative, so return on equity, price-to-book and debt-to-equity are left out.
• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 73 Information Technology companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Verisign's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Verisign says it does

Overview We are a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, enabling internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. We help enable the security, stability, and resiliency of the Domain Name System (“DNS”) and the internet by providing Root Zone Maintainer services, operating two of the thirteen global internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the . com and . net top-level domains (“TLDs”), which support the majority of global e-commerce. We were incorporated in Delaware on April 12, 1995. Our principal executive offices are located at 12061 Bluemont Way, Reston, Virginia 20190. Our telephone number at that address is (703) 948-3200. Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol VRSN. VERISIGN, the VERISIGN logo, and certain other product or service names are registered or…

Risk factors VRSN lists in its 10-K

• Cybersecurity and Technology Risk Factors
• We may introduce undetected or unknown defects into our systems or services, which could materially harm our business and harm our vendors or our customers
• We could encounter system interruptions or system failures resulting from activities beyond our direct control that could materially harm our business
• We face risks from the operation of the root server system and our performance of the Root Zone Maintainer functions under the RZMA
• Contractual, Regulatory, Legal and Compliance Risk Factors
• Any loss or modification of our right to operate the
• gTLDs could have a material adverse impact on our business and result in loss of revenues
• Changes or challenges to the pricing provisions in the
• Registry Agreement could have a material adverse impact on our business
• New laws, regulations, directives or ICANN policies that require us to obtain and maintain personal information of registrants of domain names in the
• gTLDs could impose material compliance costs and could create new, material legal and other risks to our business
• Our international operations expose us and our business to additional economic, legal, regulatory and political risks that could have a material adverse impact on our revenues and business
• Changes in, or interpretations of, tax rules and regulations or our tax positions may materially and adversely affect our income taxes
• Our business faces risks arising from ICANN’s consensus and temporary policies, technical standards and other processes
• the multi-stakeholder form of internet governance could materially and adversely impact our business
• Claims, lawsuits, audits or investigations in which we are or could become involved may result in material adverse outcomes to our business
• Economic and Competition Risk Factors
• Challenging global economic conditions have in the past and may in the future negatively impact our business
• The business environment is highly competitive and, if we do not compete effectively, we may suffer material adverse impact to our business, including lower demand for our products, reduced gross margins, and loss of market share
• Strategic, Business and Operating Risk Factors
• If we fail to expand our services into developing and emerging economies in international locations, our business may not grow
• Our business depends on registrars and their resellers maintaining focus on marketing our products and services
• We depend on highly skilled employees to maintain and provide innovative solutions for our business, and our business could be materially harmed if we are not able to attract and retain such qualified talent
• We may not pay any dividends on our common stock in the future
• We rely on our intellectual property rights to protect our proprietary assets, and any failure by us to protect or enforce, or any misappropriation of, our intellectual property could materially harm our business
• Short sellers have in the past, and may in the future, engage in efforts to lower the market price of our common stock through the dissemination of false or misleading information

Filings

Other Information Technology companies