Verisign Inc.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 5 February 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 raised. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

Fourth-quarter revenue and earnings rose: Revenue was $425 million, up 7.5 percent. Operating income was $285 million against $264 million, and diluted EPS was $2.23 against $2.00. Source
Full-year revenue rose 6.4 percent: Revenue for 2025 was $1.66 billion, up 6.4 percent. Operating income was $1.12 billion against $1.06 billion, and diluted EPS was $8.81 against $8.00. Source
Domain base reached 173.5 million: The .com and .net domain name base ended 2025 at 173.5 million registrations, up 2.6 percent from the end of 2024. Source
New registrations processed rose: The company processed 10.7 million new .com and .net registrations in the fourth quarter, against 9.5 million a year earlier. Source
Renewal rate rose to 75.4 percent: The final third-quarter renewal rate was 75.4 percent, against 72.2 percent in the same quarter of 2024. The release reports renewals for the third quarter. Source
Operating cash flow reached $1,091 million: Cash flow from operations was $290 million in the fourth quarter against $232 million, and $1,091 million for 2025 against $903 million for 2024. Source
Fourth-quarter buybacks of $251 million: The company repurchased 1.0 million shares for $251 million in the fourth quarter, and 3.4 million shares for $859 million across 2025. Source
Quarterly dividend raised 5.2 percent: The Board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.81 per share from $0.77, with payment on February 27, 2026. Source

“In 2025, we extended our track record of providing 100 percent availability for .com and .net domain name resolution to 28 years, saw strong domain growth, and returned over $1.1 billion to our shareholders”
Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

Area	Period	Figure	Against last quarter
Quarterly dividend per share Source	Quarterly dividend payable February 27, 2026	$0.81 per share	Raised from $0.77

What changed from last quarter

Guidance raised: Quarterly dividend raised from $0.77 to $0.81 per share, approved by the Board on February 3, 2026. Source
Ended: The third-quarter release gave Bidzos's title with the President designation; the fourth-quarter release gives the title without it. Source

Fourth quarter and full-year results

Fourth-quarter revenue and earnings rose: Revenue was $425 million, up 7.5 percent. Operating income was $285 million against $264 million, and diluted EPS was $2.23 against $2.00. Source
Full-year revenue rose 6.4 percent: Revenue for 2025 was $1.66 billion, up 6.4 percent. Operating income was $1.12 billion against $1.06 billion, and diluted EPS was $8.81 against $8.00. Source
Diluted share count declined: Diluted shares used for EPS were 92.6 million in the fourth quarter against 95.7 million, and 93.8 million for 2025 against 98.2 million. Source

Domain base and registrations

Domain base reached 173.5 million: The .com and .net domain name base ended 2025 at 173.5 million registrations, up 2.6 percent from the end of 2024. Source
New registrations processed rose: The company processed 10.7 million new .com and .net registrations in the fourth quarter, against 9.5 million a year earlier. Source
Net increase compared with prior quarter: The net increase of 1.58 million registrations in the fourth quarter compares with 1.45 million in the third quarter, as the prior release stated. Source

“Also, today we announced a 5.2% increase in our dividend to $0.81 per share”
Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Renewal rates and reporting timing

Renewal rate rose to 75.4 percent: The final third-quarter renewal rate was 75.4 percent, against 72.2 percent in the same quarter of 2024. The release reports renewals for the third quarter. Source
Third quarter compared with second quarter: The third-quarter renewal rate of 75.4 percent compares with 75.5 percent for the second quarter, as reported in the third-quarter release.
Renewal figures lag the quarter: Renewal rates cannot be fully measured until 45 days after quarter end, so the release reports the prior quarter's rate. Source

Costs and operating income

Every cost line rose in quarter: Cost of revenues, research and development, and SG&A all rose in the fourth quarter. Total costs were $140.5 million against $131.6 million, with SG&A at $65.0 million against $58.3 million. Source
Income tax and net income for 2025: Income tax expense was $242.8 million for 2025 against $236.2 million. Net income was $825.7 million against $785.7 million. Source
Non-operating income fell for 2025: Non-operating income, net was $24.5 million for 2025 against $39.0 million. Interest expense rose to $77.0 million from $75.3 million. Source

Cash flow, debt and balance sheet

Operating cash flow reached $1,091 million: Cash flow from operations was $290 million in the fourth quarter against $232 million, and $1,091 million for 2025 against $903 million for 2024. Source
Cash and securities declined $19 million: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $581 million at year-end, down $19 million from the end of 2024. Source
Senior notes refinanced during 2025: The company repaid $500.0 million of borrowings and received $493.3 million from a senior note issuance, net of issuance costs, during 2025. Source
Deferred revenues rose $80 million: Deferred revenues totaled $1.38 billion at December 31, 2025, up $80 million from year-end 2024. Source

Capital returns to shareholders

Fourth-quarter buybacks of $251 million: The company repurchased 1.0 million shares for $251 million in the fourth quarter, and 3.4 million shares for $859 million across 2025. Source
Buyback authority of $1.08 billion left: $1.08 billion remained for future repurchases at year-end under a program with no expiration date. Source
Quarterly dividend raised 5.2 percent: The Board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.81 per share from $0.77, with payment on February 27, 2026. Source
Dividend payments of $215.2 million: Dividend payments were $215.2 million in 2025. The 2024 column of the cash flow statement shows no dividend payments. Source

Management view of 2025

Resolution availability record extended: Management said .com and .net domain name resolution has been available 100 percent of the time, a track record now extended to 28 years. Source
Shareholder returns cited as a result: Management cited domain growth and more than $1.1 billion returned to shareholders among the year's results. Source
Dividend increase announced with results: Management said the dividend increase was announced on the same day as the results. Source

Coming up, as management said on 5 February 2026

Dividend payable February 27, 2026: The $0.81 quarterly dividend is payable on February 27, 2026, to stockholders of record on February 19, 2026. Source

Figures management reported

Figure	Reported
Domain name base (.com and .net) Source	173.5 million registrations, up 2.6 percent
Net increase in registrations, fourth quarter Source	1.58 million
New domain name registrations processed, fourth quarter Source	10.7 million, against 9.5 million
Final renewal rate, third quarter 2025 Source	75.4 percent, against 72.2 percent
Deferred revenues Source	$1.38 billion

Earlier plans management reported on

Met: Management described a track record of 100 percent availability for .com and .net resolution, now extended to 28 years. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.

As filed with the SEC

Open the filing on EDGAR

Verisign Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results

RESTON, VA - Feb. 5, 2026 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025.

Fourth Quarter Financial Results

VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $425 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, up 7.5 percent from the same quarter in 2024. Operating income was $285 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $264 million for the same quarter of 2024. Verisign reported net income of $206 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $2.23 for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to net income of $191 million and diluted EPS of $2.00 for the same quarter in 2024.

2025 Financial Results

Verisign reported revenue of $1.66 billion for 2025, up 6.4 percent from 2024. Operating income was $1.12 billion for 2025 compared to $1.06 billion in 2024. Verisign reported net income of $826 million and diluted EPS of $8.81 for 2025, compared to net income of $786 million and diluted EPS of $8.00 in 2024.

“In 2025, we extended our track record of providing 100 percent availability for .com and .net domain name resolution to 28 years, saw strong domain growth, and returned over $1.1 billion to our shareholders. Also, today we announced a 5.2% increase in our dividend to $0.81 per share,” said Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Financial Highlights

Verisign ended 2025 with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $581 million, a decrease of $19 million from year-end 2024.
Cash flow from operations was $290 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 and $1,091 million for the full year of 2025 compared with $232 million for the same quarter in 2024 and $903 million for the full year of 2024.
Deferred revenues as of Dec. 31, 2025, totaled $1.38 billion, an increase of $80 million from year-end 2024.
During the fourth quarter of 2025, Verisign repurchased 1.0 million shares of its common stock for $251 million. During the full year of 2025, Verisign repurchased 3.4 million shares of its common stock for $859 million. As of Dec. 31, 2025, there was $1.08 billion remaining for future share repurchases under the share repurchase program, which has no expiration date.
On February 3, 2026, Verisign’s Board of Directors approved a 5.2% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.81 per share of Verisign’s outstanding common stock to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 19, 2026, payable on February 27, 2026.

Business Highlights

Verisign ended the fourth quarter of 2025 with 173.5 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 2.6 percent increase from the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, and a net increase of 1.58 million registrations during the fourth quarter of 2025.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Verisign processed 10.7 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, as compared to 9.5 million for the same quarter in 2024.
The final .com and .net renewal rate for the third quarter of 2025 was 75.4 percent compared to 72.2 percent for the same quarter in 2024. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.

Today’s Conference Call

Verisign will host a live conference call today at 4:30 p.m. (EST) to review the fourth quarter and full year 2025 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.

Forward-looking statements notice

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.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In millions, except par value)

(Unaudited)

	December 31, 2025	December 31, 2024
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$307.9	$206.7
Marketable securities	272.6	393.2
Other current assets	72.0	63.9
Total current assets	652.5	663.8
Property and equipment, net	213.7	224.5
Goodwill	52.5	52.5
Deferred tax assets	233.2	281.3
Deposits to acquire intangible assets	145.2	145.0
Other long-term assets	28.8	39.4
Total long-term assets	673.4	742.7
Total assets	$1,325.9	$1,406.5
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$298.0	$257.8
Deferred revenues	1,035.1	973.5
Current senior notes	-	299.8
Total current liabilities	1,333.1	1,531.1
Long-term deferred revenues	349.4	330.7
Long-term senior notes	1,788.2	1,492.5
Long-term tax and other liabilities	9.4	10.1
Total long-term liabilities	2,147.0	1,833.3
Total liabilities	3,480.1	3,364.4
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: 1,000.0; Issued shares: 355.6 at December 31, 2025 and 355.2 at December 31, 2024; Outstanding shares: 91.9 at December 31, 2025 and 95.0 at December 31, 2024	9,623.5	10,645.3
Accumulated deficit	(11,775.0)	(12,600.7)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(2.7)	(2.5)
Total stockholders’ deficit	(2,154.2)	(1,957.9)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit	$1,325.9	$1,406.5

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In millions, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended December 31,		Year Ended December 31,
	2025	2024	2025	2024
Revenues	$425.3	$395.4	$1,656.6	$1,557.4
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenues	49.0	48.4	196.3	191.4
Research and development	26.5	24.9	103.6	96.7
Selling, general and administrative	65.0	58.3	235.7	211.1
Total costs and expenses	140.5	131.6	535.6	499.2
Operating income	284.8	263.8	1,121.0	1,058.2
Interest expense	(18.9)	(18.8)	(77.0)	(75.3)
Non-operating income, net	5.2	3.1	24.5	39.0
Income before income taxes	271.1	248.1	1,068.5	1,021.9
Income tax expense	(64.9)	(56.6)	(242.8)	(236.2)
Net income	206.2	191.5	825.7	785.7
Other comprehensive (loss) income	-	(0.1)	(0.2)	0.1
Comprehensive income	$206.2	$191.4	$825.5	$785.8
Earnings per share:
Basic	$2.23	$2.00	$8.83	$8.01
Diluted	$2.23	$2.00	$8.81	$8.00
Shares used to compute earnings per share
Basic	92.4	95.6	93.5	98.1
Diluted	92.6	95.7	93.8	98.2

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In millions)

(Unaudited)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2025	2024
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$825.7	$785.7
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment	31.2	36.9
Stock-based compensation expense	69.7	61.1
Amortization of discount on investments in debt securities	(11.6)	(21.1)
Other, net	6.5	3.6
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Other assets	(1.4)	(12.4)
Other liabilities	42.7	(28.9)
Deferred revenues	80.2	58.1
Net deferred income taxes	48.1	19.6
Net cash provided by operating activities	1,091.1	902.6
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from maturities and sales of marketable securities	704.3	1,195.1
Purchases of marketable securities	(572.2)	(880.7)
Purchases of property and equipment	(22.8)	(28.1)
Other investing activities	(0.2)	-
Net cash provided by investing activities	109.1	286.3
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repurchases of common stock	(881.6)	(1,225.6)
Repayment of borrowings	(500.0)	-
Proceeds from senior note issuance, net of issuance costs	493.3	-
Payment of dividends	(215.2)	-
Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan	12.3	12.3
Payment of excise tax on repurchases of common stock	(11.6)	(8.2)
Net cash used in financing activities	(1,102.8)	(1,221.5)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	-	(0.8)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	97.4	(33.4)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period	212.1	245.5
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period	$309.5	$212.1

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