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Introduction & Market Context
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) presented its third-quarter 2025 earnings results on October 23, 2025, showcasing solid growth in its domain name business and raising its full-year guidance. Despite beating analyst expectations with earnings per share of $2.27 versus the forecasted $2.25, the stock experienced a slight decline of 0.54% in after-hours trading, closing at $251.50.
The company, valued at approximately $23.36 billion, continues to maintain its position as the authoritative registry for .com and .net domain names while emphasizing its mission to "enable the world to connect online with reliability and confidence, anytime, anywhere."
Quarterly Performance Highlights
VeriSign reported revenue of $419 million for Q3 2025, representing a 7.3% increase year-over-year, exceeding analyst expectations of $416.58 million. Operating income reached $284 million, up 5.6% from the same period last year, while earnings per share came in at $2.27.
The company generated strong cash flow with operating cash flow of $308 million and free cash flow of $303 million for the quarter. These results reflect VeriSign’s continued focus on operational efficiency and its critical internet infrastructure services.
As shown in the following chart of financial performance:
Domain Name Base and Registration Trends
VeriSign’s domain name base grew to 171.9 million names by the end of Q3 2025, representing a 1.4% year-over-year increase. The net change was positive 1.4 million names quarter-over-quarter. The domain base consists of 159.4 million .com names and 12.5 million .net names.
This steady growth in the domain name base is visualized in the following chart:
New name registrations showed significant strength, reaching 10.6 million during the quarter, a substantial 14.3% increase from the 9.3 million registered in Q3 2024. The preliminary renewal rate was 75.3%, slightly down from 75.5% in Q2 2025 but notably improved from 72.2% in Q3 2024. The company also noted that Q4 expiring names total 36.2 million, compared to 36.5 million in Q4 2024.
The following chart illustrates these registration and renewal trends:
During the earnings call, CEO Jim Bidzos attributed some of this growth to artificial intelligence, stating, "AI is having a positive impact on registrations as well as on the utilization of our DNS resolution services," according to the earnings article.
Financial Results
VeriSign’s financial performance remained strong across key metrics. The company’s revenue growth of 7.3% year-over-year to $419 million and operating income increase of 5.6% to $284 million demonstrate continued momentum in its core business.
The company maintains impressive gross profit margins of 87.88%, reflecting the scalability and efficiency of its business model. Net income for the quarter was $213 million, an increase from $207 million in the previous quarter.
Capital Allocation Strategy
VeriSign continued its shareholder return program through both share repurchases and dividends. During Q3 2025, the company repurchased 0.8 million shares for $215 million and paid $72 million in dividends. In total, VeriSign returned $1,012 million to shareholders over the trailing twelve months.
The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.77 per share, payable on November 25, 2025, to shareholders of record as of November 18, 2025. This represents a continuation of the dividend program initiated in Q2 2025.
The following chart shows VeriSign’s capital allocation trends:
As of the end of Q3 2025, VeriSign had $618 million in cash and investments on its balance sheet and $1,328 million remaining in its share repurchase authorization.
Updated Guidance and Outlook
Based on the strong performance in Q3, VeriSign raised its full-year 2025 guidance. The company now expects domain base growth of 2.2% to 2.5%, up from the previous guidance of 1.2% to 2.0%. Revenue guidance was increased to $1.652 billion to $1.657 billion, compared to the previous range of $1.645 billion to $1.655 billion.
Operating income is now expected to be between $1.119 billion and $1.124 billion, slightly adjusted from the previous range of $1.117 billion to $1.127 billion. The company maintained its guidance for interest expense ($50 million to $60 million), capital expenditures ($25 million to $35 million), and effective tax rate (21% to 24%).
The updated guidance is presented in the following chart:
Looking ahead, VeriSign is preparing for ICANN’s new gTLD round in Q2 2026, which could present both opportunities and challenges for the company’s strategic growth. The company continues to focus on its strategic framework of "Protect, Grow, Manage" to create and maintain value for shareholders.
Despite the positive results and raised guidance, investors should note potential risks including the impact of Google’s AdSense changes on domain monetization, slower growth in the Asia Pacific region, and increased operational expenses, which rose to $135 million from $129 million in the previous quarter.
Full presentation:
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