VeriSign, Inc. · VRSN · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026

VeriSign Q2 2026: Record Registrations, Raised Guidance, .web TLD Delegated

VeriSign delivered a strong Q2 2026, with revenue of $434.6 million (up 6% YoY) and EPS of $2.38 (up 7.7% YoY), powered by a record 12.7 million new .com and .net registrations — the highest quarterly total in company history. The domain name base reached 179.1 million. Management raised full-year guidance for both domain base growth (to 5.2–6%) and revenue ($1.745–$1.755 billion), and announced the delegation of the .web gTLD into the DNS root zone with a launch expected late 2026 or early 2027. The board expanded the share repurchase program by $884 million to $1.5 billion total and increased the quarterly dividend to $0.81 per share. The stock reacted strongly, gaining 7.0% on the next session with 2.8x normal volume, followed by an additional 2.5% drift higher.

Reported After market closeNASDAQTechnology $26.30B market cap
100quality score

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

VeriSign, Inc., along with its affiliates, provides fundamental internet infrastructure and domain name registration services, which enable global web navigation across numerous recognized online addresses. The company plays a crucial role in upholding the security, stability, and resilience of internet systems and services. This includes its function as the root zone maintainer, operating two of the thirteen internet root servers globally, and delivering essential registration and authoritative lookup services for the widely used .com and .net domains, which are vital for worldwide online commerce. Beyond these, VeriSign also manages the underlying technical systems for several other top-level domains, such as .cc, .gov, .edu, and .name. Its operational scope further encompasses distributed server management, network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and ensuring data integrity. Established in 1995, VeriSign, Inc. maintains its corporate headquarters in Reston, Virginia.

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $2.38 Consensus $2
EPS surprise -1.7% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $434.6M Consensus $433.2M
Revenue surprise +0.3% Reported versus consensus

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
VRSN EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $1.86 Q1 '24 actual $1.92, beat Q2 '24 estimate $1.93 Q2 '24 actual $2.01, beat Q3 '24 estimate $2.01 Q3 '24 actual $2.07, beat Q2 '25 estimate $2.20 Q2 '25 actual $2.21, match Q3 '25 estimate $2.25 Q3 '25 actual $2.27, beat Q4 '25 estimate $2.35 Q4 '25 actual $2.23, miss Q1 '26 estimate $2.30 Q1 '26 actual $2.34, beat Q2 '26 estimate $2.42 Q2 '26 actual $2.38, miss Q3 '26 estimate $2.46 Q4 '26 estimate $2.51 Q1 '27 estimate $2.65 Q2 '27 estimate $2.75
Show 1 more >

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy15 ratings
Bullish960.0%
Neutral533.3%
Bearish16.7%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$286.58Current
$215Low
$277.4Average
$355High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Wedbush Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 24, 2026
JP Morgan Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 24, 2026
Citigroup Buy BuyMaintainApr 24, 2026
Baird Outperform OutperformMaintainApr 24, 2026
CFRA Hold HoldMaintainApr 27, 2020
B. Riley FBR Buy NeutralUpgradeMay 5, 2018
Cowen & Co. Hold HoldMaintainOct 2, 2015
Credit Suisse Underperform NeutralDowngradeJan 26, 2015
Show 7 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $286.58. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
WedbushAnalyst unavailable$324$261.58 +13.1%Jul 24, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$355$276.95 +23.9%Apr 24, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$325$233.01 +13.4%Oct 24, 2025
Robert W. BairdRob Oliver$250$191.14 -12.8%Dec 9, 2024
CitigroupYgal Arounian$215$190.64 -25.0%Sep 27, 2024
Robert W. BairdRob Oliver$265$200.86 -7.5%Dec 15, 2022
CitigroupAnalyst unavailable$243$199.69 -15.2%Dec 13, 2022
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$210$182.37 -26.7%Apr 29, 2022

Track every rating change on VRSN the moment it posts. Free to start.

Start free

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move +7.0% Event window
SPY move +0.1% Same window
Abnormal move +6.9% Stock minus SPY
Volume 2.8× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +2.5% Up to 20 sessions
VRSNSPY benchmark

Follow VRSN with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.

Try FN2 free

Transcript intelligence

What changed

Revenue of $434.6M beat estimates by 0.3% and grew 6% YoY; EPS of $2.38 missed by 1.7% but rose 7.7% YoY. The domain name base reached 179.1M with a record 12.7M new registrations — the highest quarterly total in company history. Renewal rate was 75.2%, down from 76.3% in Q1. Management raised full-year domain base growth guidance to 5.2–6% (from 3.1–4.3%) and revenue guidance to $1.745–$1.755B (from $1.73–$1.745B). The .web gTLD was delegated into the DNS root zone with a launch expected late 2026 or early 2027. The board expanded the buyback by $884M to $1.5B and raised the dividend to $0.81/share. The stock gained 7.0% on 2.8x volume the next session, with a further 2.5% drift.

Guidance delta

Domain base growth raised from 3.1–4.3% to 5.2–6% for full-year 2026. Revenue guidance raised from $1.73–$1.745B to $1.745–$1.755B. Guidance sentiment shifted from maintained (Q1) to raised (Q2). CapEx outlook remains stable.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue of $435M and EPS of $2.38, both up year-over-year
  • Domain name base grew to 179.1M with a 3.05M quarterly increase and 75.2% renewal rate
  • Guidance for 2026 domain base growth increased to 5.2–6% and full-year revenue guidance raised to $1.745–$1.755B
  • .web TLD delegated and slated for launch later this year with flexible wholesale pricing
  • Share repurchase program expanded and dividend increased, returning over 100% of free cash flow to shareholders

Management priorities

  • Launch .web TLD with a limited registration period for existing .com holders followed by general availability
  • Roll out security-focused services leveraging high-assurance infrastructure
  • Continue aggressive marketing programs to drive domain registrations
  • Maintain quarterly dividend and expand share repurchase program
  • Manage CapEx to mitigate component price volatility

Related earnings events

Technology
ROP · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026Roper Technologies Beats Q2 Estimates, Raises Guidance on AI Momentum and Strong Cash Flow

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-24T15:07:52.038535+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-30T01:23:13.872335+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T19:51:59.406033+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T19:51:59.403361+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.