Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusBuy15 ratings
Bullish960.0%
Neutral533.3%
Bearish16.7%
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 publicationVeriSign, 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
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.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wedbush | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 24, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Apr 24, 2026 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Apr 27, 2020 |
| B. Riley FBR | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | May 5, 2018 |
| Cowen & Co. | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Oct 2, 2015 |
| Credit Suisse | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Wells Fargo | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Jun 27, 2014 |
| B. Riley Securities | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jul 26, 2013 |
| Topeka Capital | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 5, 2013 |
| Topeka | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Feb 5, 2013 |
| First Analysis | Equal Weight | Overweight | Downgrade | Nov 26, 2012 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 27, 2012 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 27, 2012 |
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.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wedbush | Analyst unavailable | $324 | $261.58 | +13.1% | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $355 | $276.95 | +23.9% | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $325 | $233.01 | +13.4% | Oct 24, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Rob Oliver | $250 | $191.14 | -12.8% | Dec 9, 2024 |
| Citigroup | Ygal Arounian | $215 | $190.64 | -25.0% | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Rob Oliver | $265 | $200.86 | -7.5% | Dec 15, 2022 |
| Citigroup | Analyst unavailable | $243 | $199.69 | -15.2% | Dec 13, 2022 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $210 | $182.37 | -26.7% | Apr 29, 2022 |
Track every rating change on VRSN the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket 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
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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
TechnologySources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-07-24T15:07:52.038535+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-30T01:23:13.872335+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T19:51:59.406033+00:00
- 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.