VeriSign Falls 5% on EPS Miss as Analysts Back Raised Domain Growth Outlook
VRSN sits 38% above its 52-week low of $208.86.
Summary
VeriSign shares dropped 5% after Q3 adjusted EPS of $2.35 came in below the $2.41 consensus, even though revenue rose 5.7% to $443M and beat the $440.5M estimate. Wedbush pins the shortfall on a one-time $7.5M pretax operating loss tied to assets held for sale and calls the selloff unwarranted, saying earnings would have been in line excluding that item. The company raised its 2026 domain base growth forecast to 6.5%-7% from 5.2%-6% and lifted revenue guidance to $1.755B-$1.760B, which Wedbush says is at or above investor expectations on strong registrations and possible AI tailwinds. JPMorgan flagged record new registrations of 13.1M, up 23.2% year over year, but the preliminary Q3 renewal rate slipped to 74.3% from 75.4%, with management expecting a possible further slight decline in Q4. That renewal softness is the number to track — it drives the recurring revenue base more than new adds. JPMorgan kept Neutral and a $316 target, citing the valuation premium to peers.
At the time of this announcement, VRSN was trading at $288.50 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $27.5B. The 52-week trading range was $208.86 to $312.48. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Seeking Alpha.