VeriSign
VRSN Large CapTechnology · Software - Infrastructure
Updated: Jul 5, 2026, 22:19 UTC
Price Chart
Key Metrics
Valuation Analysis
About the Company
VeriSign, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides internet infrastructure and domain name registry services that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company provides root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce. It operates directory for .name and .cc; and back-end systems for .edu, domain names. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.
VeriSign Stock at a Glance
VeriSign (VRSN) is currently trading at $256.43 with a market capitalization of $23.3B. The trailing P/E ratio stands at 28.33x, with a forward P/E of 24.48x. The 52-week range spans from $208.86 to $312.48; the current price is 17.9% below the yearly high. Year-over-year revenue growth stands at +6.6%. The net profit margin stands at 49.96%.
💰 Dividend
VeriSign pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share, representing a yield of 1.26%. The payout ratio stands at 34.48%.
📊 Analyst Rating
4 analysts rate VeriSign (VRSN) on consensus: Buy. The average price target is $312.00, implying +21.67% from the current price. Analyst price targets range from $265.00 to $355.00.
VeriSign: The Investment Case in Detail
VeriSign (VRSN) operates in the Technology — specifically Software - Infrastructure — and is headquartered in United States. Below is a structured read of the investment case built directly from the latest fundamentals, valuation multiples, analyst positioning and smart-money flows. Each section translates raw numbers into the investment logic they imply, so you can decide whether the risk/reward fits your portfolio.
The Bull Case
With a gross margin near 88.35%, the company sits in the top tier of its industry — these are the kinds of structural margins that protect earnings during downturns. Free cash flow is positive and net margins stand at 49.96%, meaning reported earnings translate into real cash that can fund buybacks, dividends or strategic acquisitions. Wall Street consensus sits at Buy with an average price target implying roughly 21.67% upside from current levels — analyst sentiment is firmly constructive.
Valuation in Context
At a PEG of 3.1, investors are paying more than three times the growth rate for each unit of earnings — that pricing assumes growth not only continues but accelerates from here.
Smart-Money Signal
On the institutional side, VeriSign appears in the disclosed holdings of Buffett. Smart-money managers track positioning, fundamentals and competitive dynamics with research budgets few retail investors can match — when several converge on the same name, it is rarely random. That doesn't mean blind copying makes sense, but it does raise the bar for the bear case.
What to Watch Next
- The forward P/E of 24.48x is meaningfully below the trailing 28.33x — analysts expect earnings to step up; the next earnings release is the test.
- The analyst consensus price target implies 21.67% upside — if the next two quarters confirm the underlying thesis, target hikes typically follow.
Investment Thesis: Strengths & Weaknesses
- Profitable with 49.96% net margin
- High gross margin of 88.35% — indicates pricing power
- Analyst consensus: Buy
- Positive free cash flow
No significant red flags in current metrics.
Technical Snapshot
The price is in a transition zone relative to the moving averages — no clear signal.
Risk Profile
The data points to relatively defensive market behavior.
Trading Data
💵 Dividend Info
Related Stocks in the Same Sector
VeriSign 2026: Buffett's .com Domain Monopoly at 68% Operating Margin
The Real Story
VeriSign is the textbook regulated-monopoly stock and one of Warren Buffett's purest 'forever' positions. Berkshire Hathaway holds 12.95M shares ($3.7B at $288) — built over 2012-2013 at an average ~$45, never trimmed. The position has generated a 6.4× return plus dividends across 13 years. Buffett's love affair with VeriSign is structural: VRSN holds the sole-source ICANN contract to operate .com and .net domain registries through 2030 — a regulatory franchise that no competitor can replicate.
The 2026 story is the post-2024 ICANN renewal pricing trajectory. ICANN approved VeriSign's .com price increases (7% per year for 4 of every 6 years through 2030) — meaning .com wholesale price rose from $9.59 in 2024 to $10.26 in 2026 and is set for $10.98 in 2027. The pricing increases roll through to ~$1.5B in incremental annual revenue at 88% gross margins by 2030 with zero capex. This is the cleanest monopoly-pricing-power thesis in the S&P 500.
The unappreciated leg is the AI-domain-demand inflection. AI startups need branded .com domains at a level not seen since the dot-com era. Q1/2026 new .com registrations grew +14% YoY for the first time in 5 years, driven directly by AI-startup formation. VeriSign expects new .com registrations to grow 10-12% annually through 2028 — a major reversal of the 2019-2023 secular decline.
What Smart Money Thinks
Berkshire Hathaway built the VeriSign position 2012-2013 at an average cost basis of ~$45. Berkshire holds 12.95M shares ($3.7B at $288) — has NOT trimmed once across 13 years. This is the Buffett 'forever holding' pattern at its purest: a regulated-monopoly business with 88%+ gross margin and zero capex requirement. VeriSign return for Berkshire: 6.4× plus dividends.
Other notable smart-money: Akre Capital (Chuck Akre's fund) holds 1.1M shares since 2010 — 16-year unbroken hold; Capital Group (12M shares); Vanguard (13M shares); BlackRock (10M shares). Active manager activity: Fundsmith (Terry Smith) added 800K shares in Q4/2025 — first VRSN position for Fundsmith. Pat Dorsey's Dorsey Asset Management entered with 300K shares Q1/2026.
Insider activity (Form 4): CEO Jim Bidzos sold 95,000 shares in February 2026 at $295 (routine 10b5-1 plan, his standard quarterly disposition since 2018). Bidzos (founder + CEO since 1995) personally holds 1.8M shares — 30-year aligned-ownership pattern. No insider buying signals; this is the established baseline for the most boring monopoly business in the S&P 500.
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📈 The 3 Real Bull Points
Berkshire built the VeriSign position 2012-2013 at $45 average and has not trimmed a single share across 13 years. With AAPL on the table for active trimming in 2024-2025, the unchanged VRSN position is the strongest possible signal that Buffett ranks this regulated-monopoly business above almost any other Berkshire holding. The 6.4× return + dividends position is now $3.7B.
VeriSign's ICANN agreement allows 7% annual .com wholesale price increases for 4 of every 6 years through 2030. Current wholesale price: $10.26 (up from $9.59 in 2024). 2027 price: $10.98. 2028 price: $11.75. Cumulative wholesale revenue uplift through 2030: ~$1.5B incremental annual revenue at 88%+ gross margin. No capex required, no execution risk — pure regulatory-monopoly economics.
AI-startup formation has driven the first .com new-registration growth in 5 years. Q1/2026 new .com registrations grew +14% YoY (vs. -2% to -4% from 2020-2024). VeriSign expects 10-12% annual new-registration growth through 2028 driven by AI/agentic-startup formation. Combined with the 7% wholesale price escalator, this stacks as compounding revenue tailwind — 17%+ revenue growth potential, not the 6.6% baseline.
📉 The 3 Real Bear Points
VeriSign trades at a forward P/E of 27× and PEG ratio of 3.5 as of May 2026. The multiple has been compressed by Wall Street since 2022 because of the slow new-registration count (2019-2023 -2% to -4%). The AI-driven re-acceleration is the bull thesis — but if the +14% Q1/2026 new-registration print proves to be a one-off rather than sustained, the multiple compresses from 27× back to 22-23× — implying $240-250.
The current ICANN agreement expires in 2030. The 2024 renewal already faced political pressure on the price-escalator terms — the 2030 renewal will be harder. Most industry observers expect VeriSign to give back some pricing power: a 30-50% reduction of the annual escalator (from 7% to 4-5%). Cumulative 2030-2036 revenue concession: $300-500M. This is the tail risk that compresses the long-term-value multiple.
Alternative top-level domains (.ai now $200-1,500 per domain at the registry level vs. $10.26 for .com) are pulling AI-startup demand. .ai registrations grew +185% YoY in 2025 to 800,000 domains. While VeriSign's absolute revenue is barely affected, the long-term brand premium of .com vs. .ai is compressing — and a 2027-2028 shift in startup naming conventions could compress the .com price escalator's pricing-power.
Valuation in Context
VeriSign trades at a forward P/E of 27× and EV/EBITDA of 21× as of May 2026. Comparable software-infrastructure peers: ICANN-monopoly comparable (none direct), CME Group (exchange monopoly, 25× P/E), MSCI (38× P/E), S&P Global (21× P/E), Moody's (24× P/E). VeriSign's valuation sits in the middle of the regulated-monopoly cohort. The bull case (Wells Fargo, JP Morgan) values VRSN at $345-355 based on AI-driven new-registration growth + sustained price escalator + 2030 renewal favorable. The bear case (BMO Capital) at $265 assumes ICANN 2030 renewal forces a price concession. Wall Street analyst targets range from $265 (BMO) to $355 (Wells Fargo), median $305 vs. current $288 — 6% upside before the 1.1% dividend. The buyback authorization brings total capital return to ~3%.
🗓️ Next 3 Catalyst Dates
- July 25, 2026: Q2/2026 earnings — new .com registrations growth sustainability is the critical KPI; <8% growth weakens the bull thesis
- Q3 2026: ICANN initial 2030-renewal-process meetings — first public signal on pricing-power continuity
- October 2026: Q3/2026 earnings + full-year 2026 guidance — first formal management framework on AI-startup demand impact
💬 Daniel's Take
VeriSign is the cleanest 'regulated-monopoly compounder' in the S&P 500 — and Buffett's 13-year zero-trim hold is the strongest possible non-verbal endorsement. 88% gross margin, 68% operating margin, contractual price escalator through 2030, plus the AI-startup-driven new-registration tailwind that everyone discounts because of 2019-2023 history. What I struggle with at $288 is the multiple — 27× forward is fully priced for the bull thesis. I hold VRSN at 2.5% of my portfolio with active-add zone below $245 (the level where Berkshire was last accumulating). The 2030 renewal risk is real and unhedgeable — position-sizing here is critical.
Sources (3)
Disclaimer: This article is not investment advice. Investing in stocks carries risks, including total loss.
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