Full Transcript: VeriSign Q2 2026 Earnings Call

VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN ) held its second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday.

Below is the complete transcript from the call.

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The full earnings call is available at Summary VeriSign reported a free cash flow of $213 million, an increase from $202 million in the previous year, and maintained a stable liquidity position with $1.034 billion in cash and equivalents.

The company provided updated full-year 2026 guidance with expected revenue between $1.745 billion and $1.755 billion, and operating income between $1.185 billion and $1.195 billion.

VeriSign emphasized the strong performance in domain registrations, noting a 14% and 21% increase in the first and second quarters, respectively, with AI contributing to demand.

The company successfully extended its record of 100% service availability to 29 years and highlighted the role of AI in enhancing domain name demand and operational efficiency.

VeriSign is preparing for the launch of the.web TLD, with flexibility in pricing and marketing, and expects to make it available either late this year or early next year.

The company plans to implement security features benefiting from its high-assurance infrastructure to address AI-driven security challenges.

CapEx guidance remains unchanged despite price pressures, with expectations of elevated costs in the future due to market conditions.

Full Transcript John And free cash flow was 213 million, compared with 202 million and 109 million respectively, in the year-ago quarter.

Our financial and liquidity position remains stable with 1,034,000,000 in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at the end of the quarter.

That amount included 546 million of net proceeds from the issuance of 5.1% senior notes maturing in 2031.

On July 20, 2026, the company redeemed its 550 million of outstanding 4.75% senior notes due in 2027, thereby reducing our liquidity from quarter end.

I will now discuss our updated full-year 2026 guidance which, as Jim mentioned earlier, does not anticipate meaningful revenue or expense related to dot web at this time.

Revenue is now expected to be between 1,745,000,000 and 1,755,000,000.

Operating income is now expected to be between 1,185,000,000 and 1,195,000,000.

Interest expense and non-operating net is narrowed and expected to be an expense between 59 and 65 million, reflecting the impacts related to the refinancing I mentioned earlier.

Capital expenditures are still expected to be between 55 and 65 million.

The GAAP effective tax rate is still expected to be between 22 and 25%.

I will now turn the call back to Jim for his closing remarks.

Jim Thanks, John.

While we're very pleased that web is now delegated, we'd like to focus on the very solid trends we're seeing in our business.

In 2026 we extended our record of 100% service availability to 29 years.

We saw strength in all metrics, in particular with new registrations and solid financial performance.

We returned more than 100% of our free cash flow to the investing public.

We've seen strong execution of our marketing programs, which are better suited to our evolving channel.

These programs are a great investment as they contribute significantly to our long-term growth and profitability.

Importantly, the first-time renewal rate has stayed in a tight range in the mid-40% range for several quarters.

Names registered in the first half of last year are renewing at rates consistent with our longer-term first-time renewal rate.

Our programs are carefully designed to produce these results.

Now, as we look at the significant increase in new registrations — for example, up 14% year over year in the first quarter and up 21% year over year in the second quarter — we're encouraged that the factors that are driving the new registration strength, including our programs, have been producing quality names.

This should translate to long-term profitable growth for this company.

And as a reminder, once a name renews at least once, it becomes part of our previously renewed base.

The previously renewed rate is in the mid-80% range.