Oct 22, 2026 earnings call — Domain growth, .web launch and VeriSign Informed
Revenue guidance set to $1.755 billion to $1.760 billion for full-year 2026.
Revenue $0.4B (est $0.4B) · EPS $2.41 (est $2.46) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $1.8B–$1.8B
Key quotes
"The combined.com and .net domain name base now totals 183 million names, up 6.1% year over year with a record 13.1 million new registrations processed during the third quarter."
"We have been communicating to our registrars that the required 30 day sunrise period is planned to begin in mid December."
"First, VI is fully operational in our infrastructure today."
Analyst Q&A 5
Why new domain signups rise; first-year renewals
Q (Rob Oliver · Baird): Analyst asked what is driving the strong new registrations (AI, marketing, other factors) and how first-year renewal rates are trending and how sticky those domains are.
A: Management said new registrations hit a record 13.1 million and are driven by AI, new business formation, marketing programs, content creators, and the value of well-governed DNS and infrastructure. They said first-timer renewal rates have stayed fairly steady in the mid 40% range, while previously renewed names remain in the mid 80% range; the growing mix of first-time renewals makes the overall renewal rate fall by math.
"Now, through the third quarter, what we have seen with our first timer renewal rates is they have remained fairly steady in the mid 40% range." — John D. Calys (CFO)
Growth outlook and VeriSign Informed service
Q (Ygal Arounian · Wedbush): Analyst asked what could slow the domain growth next year and why VeriSign Informed will win versus other cybersecurity providers, plus how to think about pricing structure.
A: Management said the long trends are strong: more digital adoption, cloud services, new businesses and AI all boost demand and registrars are engaged. On VeriSign Informed they said OCSP is hard to do at the speed and scale they can deliver on their high-assurance infrastructure, that speed and reliability matter for trust decisions, and they are already seeing interest in the financial industry; pricing details will be shared in a few months.
"OCSP, the online certificate status protocol, is difficult to do as quickly as we do DNS and operating in our infrastructure." — D. James Bidzos (CEO·CHAIR)
Registrar pricing moves; new domain strategy
Q (Jamesmichael Sherman-Lewis · Citi): Analyst asked for early color on registrar retail pricing after the .com wholesale increase and whether that is affecting renewals, and then asked about the company’s strategy for new gTLD acquisitions (e.g., PKI, .agent).
A: Management said they have not seen significant registrar price increases since the April notice; their analysis shows retail moves are in the neighborhood of 1% or less so far. They noted the wholesale .com increase is $0.71 and registrars set retail; on new gTLDs they applied only for PKI because it aligns with their security services and VeriSign Informed.
"Our analysis shows it is the price increases during that time period are you know, in the neighborhood of 1% or even less." — John D. Calys (CFO)
New signups, deletions, and renewal trends
Q (Alexei Gogolev · JPMorgan): Analyst asked to decompose net adds into gross adds versus deletions, churn trends including post-promo churn, and what assumptions underlie the 6.5%–7% guidance.
A: Management said they do not guide each component but see continued good demand for registrations and expect normal seasonality in fourth quarter. They said the mix is shifting toward more first-time renewing names, and "Those names renew at almost half the rate of previously renewed names," so the overall renewal rate will drop slightly as that mix grows.
"Those names renew at almost half the rate of previously renewed names." — John D. Calys (CFO)
Price increase impact; VeriSign Informed rollout
Q (Alexei Gogolev · JPMorgan): Analyst asked if retail registrar pricing will step up before the .com increase and about elasticity versus renewals, whether there is early renewal pull-forward, and asked what the unit and near-term milestones are for VeriSign Informed.
A: Management said they cannot speak for registrars but expect the modest $0.71 wholesale increase is something registrars can absorb given their pricing freedom; they also said many registrars renew .com at multiples of wholesale. They said they have not seen a lot of early renewals so far, and they expect about 50% of the .com price increase to flow through revenue in 2027 with most of the rest in 2028; for VeriSign Informed they pointed to VeriSignInformed.com, the opening of a beta, pricing details by year-end, and availability in the first half of 27.
"Yeah. You know, Lexi, we have not seen a lot of early renewals at this point." — John D. Calys (CFO)