Verisign — Income Statement, Cash Flows & Balance Sheet
Is VeriSign profitable?
VeriSign is a highly profitable business with strong and growing margins.
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,557.4M | $1,656.6M | +6.4% |
| Operating Income | $1,058.2M | $1,121.0M | +5.9% |
| Operating Margin | 67.9% | 67.7% | −0.2 pp |
| Net Income | $785.7M | $825.7M | +5.1% |
VeriSign converts roughly two-thirds of every revenue dollar into operating profit — a margin profile that reflects the near-monopoly nature of running the .com and .net domain registries. Revenue and net income both grew at a steady mid-single-digit pace, and margins held essentially flat.
Earnings per share grew faster than net income, as the share count keeps shrinking.
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diluted EPS | $8.00 | $8.81 | +10.1% |
| Diluted Shares | 98.2M | 93.8M | −4.5% |
Aggressive buybacks reduced the share count meaningfully, so each remaining share earned a larger slice of the same profit pool — a meaningful benefit for long-term shareholders.
Does VeriSign generate cash?
VeriSign generates exceptional operating cash flow that comfortably exceeds reported net income.
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income | $785.7M | $825.7M | +5.1% |
| Operating Cash Flow | $902.6M | $1,091.1M | +20.9% |
| Capital Expenditures | $28.1M | $22.8M | −18.9% |
| Free Cash Flow (GAAP) | $874.5M | $1,068.3M | +22.2% |
Operating cash flow substantially exceeded net income, largely because customers pay for domain registrations upfront — swelling deferred revenue — while VeriSign recognises the income gradually. The business is genuinely light on capital spending, so nearly all operating cash becomes free cash flow (cash left after maintaining and investing in the business).
VeriSign returned significant capital to shareholders through buybacks and, starting in 2025, a new dividend.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share Repurchases | $1,225.6M | $881.6M | −28.1% |
| Dividends Paid | $0 | $215.2M | New |
| Total Returned | $1,225.6M | $1,096.8M | −10.5% |
The introduction of a quarterly dividend in April 2025 marks a new chapter in capital return, and combined buybacks and dividends returned over a billion dollars to shareholders — funded almost entirely by free cash flow.
How strong is VeriSign's balance sheet?
VeriSign carries meaningful debt, but its cash generation makes it manageable — and the near-term maturity risk has been resolved.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Debt (par) | $1,800.0M | $1,800.0M | Flat |
| Cash & Marketable Securities | $599.9M | $580.5M | −3.2% |
| Net Debt | $1,200.1M | $1,219.5M | +1.6% |
In early 2025, VeriSign issued $500M in new notes due 2032 to refinance $500M that matured in April 2025 — a clean refinancing that kept total debt flat and pushed the next meaningful maturity to 2027. With over $1 billion in annual free cash flow, the debt load is well within the company's means to service.
VeriSign has a large stockholders' deficit, which is a quirk of aggressive buybacks — not a sign of financial distress.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $1,406.5M | $1,325.9M | −5.7% |
| Total Liabilities | $3,364.4M | $3,480.1M | +3.4% |
| Stockholders' Deficit | $(1,957.9)M | $(2,154.2)M | Wider |
The negative equity (a situation where liabilities exceed assets on the balance sheet) is almost entirely the result of $15.76 billion in cumulative share repurchases over the company's history, which accounting rules record as a reduction of equity. It does not mean the company owes more than it owns in any economically meaningful sense — the business is cash-rich and highly profitable.