Detailed Narrative
Domain Name Base Growth and Drivers
VeriSign reported a record combined .com and .net domain name base of 176.1 million names, an increase of 2.54 million from year-end 2025. New registrations for Q1 FY26 were $11.5 million, up from $10.1 million in Q1 FY25. This growth was observed across all three main regions, with particular strength in the U.S. and EMEA. Management attributed this positive trend to increased registrar focus on customer acquisition, effective marketing programs, and tailwinds from AI tools simplifying content and website creation.
Renewal Rates and Cohort Performance
The expected renewal rate for Q1 FY26 was strong at 76.3%, an improvement from 75.5% a year ago. Management noted that their marketing programs are designed to incentivize registrars to sell names with better renewal characteristics. While first-time renewal rates average in the mid-40% range, previously renewed names are in the mid-80% range and have shown improvement. However, the strong new registrations in H2 2025 are expected to present a challenge in H2 2026 due to a higher proportion of first-time renewals.
ICANN New TLD Program
ICANN is opening a new round of applications for generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), with the window for submissions opening at the end of April and closing on August 12, 2026. This process is expected to be lengthy, with new gTLDs likely not launching until 2028. VeriSign is taking necessary technical steps to be ready for potential participation, having obtained several gTLDs in the previous 2012 round, some of which are yet to be launched. The company is still evaluating its participation in the current round.
.com Price Increase and .net Pricing Strategy
VeriSign announced a $0.71 price increase for .com domain names, raising the annual wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97, effective November 1, 2026. This is the first allowable increase since February 2024. Management highlighted that .com remains competitive and that the new price equates to approximately $0.03 per day. For .net, VeriSign has the contractual ability to implement annual price increases of up to 10% but has not announced any such increase at this time, considering it a well-known and competitively priced TLD.
High Assurance Infrastructure and New Services
VeriSign emphasized its commitment to maintaining 100% service availability for the .com and .net DNS resolution service, a record spanning nearly 29 years. The infrastructure processes an average of 600 billion transactions per day, with over 95% processed in milliseconds globally. The company plans to share a series of blogs starting next month about its vision for high assurance infrastructure, its role in enhancing online trust, and the introduction of enhanced security components, which are synergistic with its existing infrastructure.
Registrar Engagement and Marketing Programs
VeriSign's marketing programs are showing increased engagement, tailored to the evolving and diversifying channel, which includes various website builders and registrars with different business models. The company focuses on listening to registrar needs and adapting its programs to support their customer acquisition and engagement efforts, while adhering to restrictions that require treating all registrars equally and fairly.