VeriSign, Inc. VRSN
VeriSign remains an exceptional internet infrastructure monopoly—FY2025 revenue of $1.657B grew 6.4% YoY with 88.2% gross margins, 67.7% operating margins, and $1.068B in free cash flow on just $22.8M of capex—but at 31.6x trailing earnings, a 77.4% premium to the 17.8x peer median, the stock prices in franchise quality with little margin of safety. Institutional accumulation is a positive signal: BlackRock recently disclosed a $2.12B position (9.32% ownership), the smart money score improved to +0.032 as of the quarter ended 2026-06-30 from -0.039 a quarter earlier, and Zacks upgraded the stock to a Strong Buy.
However, CEO Bidzos continues systematic selling across August 2026 at ~$289–$294, and insider dispositions have totaled $1.28B net over 24 months across 379 transactions, tempering enthusiasm at these levels.
What could go wrong
- Valuation compression. At 31.6x P/E and 15.5x P/S—323% above the peer median P/S of 3.66x—any growth disappointment risks multiple contraction with limited downside protection.
- Persistent insider selling. Net insider dispositions of $1.28B over 24 months across 379 sales, including regular CEO selling in August 2026, signal sustained distribution despite the stock's strength.
- Registry contract risk. Revenue depends materially on the .com and .net registry agreements; any adverse renegotiation or regulatory action on pricing terms would impair the cash-flow thesis.
- Leverage and negative equity. Total debt of $1.798B paired with negative stockholders' equity of -$2.154B reflects aggressive buybacks that constrain balance-sheet flexibility.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals, fiscal year 2025 · peer_relative snapshot as of 2026-08-28 · Defense World news article, published 2026-08-20 · smart_money 13F composite, as of 2026-06-30. Orin's read on VRSN; not advice.
Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings
50-day average 200-day average · volume below
On file
All VRSN filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway | $2.3B | 0.8% of fund |
| Vanguard Capital Management | $1.3B | 0.0% of fund |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $1.3B | 0.1% of fund |
| Aqr Capital Management | $1.2B | 0.4% of fund |
| State Street | $1.0B | 0.0% of fund |
| Geode Capital Management | $622.3M | 0.0% of fund |
97 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 438 Form 4 filings, net −$1.3B. Of the 50 on hand, 2 were open-market purchases and 34 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about VRSN
Orin answers questions about VRSN from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →Where it trades
| Metric | Now | Own median | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 31.8× | 27.2× | 53.3× |
| EV/EBITDA | 23.3× | 20.9× | — |
| P/S | 15.52× | 14.26× | — |
Its P/E sits 60th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.51σ from its own mean).
10.6%
free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.1B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.
What Wall Street published
$348
$341 – $355 · +18% against today's price
- 9 buy or overweight
- 5 hold
- 1 underweight or sell
The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.
Against the companies it is compared to
| Company | Market cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross | Net | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VRSNVeriSign, Inc. | $27B | 31.8× | 23.3× | 88.5% | 49.8% | -39% |
| CPAYCorpay, Inc. | $26B | 23.7× | 13.7× | 73.3% | 22.7% | 30% |
| FLEXFlex Ltd. | $41B | 43.4× | 23.4× | 9.5% | 3.3% | 19% |
| GDDYGoDaddy Inc. | $13B | 14.2× | 11.0× | 63.8% | 17.8% | 661% |
| GENGen Digital Inc. | $16B | 15.1× | 10.1× | 78.0% | 20.7% | 42% |
| PTCPTC Inc. | $16B | 13.5× | 10.4× | 84.1% | 41.4% | 33% |
The median is of the 5 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 110.8% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.
What it has traded at
What its sector has traded at
Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.
Discounted cash flow
| Model | Fair value | Against | Computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard DCF | $280 | $283.26 · −1% | 2026-06-10 |
| Levered DCF | $310 | $283.26 · +9% | 2026-06-10 |
The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.
Every estimate on one scale
The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.