Verisign Q3 2014 Report: 1.15 Million New Domains Added Ending Quarter With 130 Million

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), today reported financial and business results for the third quarter of 2014, including stats on .com and .net domain names that are on the rise.

Third Quarter GAAP Financial Results
VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $255 million for the third quarter of 2014, up 4.7 percent from the same quarter in 2013. Verisign reported net income of $95 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.69 for the third quarter of 2014, compared to net income of $81 million and diluted EPS of $0.53 in the same quarter in 2013. The operating margin was 54.7 percent for the third quarter of 2014 compared to 54.5 percent for the same quarter in 2013.

Third Quarter Non-GAAP Financial Results
Verisign reported, on a non-GAAP basis, net income of $97 million and diluted EPS of $0.70 for the third quarter of 2014, compared to net income of $90 million and diluted EPS of $0.59 for the same quarter in 2013. The non-GAAP operating margin was 60.6 percent for the third quarter of 2014 compared to 58.8 percent for the same quarter in 2013. A table reconciling the GAAP to the non-GAAP results (which excludes items described below) is appended to this release.

“Our disciplined execution continues to deliver long-term shareholder value. During the quarter we repurchased $226 million of Verisign shares,” commented Jim Bidzos, executive chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Financial Highlights

• Verisign ended the third quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.5 billion, a decrease of $249 million as compared with year-end 2013.
• Cash flow from operations was $168 million for the third quarter compared with $134 million for the same quarter in 2013.
• Deferred revenues on Sept. 30, 2014, totaled $893 million, an increase of $37 million from year-end 2013.
• Capital expenditures were $11.3 million in the third quarter of 2014.
• During the third quarter, Verisign repurchased 4.2 million shares of its common stock for $226 million. At Sept. 30, 2014, $833 million remained authorized and available under Verisign’s share buyback program, which has no expiration.
• For purposes of calculating diluted EPS, the third quarter diluted share count included 13.2 million shares related to subordinated convertible debentures, compared with 10.5 million shares in the same quarter in 2013. These represent diluted shares and not shares that have been issued.

Business Highlights

• Verisign Registry Services added 1.15 million net new names during the third quarter, ending with 130.0 million active domain names in the zone for .com and .net, which represents a 3.3 percent increase over the zone at the end of the third quarter in 2013.
• In the third quarter, Verisign processed 8.7 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net as compared to 8.3 million for the same period in 2013.
• The final .com and .net renewal rate for the second quarter of 2014 was 71.8 percent compared with 72.7 percent for the same quarter in 2013. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.

About Verisign
As a global leader in domain names and Internet security, Verisign powers the invisible navigation that takes people to where they want to go on the Internet. For more than 15 years, Verisign has operated the infrastructure for a portfolio of top-level domains that today includes .com, .net, .tv, .edu, .gov, .jobs, .name and .cc, as well as two of the world’s 13 Internet root servers. Verisign’s product suite also includes Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection Services, iDefense Security Intelligence Services and Managed DNS. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit VerisignInc.com.