Verisign Q3 report: 145.8 million .com & .net domain names (up 1.47 million)

VeriSign, Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter of 2017.

Business Highlights

• Verisign ended the third quarter with 145.8 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 1.2 percent increase from the end of the third quarter of 2016, and a net increase of 1.47 million during the third quarter of 2017.
• In the third quarter, Verisign processed 8.9 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, compared to 8.3 million for the same quarter in 2016.
• The final .com and .net renewal rate for the second quarter of 2017 was 74.0 percent compared with 73.8 percent for the same quarter in 2016. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.

VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries reported revenue of $292 million for the third quarter of 2017, up 1.7 percent from the same quarter in 2016. Verisign reported net income of $115 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $0.93 for the third quarter of 2017, compared to net income of $114 million and diluted EPS of $0.90 for the same quarter in 2016. The operating margin was 61.9 percent for the third quarter of 2017 compared to 60.8 percent for the same quarter in 2016.

Verisign reported, on a non-GAAP basis, net income of $124 million and diluted EPS of $1.00 for the third quarter of 2017, compared to net income of $119 million and diluted EPS of $0.93 for the same quarter in 2016. The non-GAAP operating margin was 66.7 percent for the third quarter of 2017 compared to 65.3 percent for the same quarter in 2016. A table reconciling the GAAP to the non-GAAP results (which excludes items described below) is appended to this release.

“Our team has delivered another quarter of solid results,” said Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Financial Highlights

• Verisign ended the third quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $2.4 billion, an increase of $568 million from year-end 2016.
• Cash flow from operations was $175 million for the third quarter of 2017, compared with $171 million for the same quarter in 2016.
• Deferred revenues on Sept. 30, 2017, totaled $1.01 billion, an increase of $31 million from year-end 2016.
• During the third quarter, Verisign repurchased 1.5 million shares of its common stock for $147 million. At Sept. 30, 2017, $622 million remained available and authorized under the current share repurchase program which has no expiration.
• For purposes of calculating diluted EPS, the third quarter diluted share count included 24.0 million shares related to subordinated convertible debentures, compared with 20.8 million shares for the same quarter in 2016. These represent dilutive shares and not shares that have been issued.