# Verisign

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/verisign  
**Vertical:** Enterprise Technology  
**Subcategory:** Internet Infrastructure  
**Tier:** Leader  
**Website:** verisign.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Verisign (VRSN) reported ~$1.5B revenue in FY2024. Operates the .com and .net domain name registries, controlling the most critical internet infrastructure under ICANN contracts. HQ: Reston, VA.

## Company Overview

VeriSign, Inc. is the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains (TLDs), managing the definitive databases of all .com and .net domain names on the internet. Under contracts with ICANN (the internet governance body), VeriSign maintains the exclusive right to operate the .com registry — a monopoly covering approximately 160 million registered domain names, the largest TLD in the world. Every time someone types a .com address in a browser anywhere on earth, VeriSign's infrastructure resolves the query.

VeriSign reported approximately $1.5 billion in revenue in FY2024, generated almost entirely from annual domain registration fees (approximately $9–10 per domain) charged to accredited registrars like GoDaddy and Namecheap who sell .com names to end users. This creates an extraordinary business: VeriSign earns fee income on 160 million domains with essentially zero marginal cost, trivial capital requirements, and long-term revenue visibility from multi-year registrations. The company's cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce governs its pricing authority, allowing price increases up to 7% in 4 of every 6 years.

VeriSign's business model generates exceptional free cash flow — approximately 70% of revenue — which the company returns almost entirely to shareholders through share repurchases. The company has bought back over 75% of its shares over the past decade, dramatically amplifying per-share value creation. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway holds a significant VeriSign position, drawn to the business's near-perfect moat characteristics: contractual monopoly, near-zero capital requirements, and predictable cash flows.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does VeriSign do?
VeriSign operates the authoritative registries for .com and .net domain names under exclusive ICANN contracts, maintaining databases of all ~160 million .com registrations and resolving every .com address lookup on the internet.

### Why is VeriSign considered a monopoly?
VeriSign has the exclusive ICANN contract to operate the .com registry. No other company can register .com domains — all registrars (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) must pay VeriSign's wholesale fee (~$9/domain/year) to register or renew .com names.

### What is VeriSign's ticker?
VeriSign trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker VRSN.

### Does Warren Buffett own VeriSign?
Yes — Berkshire Hathaway holds a significant VeriSign position. Buffett has cited VeriSign's contractual monopoly on .com, minimal capital requirements, and highly predictable cash flows as the key qualities that attract him to the business.

### What is Verisign?
Verisign is the exclusive registry operator for .com and .net top-level domains, managing the global registry database for approximately 170 million domain names and operating two of the thirteen root name servers that underpin the internet's DNS infrastructure.

### What is Verisign's revenue model?
Verisign generates approximately $1.5B in annual revenue through annual domain registration fees for .com ($9.59/year wholesale) and .net domains, collected from registrars worldwide — a highly predictable, inflation-adjusted recurring revenue model.

### What is Verisign's competitive moat?
Verisign holds an exclusive, government-sanctioned contract with ICANN to operate the .com registry through 2030, creating a near-monopoly position in the world's most valuable internet namespace with extremely high regulatory and infrastructure barriers to competition.

### How does Verisign protect internet infrastructure?
Verisign operates the Authoritative Root Zone Maintenance (A-ROOT) and J-ROOT DNS servers and uses its global anycast network with 24/7 operations to maintain 100% DNS resolution uptime — a critical internet infrastructure responsibility.

## Tags

b2b, b2c, enterprise, public, saas

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*