In an announcement, Verisign revealed its plan to raise the registry-level wholesale fee for .com domain name registration from $8.97 to $9.59, effective September 1, 2023.



This internet infrastructure provider ended 2022 with a decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, amounting to $980 million in total.

The company reported a 73.7% renewal rate for .com and .net domains in Q3 2022, compared to the same quarter in 2021 when it was 75%.

Verisign's fourth-quarter revenue for 2022 was $369 million, with a net income of $179 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.70. However, its net income reduced compared to last year since it recognized a deferred income tax benefit related to non-US intellectual property transfer between subsidiaries in 2021, which increased the net income by $165.5 million.

In 2022, the company had a revenue of $1.42 billion with an operating margin of 66.2%. Its net income and diluted EPS were $674 million and $6.24 for the year, respectively, compared to $785 million and $7.00 in 2021, including the income tax benefit mentioned earlier.

Verisign's cash flow from operations for the full year of 2022 was $831 million, and it had deferred revenues worth $1.22 billion by December 31, 2022, an increase of $66 million from the previous year.

During the fourth quarter of 2022, Verisign bought back 1.1 million shares of its common stock for $212 million. For the entire year of 2022, it repurchased 5.5 million shares of its common stock for $1.03 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2022, it had $859 million remaining for future repurchases under the share repurchase program that has no expiry date.

Overall, Verisign's increase in the .com domain registration fee is not surprising given that it requires investment to maintain and improve its domain name registry services. However, it remains profitable, and its share repurchase program shows that it is confident about its future growth prospects.

Verisign's domain name base increased by 0.2% in Q4 2022, totaling to 173.8 million .com and .net registrations, but there was a net decrease of 0.4 million registrations. In Q4 2022, the company processed 9.7 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, compared to 10.6 million in Q4 2021. The renewal rate for .com and .net dropped to 73.7% in Q3 2022 from 75.0% in Q3 2021. Verisign also announced that it will increase the registry-level fee for .com domain name registration effective Sept. 1, 2023.

Verisign has successfully maintained its global .com and .net resolution infrastructure for 25 years, ensuring uninterrupted availability. In Q4 2022, Verisign delivered solid financial performance for both the quarter and the full year.

With the purchase of NetworkSolutions for $20.8 billion in 2000, Verisign became the monopoly operator for .COM, .NET, and .ORG domains, earning significant revenue and profit over the past year. GoDaddy is the world's largest domain name registrar, supporting about 60 million domain names with an income of $2.232 billion. Although there are hundreds of registrars, only about 10 large companies dominate the market. ICANN's policy of creating new domain zones will lead to the emergence of new players and potential revenue records. Half of the Fortune 500 companies are estimated to be applying for their own top-level domains, with the expected .WEB domain zone competing with .COM.

Domain names hold significant value, as evidenced by the sale of sеx.com for $14 million. Expensive domain names like Hotels.com, pоrn.com, and Business.com are mainly found in the .COM zone. While some domains are sold with their assets, others can be sold for huge sums without them, like Vodka.com, which was purchased for $3,000,000. Beautiful and expensive domain names have a lot of potential in terms of attracting an audience, and domains often play a crucial role in the success of internet projects.

Verisign is a renowned company that operates the registry for .com and .net domain names. In 2012, Verisign signed an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) allowing it to charge a maximum wholesale fee for domain registrations and renewals. This fee has remained unchanged since then.

Recently, Verisign announced its plans to increase the registry-level wholesale fee for .com domains in 2023. The exact amount of the increase has not been disclosed yet. However, this decision has sparked discussions and concerns within the domain name industry.

Critics argue that any increase in the registry-level fee might lead to higher costs for domain registrars, which could ultimately be passed on to consumers. They believe this may have a negative impact on businesses and individuals who rely heavily on .com domains.

On the other hand, Verisign justifies its decision by stating that it has invested significantly in the stability, security, and scalability of the .com registry over the years. They argue that the planned fee increase will help support these ongoing efforts and ensure the continued reliable operation of the registry.

The domain name industry is closely following this development and waiting for more information about the specific details of the fee increase. As of now, it remains to be seen how this decision will ultimately affect the cost and availability of .com domains for consumers.

I'm thrilled to hear that Verisign is increasing the.com domain registration fee. Because, you know, $8.97 just wasn't enough to cover the costs of maintaining its infrastructure. I mean, who needs affordable domain registration when you can have a 7.5% increase?

Verisign's financial performance is a masterclass in how to make a profit while doing the bare minimum. The company's share repurchase program is a clever way to buy its own success, and the decrease in.com and.net registrations is just a minor blip on the radar. Who needs growth when you can just raise prices and hope no one notices?