Verisign reported earnings today after the close.

There were a couple odd after hours trades that might have made some investors gasp. After hours trading can be very thin and the odd print does happen. Things are back to normal as of the time of writing.

Financial Highlights

• On June 29, 2017, Verisign announced the issuance of $550 million of 4.75% Senior Notes due July 15, 2027; the offering closed on July 5, 2017. Verisign intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including but not limited to, the repurchase of shares under its share repurchase program.
• Verisign ended the second quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.8 billion, an increase of $11 million from year-end 2016.
• Cash flow from operations was $181 million for the second quarter of 2017, compared with $167 million for the same quarter in 2016.
• Deferred revenues on June 30, 2017, totaled $1.01 billion, an increase of $33 million from year-end 2016.
• During the second quarter, Verisign repurchased 1.7 million shares of its common stock for $151 million. At June 30, 2017, $770 million remained available and authorized under the current share repurchase program which has no expiration.
• For purposes of calculating diluted EPS, the second quarter diluted share count included 22.5 million shares related to subordinated convertible debentures, compared with 21.9 million shares for the same quarter in 2016. These represent dilutive shares and not shares that have been issued.

Business Highlights

• On June 28, 2017, Verisign announced the renewal of the .net Registry Agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), pursuant to which Verisign will remain the sole registry operator for the .net registry through June 30, 2023.
• Verisign ended the second quarter with 144.3 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 0.8 percent increase from the end of the second quarter of 2016, and a net increase of 0.68 million during the second quarter of 2017.
• In the second quarter, Verisign processed 9.2 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, as compared to 8.6 million for the same quarter in 2016.
• The final .com and .net renewal rate for the first quarter of 2017 was 72.5 percent compared with 74.4 percent for the same quarter in 2016. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.
• Verisign announces an increase in the annual fee for a .net domain name registration from $8.20 to $9.02, effective Feb. 1, 2018 per its agreement with ICANN.