VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) reported on Thursday second quarter earnings that missed analysts’ forecasts and revenue that topped expectations.
VeriSign announced earnings per share of $1.31 on revenue of $329.4M.
Investing.com reported that analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.36 on revenue of $327.97M.
VeriSign shares are up 7% from the beginning of the year, still down 0.27% from its 52 week high of $234.12 set on July 8. They are under-performing the Nasdaq which is up 13.94% from the start of the year.
Financial Highlights
•On June 8, 2021, VeriSign, Inc. issued $750 million aggregate principal amount of 2.700% Senior Notes due 2031. On June 23, 2021, VeriSign, Inc. used the net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand, to fund the redemption of all of its outstanding $750 million, 4.625% Senior Notes due 2023; as part of this redemption, Verisign recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of $2.1 million related to the unamortized debt issuance costs on the notes.
•Verisign ended the second quarter of 2021 with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.12 billion, a decrease of $44 million from the end of 2020.
•Cash flow from operating activities was $143 million for the second quarter of 2021, compared to $215 million for the same quarter in 2020.
•Deferred revenues as of June 30, 2021 totaled $1.11 billion, an increase of $50 million from the end of 2020.
•During the second quarter of 2021, Verisign repurchased 0.8 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate cost of $172 million. As of June 30, 2021, there was $737 million remaining for future share repurchases under the share repurchase program which has no expiration date.
They need to pay their debt with the increase in .com registrations so they can get to paying a dividend. It’s a pretty stagnant stock for growth. The 7% year-after-year increase of .com should help in them continually growing.
I’d gladly own Verisign stock to hedge for the increases, if it showed some form of life.