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Verisign\u2019s .com returned to growth in the first quarter after the company offered its registrars marketing programs that substantially discounted the retail price of domains.<\/strong><\/p>\n The company ended the quarter with 169.8 million .com and .net domains under management, a 777,000-name increase on the end of 2024. It\u2019s the first time it\u2019s reported quarterly DUM growth in almost two years.<\/p>\n While the company did not break out the split between the two TLDs, my records show that .com\u2019s zone file grew by about 800,000 names during the quarter, while .net\u2019s shrank by about 100,000.<\/p>\n Verisign has now upgraded its guidance for DUM growth this year to between a 0.7% decrease and a 0.9% increase, the first time its guidance has had a top-end in positive territory in some time. In February, it guided at between negative 2.3% and negative 0.3%.<\/p>\n The major reason for the reversal of fortunes is the program of discounts that have seen some registrars sell .com domains to customers recently for less than half of the usual $10.26 wholesale price.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still early, but we do see signs of registrars shifting towards customer acquisition, and we also see more registrar engagement with our marketing programs,\u201d CEO Jim Bidzos said on an earnings call with analysts tonight.<\/p>\n In previous quarters last year, the fact that registrars were focused on squeezing more revenue out of their customers, rather than driving new registrations, was blamed for .com losing DUM.<\/p>\n Bidzos said that sales were up across all three of its core geographic markets \u2014 the US, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. On previous calls, North America and China were noted for weaknesses.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s any reason to believe that the guidance is cautious, it\u2019s because of what Bidzos and analysts euphemistically referred to as \u201cthe macro\u201d, or \u201cmacro-economic situation\u201d.<\/p>\n At this particular point in history, that\u2019s code for US President Donald Trump\u2019s erratic behavior with regard to world trade and tariffs, that has spooked economies globally. It\u2019s not at all clear yet how this crisis might affect the domains market.<\/p>\n Verisign reported net income of $199 million for the quarter, up from $194 million a year ago, on revenue up 4.7% at $402 million. Operating income was up from $259 million to $271 million<\/p>\n The company, which has to date mainly been rewarding investors with share buybacks, has now also started issuing quarterly cash dividends. This quarter, they\u2019re all getting $0.77 per share.<\/p>\n If you find this post or this blog useful or interestjng, please support Domain Incite<\/a>, the independent source of news, analysis and opinion for the domain name industry and ICANN community.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tTweet<\/a><\/p>\n
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