VERISIGN INC/CA (VRSN) Risk Factors

Recent key developments

Concrete developments — dated events, named agreements and instruments, legal proceedings — that VERISIGN INC/CA surfaced in its latest filing.

• The .com Registry Agreement's current term expires on November 30, 2030, with a presumptive right of renewal.November 30, 2030
• The .net Registry Agreement's current term expires on June 30, 2029, with a presumptive right of renewal.June 30, 2029
• Amendment 35 to the Cooperative Agreement requires prior DOC approval for removal of or changes to the pricing section.
• The .com Registry Agreement permits an annual fee increase of up to 7% over the previous year in each of the final four years of each six-year period.
• The company may increase the annual fee by up to 7% due to new Consensus Policies or documented Extraordinary Expenses, but only in years without the standard price increase.
• The company has the right to seek removal of pricing restrictions if it demonstrates to the DOC that market conditions no longer warrant them.
• Currently named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit alleging antitrust violations.
• China requires registries and China-based registrars to obtain a government-issued license for each gTLD or ccTLD operating in China.
• The EU adopted the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS 2) in 2023 addressing registrant data.2023
• In 2016 the U.S. government transferred key internet functions to ICANN, who adopted new and enhanced accountability mechanisms in its bylaws such as the creation of the Empowered Community.2016
• Demand for our services substantially declined in China during 2023 and 2024 due to Chinese regulatory mandates making it more difficult to register a domain name or establish an online presence.2023 and 2024
• We undertook the acquisition of the .web gTLD.
• During the second quarter of 2025, we began to declare quarterly dividends.second quarter of 2025
• The company has filed patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and patent offices outside the U.S. for some of its technology.
• We provision and publish authoritative root zone data as the Root Zone Maintainer under the RZMA with ICANN.
• The company operates root zone servers, the root zone file, the Root Zone Management System, TLD name servers, and TLD zone files.
• The company is the registry operator for certain new gTLDs, including certain IDN gTLDs.
• Engaged in contractual obligations to mitigate security threats and DNS abuse in gTLDs and ccTLDs.
• The company maintains supporting cryptographic and other operational infrastructure.