Verisign VRSN (NASDAQ) reported earnings after the close. The final .com and .net renewal rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 73.5 percent compared to 73.8 percent for the same quarter in 2019.

Financial Highlights

• Verisign ended the first quarter of 2021 with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.18 billion, an increase of $14 million from the end of 2020.
• Cash flows from operating activities were $198 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $180 million for the same quarter in 2020.
• Deferred revenues as of March 31, 2021 totaled $1.10 billion, an increase of $36 million from the end of 2020.
• During the first quarter of 2021, Verisign repurchased 0.9 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate cost of $173 million. As of March 31, 2021, there was $910 million remaining for future share repurchases under the share repurchase program which has no expiration date.

VeriSign, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $324 million for the first quarter of 2021, up 3.6 percent from the same quarter in 2020. Verisign reported net income of $150 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $1.33 for the first quarter of 2021, compared to net income of $334 million and diluted EPS of $2.86 for the same quarter in 2020. The operating margin was 65.0 percent for the first quarter of 2021 compared to 66.0 percent for the same quarter in 2020.