Verisign has presented a report on its performance in the first quarter of 2021. According to Online Domain, the results are quite positive: the company’s reported revenue reached $324 million, up by 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year. However, net income fell to $150 million as compared to $334 million in 2020. Net income for the first quarter of last year included the recognition of previously unrecognized income tax benefits, which explains the drop in 2021.
The number of domain names registered in the gTLDs .COM and .NET, managed by Verisign, stood at 168 million at the end of the first quarter of 2021. It is 4.6 percent – 2.8 million domain names – more than in the same period last year. In the first three months of 2021, 11.6 million domain names were registered in .COM and .NET, which is also more than last year (10 million). Renewal rates were the only index that showed a slight decline. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter; therefore, the report shows the data from the fourth quarter of 2020, which was 73.5 percent, compared to 73.8 percent for the same quarter in 2019.
