VRSN
Verisign
Recurring SaaS
Price today
$264.26
what the market pays
Worth
$303.92
calculated cycle value
Price is 13% below its value
charlieapp.co
A monopoly position
This company has a competitive advantage so strong that its rivals find it practically impossible to replicate.
Price vs Intrinsic Value
The line is the price month by month; the green band marks when it's undervalued (−20% off value). When the price drops in there, the discount is real, not opinion.
Where does the value come from?
Software and subscriptions
$297.71
per share
How it's calculated
Verisign — high assistant path (2026-06-07). Review note.
Net cash in the bank
cash minus financial debt, per share
Total calculated value
business + cash
How many times the cash flow
Recurring SaaS · vs 26 peers
You pay 22.7x times this business's cash flow; its sector median is 20.3x.
15% below what Charlie thinks it's worth (26.1x) — that gap is your safety margin.
Why Discounted?
Its free cash flow is $11.39/share × 26.1x multiplier plus $6.21 in net cash = $303.92 in intrinsic value. Today's price of $264.26 is 15% below value — a moderate discount, a good spot to enter gradually.
The price is 13% off the calculated value. Close, but without the ideal discount.
It's fine to buy in pieces. Monthly DCA works well here.
For a bigger safety margin, wait for $243.14 or less.
At what price would buying make sense?
Entry zones
🟢 Undervalued
≤$243.14
-20% off Value
🟡 Discounted
≤$288.72
-5% off Value
🟡 Today
$264.26
+15% Valor
Discounted
The price is close to value. There's no big discount, but it's reasonable to invest in pieces.
“The market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
— Warren Buffett
Model updated · July 2026
The business
Verisign holds the monopoly on the registry of every .com on the planet.
Verisign operates the exclusive registry for .com and .net domains under contract with ICANN. It charges a fixed fee for every domain registered or renewed: over 170 million .com domains paying every year. Revenue of $1.7B with 88% gross margin and $1.1B in free cash flow.
It holds the government contract to manage .com through 2031, with near-automatic renewal. No one else can sell .com. The cost of switching domains for a company is prohibitive, so renewals hover around 75% year after year. A toll booth, not a business.
Revenue history
From $1.3B to $1.7B in 4 years. The business grows steadily.
Where each $100 of sales goes
Revenue $1.7B · FY2025
Of every $100 in sales, $50 goes to costs and operations; $50 is left as net profit (50% margin).
Catalysts and risks
Contract-permitted .com price increases: up to 7% annually in four of the six years of the cycle.
Aggressive buybacks: reduced shares from ~115M to ~95M in five years, with no net debt.
Renewal of the ICANN–Department of Commerce contract in 2031 reaffirms the monopoly.
Stalled domain growth: the .com base barely moves, the engine is price alone.
Regulatory risk: the U.S. government could cap future price increases at renewal.
Total concentration: a single asset, a single contract. If it changes, everything changes.
Charlie's note
“A toll booth with 88% margin and no debt. I like that. What I don't like is paying for growth that depends on raising prices on captive customers: sooner or later someone with power catches on.”
Analysis · June 2026
So when would be a good price for Verisign?
Today it trades below what we calculate. If you want us to tell you when that changes —or when the value itself moves because the company reported— we will email you.
🔔 Email meFree · no card
Charlie informs, it doesn't advise. No information should be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell.