VeriSign
26 named things its latest annual report says its results depend on, each in the company's own words. 4 of them are also named by other companies we've read.
Customers
Domain name registrars
earns from · All of the domain name registrations and renewalsnamed as a riskAll of the domain name registrations and renewals for the registries we operate occur through registrars.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Partners and platforms
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
We operate the .cc ccTLD under an agreement with Cocos (Keeling) Islands.Business (Item 1)
Other companies
.web gTLD
named as a riskSuch undertakings, including our efforts to acquire the .web gTLD, may be unsuccessful and costly.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Competitors
GoDaddy
competes withAmong our competitors operating gTLD and ccTLD registries are CentralNic, China Internet Network, DENIC eG, GoDaddy, Google, Identity Digital, Information Center (CNNIC), Nominet, Public Interest Registry (PIR), Radix, and .xyz.Business (Item 1)
Identity Digital
competes withAmong our competitors operating gTLD and ccTLD registries are CentralNic, China Internet Network, DENIC eG, GoDaddy, Google, Identity Digital, Information Center (CNNIC), Nominet, Public Interest Registry (PIR), Radix, and .xyz.Business (Item 1)
Places
Customers outside the U.S.
earns from · A significant portion of our revenuesnamed as a riskA significant portion of our revenues is derived from customers outside the U.S.Risk factors (Item 1A)
China
operates innamed as a riskFor example, demand for our services substantially declined in China during 2023 and 2024 as a result of various factors including Chinese regulatory mandates that made it more difficult to register a domain name or establish an online presence using a domain name.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Also named by A, AA, AAOI, AAP, AAPL, AB, ADI, AEHR and 261 more
Northern Virginia data centers (Dulles and Ashburn, Virginia)
concentrated innamed as a riskThese data centers, which are concentrated in the same geographic region, are vulnerable to damage or interruption, including from natural disasters, such as fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, power loss, hardware or system failures, physical or electronic break-ins, human error or interference.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Hazards
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
named as a riskOur networks have been, and likely will continue to be, subject to DDoS attacks.Risk factors (Item 1A)
U.S.-China political tensions
named as a riskPolitical tensions between the United States and China, including tensions resulting from tariffs or proposed tariffs, in particular may pose additional risks to our business in China.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Commodities and inputs
ICANN fees
depends on · $0.2575 for each annual domain name registrationFor .com domain name registrations, we pay ICANN on a quarterly basis $0.2575 for each annual domain name registration.Business (Item 1)
Compute and network hardware (servers, chips, memory)
exposed to its pricenamed as a riskAdditionally, the rapid increase in demand for compute and network hardware, including servers, chips, memory and other technology, caused by new demand from AI companies, is increasing our costs for some of these goods and could increase our capital and operating costs.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Regulators
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
subject tonamed as a riskFurthermore, any such new obligations could increase the cost and risks associated with complying with regulations that require verification of registrant personal information, including for purposes of complying with the economic and trade sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), for example.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Also named by ABNB, ADP, AIG, APP, BMI, BMNR, BPOP, CAT and 46 more
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
subject tonamed as a riskICANN could refuse to renew upon expiration or terminate our .com Registry Agreement or our .net Registry Agreement if, upon proper notice, (1) we fail to cure a fundamental and material breach of certain specified obligations, and (2) we fail to timely comply with a final decision of an arbitrator or court.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Also named by GDDY
China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
subject tonamed as a riskIn China, we are required to maintain licenses for .com, .net, and .cc under regulations issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.Business (Item 1)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
subject tonamed as a riskAny such changes to the IETF standards, or new standards, could have a material adverse effect on our business.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Laws and programs
.com Registry Agreement
earns from · Substantially all of our revenuesnamed as a riskSubstantially all of our revenues are derived from our operation of the .com gTLD under our Cooperative Agreement with the DOC and our .com Registry Agreement as well as our operation of the .net gTLD under our .net Registry Agreement.Risk factors (Item 1A)
.com Registry Agreement pricing provisions
subject to · up to 7%named as a riskUnder the terms of the .com Registry Agreement, we may increase the annual fee of each .com domain name registration or renewal by up to 7% over the previous year in each of the final four years of each six-year period.Risk factors (Item 1A)
OECD Pillar Two
subject tonamed as a riskAlthough we cannot predict the nature or outcome of such changes or the likelihood of such legislative proposals being adopted in the U.S. or throughout the world, any or all of these changes in tax laws, including but not limited to changes in scope of OECD’s Pillar One, as well as new guidance issued and enacted pertaining to OECD’s Pillar Two, could increase our taxes and adversely impact our financial condition and cash flow.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Also named by APO, BAM, BAX, BF/B, CHRW, COHR, CPNG, CRM and 45 more
U.S. Department of Commerce Cooperative Agreement
subject tonamed as a riskWe can provide no assurances that DOC approval would be provided upon our request for any of these changes.Risk factors (Item 1A)
.net Registry Agreement
earns fromnamed as a riskOur .com and .net Registry Agreements contain “presumptive” rights of renewal upon the expiration of their current terms on November 30, 2030 and June 30, 2029, respectively.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Root Zone Maintainer Service Agreement (RZMA)
subject tonamed as a riskIf we make errors in the publication of the root zone or experience operational issues that impact the timeliness of updates to the root zone data, we may be subject to material claims challenging the RZMA or our performance under it, including tort claims, and we may not have immunity from, or sufficient indemnification or insurance for, such claims.Risk factors (Item 1A)
EU Network and Information Security Directive (NIS 2)
subject tonamed as a riskFailure to properly protect such information, if obtained, or failure to comply with GDPR or NIS 2, could expose the Company to material costs and penalties.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Technology
Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI)
depends onnamed as a riskContracting with RIRs for the provision of and access to RPKI services carries material operational risks, as described above, as well as material contractual risks, which may expose us to service disruptions and material liability.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
depends onnamed as a riskAs a trust-based protocol, BGP has a number of vulnerabilities that may lead to outages or disrupt our services, including as a result of “route hijacks” that involve accidental or malicious rerouting of internet traffic, or “route leaks” that involve the malicious or unintentional propagation of routing information beyond the intended scope of the originator, receiver, and/or one of the networks along the route’s path.Risk factors (Item 1A)
Blockchain alternative namespaces
competes withnamed as a riskIn addition, the demand for domain names in the gTLDs we operate could be impacted by alternative namespaces with domain-name-like identifiers that are operated outside the single authoritative DNS root zone, including blockchain namespaces.Risk factors (Item 1A)