VeriSign Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

VeriSign (NAS: VRSN) reported earnings on April 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), VeriSign beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded. Non-GAAP earnings per share increased significantly. GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 VeriSign booked revenue of $236.4 million. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $232.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $205.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.58. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.54 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q1 were 38% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.42 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.) GAAP EPS of $0.52 for Q1 were 24% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.42 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.01 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 80.0%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 56.4%, 860 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 35.7%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $237.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.55.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $954.5 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.26.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 269 members out of 321 rating the stock outperform, and 52 members rating it underperform. Among 74 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 67 give VeriSign a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on VeriSign is hold, with an average price target of $42.95.

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The article VeriSign Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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