.com market picks up, Verisign sends a signal of recovery

Verisign released its Q1 2025 financial report, with the total number of .com/.net domain names increasing by 778,000, ending the quarterly decline in the past two years. Although there is still a 1.5% year-on-year decline, this rebound has undoubtedly injected confidence into the long-sluggish domain name market.

The key to this rebound lies in the marketing incentives launched by Verisign for registrars, which significantly lowered retail prices and prompted some registrars to actively attract new registrars. This change not only drives new registrations, but may also indicate that the industry's competitive landscape is beginning to return to "user growth".

More noteworthy is that Verisign announced its first quarterly cash dividend since 2011, $0.77 per share, and plans to continue to pay it out. This move shows that the company has begun to reward long-term investors on the basis of stable operations, sending out positive financial and strategic signals.

Although the momentum of recovery still needs to be verified, a series of actions by Verisign, from the recovery of registration volume to the launch of the capital return mechanism, indicate that the .com market is expected to emerge from the adjustment period and enter a new round of growth cycle.