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VeriSign (VRSN): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 2026, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Oct 22, 2026; rules v1.1
VeriSign (VRSN): 2 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026: receivables growing = future cash is certain. 1 to review; 3 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
Receivables growing = future cash is certain Triggered · severity high · confidence medium
Receivables grew 191% year over year in Q3 2026 against revenue growth of 6%, and the quarter before 64% against 6%; days sales outstanding is 2 against a median of 1 over the eight quarters before. More of each quarter's revenue is still owed by customers.
Innocent reading: Seasonality: a quarter that always ends with big shipments.
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 181.55 a share (price 308.67); 74% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 147.58 to 222.20; across every method the research ran the range is 46 to 490. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Triggered severity medium · confidence high
Free cash flow rose $194M (+22%), from $874M to $1.1B, but working capital released $105M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $5M: 57% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $84M.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY2024 |
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $903M |
| Operating cash flow | $1.1B |
| Capex, year before | $28M |
| Capex | $23M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $874M |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B |
| Change in FCF | $194M |
| Change in capex | −$5M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $105M |
| Of which: capex cut | $5M |
| Of which: working capital released | $105M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +56.8% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 83800000.00 |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY2025 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY2024 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
What would explain it innocently
- An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good
- Suppliers agreed longer payment terms in a contract
- Inventory was brought down after a glut and will stay down
What to look for in the filing
- Maintenance capex (what it costs to keep the assets working)
- Supplier payment terms and any supply-chain financing
- Management's capex guidance for next year
What would show the trap does not apply
- Next year's FCF holds or rises with capex back at its earlier level and working capital no longer releasing cash
- The 10-K's capex guidance and the segment capex show the cut is a completed programme, not deferral
- The working-capital release matches a disclosed change in terms or a divestiture, not stretched payables or a collection push
Look again: next filing.
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 4.2% of revenue, but buybacks of $882M covered it (12.6×) and the diluted share count fell 4.5%: the dilution has been paid for in cash.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Stock compensation | $70M |
| Revenue | $1.7B |
| SBC / revenue | +4.2% |
| Buybacks | $882M |
| Buybacks / SBC | 12.7 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 98.2M shares |
| Diluted shares | 93.8M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -4.5% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY2025 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Triggered severity high · confidence medium
Receivables grew 191% year over year in Q3 2026 against revenue growth of 6%, and the quarter before 64% against 6%; days sales outstanding is 2 against a median of 1 over the eight quarters before. More of each quarter's revenue is still owed by customers.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Revenue, year over year | +5.7% |
| Receivables, year over year | +190.9% |
| Quarter before | Q2 2026 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +6.0% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +63.8% |
| Days sales outstanding | 2.0 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 1.4 |
| Receivables | $10M |
| Revenue | $443M |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q3 2026 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
What would explain it innocently
- Seasonality: a quarter that always ends with big shipments
- An acquisition brought its own receivables
- New business with longer standard terms (government, large enterprise)
- Currency: receivables booked in a strengthening currency
What to look for in the filing
- The receivables ageing and the allowance for credit losses
- Any factoring or receivables sold (and whether with recourse)
- Credit terms by customer group
What would show the trap does not apply
- Receivables fall back in line with revenue in the next quarter and DSO returns to its history
- The 10-Q attributes the increase to a disclosed one-off (a large customer's timing, an acquisition) and the allowance for doubtful accounts did not rise
Look again: next filing.
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Insufficient data
no debt figure could be read from the balance sheet (the filing may tag it in other lines)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 3% and net income fell 0% in Q3 2026; the share count fell 3.4%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q3 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $2.27 |
| EPS | $2.35 |
| Net income, year before | $213M |
| Net income | $213M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 93.6M shares |
| Diluted shares | 90.4M shares |
| EPS growth | +3.4% |
| Net income growth | -0.1% |
| Diluted shares: change | -3.4% |
| eps from profit | $0.00 |
| eps from share count | $0.08 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Insufficient data
0 fiscal years of net income on file; a cycle needs five
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 181.55 a share (price 308.67); 74% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 147.58 to 222.20; across every method the research ran the range is 46 to 490. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 181.55 |
| price | 308.67 |
| terminal value share | +74.4% |
| swing by input | Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 147.58 / 222.2; WACC / ±1 pt / 155.34 / 219.21; Tax rate / ±5 pts / 169.96 / 193.14; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 173.69 / 189.41 |
| range all methods | 45.95; 489.54 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → VeriSign: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.