Verisign's Selloff Amid $1.23B Secondary Offering Slumps to 476th in Volume Despite Earnings Beat

On August 5, 2025, Verisign (VRSN) traded at 0.25 billion in volume, down 20.99% from the previous day, ranking 477th in market activity. The stock closed 0.02% lower, reflecting mixed investor sentiment amid broader market volatility.

Berkshire Hathaway’s secondary offering of 4.3 million Verisign shares at $285 each—raising $1.23 billion—triggered a sharp selloff. The move, aimed at reducing ownership below 10% to avoid regulatory disclosures, weighed on investor confidence despite the company’s recent earnings beat. Strong Q2 results, including 5.9% revenue growth to $409.9 million, failed to offset market concerns over global tariffs and economic uncertainties.

Verisign’s domain name registry operations saw steady demand, with 371.7 million registrations as of Q2. However, unresolved internal control weaknesses—highlighted in an SEC filing—persisted, including segregation-of-duties gaps and insufficient IFRS training. These issues, disclosed alongside an auditor change, raised governance concerns despite an orderly transition of audit responsibilities.

A strategy of holding the top 500 most actively traded stocks for one day generated a 166.71% return from 2022 to August 2025, outpacing the S&P 500’s 29.18% gain. This underscores liquidity-driven momentum in volatile markets, though Verisign’s low volume and mixed fundamentals limited its participation in such strategies.