VERISIGN INC/CA - Annual Report: 2011 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission File Number: 000-23593

VERISIGN, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (703) 948-3200

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    YES þ    NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    YES ¨    NO þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    YES þ    NO ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    YES þ    NO ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    YES ¨    NO þ

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant as of June 30, 2011, was $4.2 billion based upon the last sale price reported for such date on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. For purposes of this disclosure, shares of Common Stock held by persons known to the Registrant (based on information provided by such persons and/or the most recent schedule 13Gs filed by such persons) to beneficially own more than 5% of the Registrant’s Common Stock and shares held by officers and directors of the Registrant have been excluded because such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

Number of shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value, outstanding as of the close of business on February 17, 2012: 159,518,978 shares.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement to be delivered to stockholders in connection with the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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For purposes of this Annual Report, the terms “Verisign”, “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to VeriSign, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

PART I

Overview

We are a provider of Internet infrastructure services. By leveraging our global infrastructure, we provide network confidence and availability for mission-critical Internet services, such as domain name registry services and infrastructure assurance services. Our service capabilities enable domain name registration through our registrar partners and provide network availability for registrars and Internet users alike.

Our one reportable segment is Naming Services, which consists of Registry Services and Network Intelligence and Availability (“NIA”) Services. We have operations inside as well as outside the United States (“U.S.”). For a geographic breakdown of revenues and changes in revenues, see Note 10, “Geographic and Customer Information” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.

Registry Services operates the authoritative directory of all .com, .net, .cc, .tv, and .name domain names and the back-end systems for all .gov, .jobs and .edu domain names. NIA Services provides infrastructure assurance services to organizations and is comprised of Verisign iDefense Security Intelligence Services (“iDefense”), Managed Domain Name System Services (“Managed DNS”), and Distributed Denial of Service (“DDoS”) Protection Services.

We were incorporated in Delaware on April 12, 1995. On November 15, 2011, we purchased the land and building that we had previously leased in Reston, Virginia. Our principal executive offices are now located at 12061 Bluemont Way, Reston, Virginia 20190. Our telephone number at that address is (703) 948-3200. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol VRSN. VERISIGN, the VERISIGN logo, and certain other product or service names are our registered or unregistered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries. Other names used in this Form 10-K may be trademarks of their respective owners. Our primary website is www.verisigninc.com. The information on our website is not a part of this Form 10-K.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available, free of charge, on the Investor Relations section of our website as soon as is reasonably practicable after filing such reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Naming Services

Registry Services

Registry Services operates the authoritative directory of all .com, .net, .cc, .tv, and .name domain names and the back-end systems for all .gov, .jobs and .edu domain names. Registry Services allows individuals and organizations to establish their online identities, while providing the secure, always-on access they need to communicate and transact reliably with large-scale online audiences.

We are the exclusive registry of domain names within the .com, .net and .name generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”) under agreements with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) and

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the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”). As a registry, we maintain the master directory of all second-level domain names in these top-level domains (e.g., johndoe.com and janedoe.net). These top-level domains are supported by our global constellation of domain name servers. In addition, we own and maintain the shared registration system that allows all registrars to enter new second-level domain names into the master directory and to submit modifications, transfers, re-registrations and deletions for existing second-level domain names (“Shared Registration System”).

Separate from our agreements with ICANN, we have agreements to be the exclusive registry for the .tv and .cc country code top-level domains (“ccTLDs”) and to operate the back-end registry systems for the .gov, .jobs and .edu gTLDs. These top-level domains are also supported by our global constellation of domain name servers and Shared Registration System.

With our existing gTLDs and ccTLDs, we also provide internationalized domain name (“IDN”) services that enable Internet users to access websites in characters representing their local language. Currently, IDNs may be registered in as many as 350 different native languages and scripts. We also support the Domain Name Systems (“DNS”) by locating and translating certain Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses into Internet domain names.

Domain names can be registered for between one and ten years, and the fees charged for .com and .net may only be increased according to adjustments prescribed in our agreements with ICANN over the applicable term. Revenues for registrations of .name are not subject to the same pricing restrictions as those applicable to .com and .net; however, .name fees charged are subject to our agreement with ICANN over the applicable term. Revenues for .cc and .tv domain names are based on a similar fee system and registration system, though the fees charged are not subject to the same pricing restrictions as those imposed by ICANN. The fees received from operating the .gov registry are based on the terms of Verisign’s agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”). The fees received from operating the .jobs registry infrastructure are based on the terms of Verisign’s agreement with the registry operator of .jobs. No fees are received from operating the .edu registry infrastructure.

Historically, we have experienced higher domain name growth in the first quarter of the year compared to other quarters. Our quarterly revenue does not reflect these seasonal patterns because the preponderance of our revenue for each quarterly period is provided by the ratable recognition of our deferred revenue balance.

Network Intelligence and Availability Services

NIA Services provides infrastructure assurance to organizations and is comprised of iDefense, Managed DNS and DDoS Protection Services.

iDefense provides 24 hours a day, every day of the year, access to cyber intelligence related to vulnerabilities, malicious code, and global threats. Our teams enable companies to improve vulnerability management, incident response, fraud mitigation, and proactive mitigation of the particular threats targeting their industry or global operations. Customers include financial institutions, large corporations, and governmental and quasi-governmental organizations. Customers pay an annual fee for iDefense.

Managed DNS is a hosting service that delivers DNS resolution, improving the availability of web-based systems. Managed DNS provides DNS availability through a globally distributed, securely managed, cloud-based DNS infrastructure, allowing enterprises to save on capital expenses associated with DNS infrastructure deployment and reduce operational costs and complexity associated with DNS management. In 2011, Verisign enhanced Managed DNS services by providing full support for DNS Security Extensions compliance features and Geo Location capabilities. Security Extensions are designed to protect the DNS infrastructure from man-in-the-middle attacks that corrupt, or poison, DNS data. Geo Location allows website owners to customize responses for end-users based on their physical location or IP address, giving them the ability to deliver location-specific content. Customers include financial institutions and e-commerce providers. Customers pay a monthly subscription fee that varies depending on the customer’s network requirements.

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DDoS Protection Services supports online business continuity by providing monitoring and mitigation services against DDoS attacks. We help companies stay online without needing to make significant investments in infrastructure or establish internal DDoS expertise. As a cloud-based service, it can be deployed quickly and easily, with no customer premise equipment required. This saves time and money through operational efficiencies, support cost, and economies of scale to provide detection and protection against the largest of DDoS attacks. Customers include financial institutions and e-commerce providers. Customers pay a monthly subscription fee that varies depending on the customer’s network requirements.

Operations Infrastructure

Our operations infrastructure consists of three primary Company-operated secure data centers in Dulles, Virginia; New Castle, Delaware; and Fribourg, Switzerland as well as approximately 70 globally distributed resolution sites, which includes both regional resolution sites and supersites. These secure data centers operate 24-hours a day, supporting our business units and services. The performance and scale of our infrastructure are critical for our Naming Services businesses, and give us the platform to maintain our leadership position. Key features of our operations infrastructure include:

As part of our operations infrastructure for our Registry Services business, we operate all authoritative domain name servers that answer domain name lookups for the .com and .net zones, as well as for the other top-level domains for which we are the registry. We also operate two of the thirteen externally visible root zone server addresses, which are considered to be the authoritative root zone servers of the Internet’s DNS. The domain name servers provide the associated authoritative name servers and IP addresses for every .com and .net domain name on the Internet and a large number of other top-level domain queries, resulting in an annual average of over 60 billion transactions per day. These name servers are located around the world, providing local

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domain name service throughout North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Each server facility is a controlled and monitored environment, incorporating security and system maintenance features. This network of name servers is one of the cornerstones of the Internet’s DNS infrastructure.

In 2011, we deployed DNS Security Extensions in the .com domain, to protect the integrity of domain name system data. In 2010, we announced an approximately $300 million new initiative called “Project Apollo” to meet infrastructure challenges expected over the next decade. We expect that this initiative will strengthen, scale and in some cases revamp the .com infrastructure to absorb very large loads, repel significant DDoS attacks and provide enhanced monitoring and logging capabilities. We expect to grow capacity 1,000 times today’s level of 4 trillion queries to manage 4 quadrillion queries per day to support normal and peak system load and attack volumes based on what we have experienced historically, as well as to accommodate projected Internet attack trends. In 2009, we completed the prior infrastructure initiative called “Project Titan,” a three-year large-scale infrastructure upgrade that included the deployment of a new operations center as well as regional resolution sites, of which we now have more than 50 globally.

Call Centers and Help Desk:    We provide customer support services through our phone-based call centers, email help desks and Web-based self-help systems. Our Virginia call center is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year to support our businesses. All call centers have a staff of trained customer support agents and provide Web-based support services utilizing customized automatic response systems to provide self-help recommendations.

Operations Support and Monitoring:    Through our network operations centers, we have an extensive monitoring capability that enables us to track the status and performance of our critical database systems and our global resolution systems. Our distributed network operations centers are staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Disaster Recovery Plans:    We have disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities that are designed to deal with the loss of entire data centers and other facilities. Our Registry Services business maintains dual mirrored data centers that allow rapid failover with no data loss and no loss of function or capacity, as well as off-continent tertiary Registry Services capabilities. Our critical data services (including domain name registration and global resolution) use advanced storage systems that provide data protection through techniques such as synchronous mirroring and remote replication.

Divestitures and Restructuring

In 2011, we completed our four-year restructuring plans, which included divesting or winding down our non-core businesses, the sale of our Authentication Services business, and relocating our headquarters. Information about the divestitures and restructuring is included in Note 4 “Discontinued Operations” and Note 6 “Restructuring Charges” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.

Marketing, Sales and Distribution

We offer promotional marketing programs for our registrars based upon market conditions and the business environment in which the registrars operate. We market our NIA Services worldwide through multiple distribution channels, including direct sales and indirect channels. Our direct sales and marketing organization as of December 31, 2011, consisted of 191 employees. We have marketing and sales offices throughout the world.

Research and Development

We believe that timely development of new and enhanced Internet security, e-commerce, information, and technologies is necessary to remain competitive in the marketplace. During 2011, 2010 and 2009 our research and development expenses were $53.3 million, $53.7 million and $52.4 million, respectively.

Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to continue to maintain and enhance our current technologies and services. In the past, we developed our services both independently and through efforts with

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leading application developers and major customers. We have also, in certain circumstances, acquired or licensed technology from third parties. Although we will continue to work closely with developers and major customers in our development efforts, we expect that most of the future enhancements to existing services and new services will be developed internally.

The markets for our services are dynamic, characterized by rapid technological developments, frequent new product introductions and evolving industry standards. The constantly changing nature of these markets and their rapid evolution will require us to continually improve the performance, features and reliability of our services, particularly in response to competitive offerings, and to introduce both new and enhanced services as quickly as possible and prior to our competitors.

Competition

We compete with numerous companies in each of the Registry Services and NIA Services businesses. The overall number of our competitors may increase and the identity and composition of competitors may change over time.

Competition in Registry Services:    We face competition in the domain name registry space from other gTLD and ccTLD registries that are competing for the business of entities and individuals that are seeking to establish a Web presence, including registries offering services related to the .info, .org, .mobi, .biz, .pro, .aero, .museum, .coop and .xxx gTLDs and registries offering services related to ccTLDs. ICANN currently has registry agreements with 16 registries for the operation of 18 gTLDs. In addition, there are over 250 Latin script ccTLD registries and 38 IDN ccTLD registries. Furthermore, under our agreements with ICANN, we are subject to certain restrictions in the operation of .com, .net and .name on pricing, bundling, methods of distribution and use of registrars that do not apply to ccTLDs and therefore may create a competitive disadvantage. If other registries launch marketing campaigns for new or existing TLDs, including forms of marketing campaigns that we are prohibited from running under the terms of our agreements with ICANN, which result in registrars giving other TLDs greater prominence on their websites, advertising or marketing materials, we could be at a competitive disadvantage and our business could suffer.

We also face competition from service providers that offer outsourced domain name registration, resolution and other DNS services to organizations that require a reliable and scalable infrastructure. Among the competitors are Neustar Inc., Afilias Limited, ARI Registry Services and Nominet UK, Inc. In addition, to the extent end-users navigate using search engines or social media, as opposed to direct navigation, we may face competition from search engine operators such as Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and Yahoo! Inc., operators of social networks such as Facebook, and operators of microblogging tools such as Twitter. Furthermore, to the extent end-users increase the use of web and phone applications to locate and access content, we may face competition from providers of such web and mobile applications.

Additional competition to our business may arise from the introduction of new TLDs by ICANN. These include IDN TLDs and the upcoming introduction of new gTLDs by ICANN. On October 30, 2009, ICANN approved a fast track process for the awarding of new IDN ccTLDs and such new IDN ccTLDs have started to be introduced into the root. An application period for other new domain extensions (including ones for which we could apply) opened in January 2012 with new registration opportunities available by the beginning of 2013. We do not yet know the impact, if any, that these new domain extensions may have on our business. Applicants for such new TLDs may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. Furthermore, ICANN will allow the operators of new gTLDs to also own, be owned 100% by or otherwise affiliated with a registrar, whereas we are currently prohibited by our agreements with ICANN and the DOC from owning more than 15% of a registrar. As a result, operators of new gTLDs may be able to obtain competitive advantages through such vertical integration. ICANN has also approved a process pursuant to which an operator of an existing gTLD could apply to become a registrar with respect to a new gTLD; however, it is uncertain whether ICANN and/or the DOC would approve the necessary changes to Verisign’s existing agreements to allow us to

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vertically integrate with respect to new gTLDs, in which case, we may be at a competitive disadvantage. While we intend to apply for one or more of these new domain extensions, there is no certainty that we will ultimately be successful, and even if we are successful in obtaining one or more of these new domain extensions, there is no guarantee that such extensions will be any more successful than the domain name extensions obtained by our competitors. Similarly, while we may provide back-end registry services to other applicants for new gTLDs, we face competition from other back-end registry service providers and there is no guarantee that such applicants we do enter into agreements with will be successful in obtaining one or more these new domain extensions or that such domain extensions will be successful.

Competition in Network Intelligence and Availability Services:    Several of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories and/or significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and therefore may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards and customer requirements. Many of these competitors also have broader and more established distribution channels that may be used to deliver competing products or services directly to customers through bundling or other means. If such competitors were to bundle competing products or services for their customers, we may experience difficulty establishing or increasing demand for our products and services or distributing our products successfully.

We face competition in the network intelligence and availability services industry from companies or services such as iSight Partners, Security Services X-Force Threat Analysis Service, Secunia ApS, Dell SecureWorks, McAfee, Inc., Prolexic Technologies, Inc., AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., Dyn, Inc.’s Dynect Platform, NeuStar Ultra Services, OpenDNS, BlueCat Networks, Inc., Infoblox Inc., Nominum, Inc. and Afilias Limited.

Industry Regulation

Registry Services:    Within the U.S. Government, oversight of Internet administration is provided by the DOC. Effective October 1, 2009, the DOC and ICANN entered into a new agreement, known as the “Affirmation of Commitments” which replaced a prior agreement known as the Joint Project Agreement. Under the Affirmation of Commitments, the DOC became one of several parties working together with other representative constituency members in providing an on-going review of ICANN’s performance and accountability. The Affirmation of Commitments provides for more defined international participation in this review. The agreement sets forth periodic reviews by committees. These review panels are charged with reviewing and making recommendations regarding: (i) the accountability and transparency of ICANN; (ii) the security, stability and resiliency of the DNS; (iii) the impact of new gTLDs on competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice; and (iv) the effectiveness of ICANN’s policies with respect to registrant data in meeting the legitimate needs of law enforcement and promoting consumer trust. Under the Affirmation of Commitments, the Assistant Secretary of Communications and Information of the DOC will be a member of the “Accountability and Transparency” review panel. The reviews generally are to occur no less than every three to four years.

As the exclusive registry of domain names within the .com, .net and .name gTLDs, we have entered into certain agreements with ICANN and the DOC:

.com Registry Agreement: On November 29, 2006, the DOC approved the Registry Agreement between ICANN and Verisign for the .com gTLD (the “.com Registry Agreement”). The .com Registry Agreement provides that we will continue to be the sole registry operator for domain names in the .com top-level domain through November 30, 2012. The .com Registry Agreement provides that it shall be renewed for successive terms unless it has been determined that Verisign has been in fundamental and material breach of certain provisions of the .com Registry Agreement and has failed to cure such breach. The DOC shall approve such renewal if it concludes that approval will serve the public interest in (a) the continued security and stability of the Internet DNS and the operation of the .com registry including, in addition to other relevant factors, consideration of Verisign’s compliance with consensus policies and technical specifications, its service level agreements as set

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forth in the .com Registry Agreement, and the investment associated with improving the security and stability of the DNS, and (b) the provision of registry services as defined in the .com Registry Agreement at reasonable prices, terms and conditions. The parties have an expectancy of renewal of the .com Registry Agreement so long as the foregoing public interest standard is met and Verisign is not in breach of the .com Registry Agreement. We have commenced the renewal process with ICANN. If we fail to renew the .com Registry Agreement on the same or similar terms, our business could be materially adversely affected. For further information regarding the impact of this renewal on our business, see Item 1A, “Risk Factors—Substantially all of our revenue is derived from our Registry Services business;—Issues arising from our agreements with ICANN, the DOC and the GSA could harm our Registry Services business.”

We are required to comply with and implement temporary specifications or policies and consensus policies, as well as other provisions pursuant to the .com Registry Agreement relating to handling of data and other registry operations. The .com Registry Agreement also provides a procedure for Verisign to propose, and ICANN to review and approve, additional registry services.

Cooperative Agreement: In connection with the DOC’s approval of the .com Registry Agreement, Verisign and the DOC entered into Amendment No. Thirty (30) to their Cooperative Agreement—Special Awards Conditions NCR-92-18742 (the “Amendment”), regarding operation of the .com registry, which extends the term of Cooperative Agreement through November 30, 2012, and provides that any renewal or extension of the .com Registry Agreement is subject to prior written approval by the DOC. As described above, the Amendment provides that the DOC shall approve such renewal if it concludes that it is in the public interest and in the continued security and stability of the DNS and that the provision of .com registry services is offered on reasonable terms.

.net Registry Agreement: On June 27, 2011, we entered into a renewal of our Registry Agreement with ICANN for the .net gTLD (the “.net Registry Agreement”). The .net Registry Agreement provides that we will continue to be the sole registry operator for domain names in the .net top-level domain through June 30, 2017. The .net Registry Agreement provides that it shall be renewed unless it has been determined that Verisign has been in fundamental and material breach of certain provisions of the .net Registry Agreement and has failed to cure such breach.

The descriptions of the .com Registry Agreement, the Amendment, and the .net Registry Agreement are qualified in their entirety by the text of the complete agreements that are incorporated by reference as exhibits in this Form 10-K.

.name Registry Agreement: On October 1, 2008, we acquired The Global Name Registry Ltd. (“GNR”), the holder of the .name Registry Agreement which was assigned to VeriSign Information Services, Inc., our wholly owned subsidiary, and provides that we will continue to be the sole registry operator for domain names in the .name top-level domain through August 15, 2012. The renewal provisions are the same as for the .net Registry Agreement. We have commenced the renewal process with ICANN.

Some of the services we provide to customers globally may require approval under applicable U.S. export law. As the list of products and countries for which export approval is expanded or changes, government restrictions on the export of software and hardware products utilizing encryption technology may grow and become an impediment to our growth in international markets. If we do not obtain required approvals or we violate applicable laws, we may not be able to provide some of our services in international markets and may be subject to fines and other penalties.

Intellectual Property

We rely primarily on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, restrictions on disclosure and other methods to protect our intellectual property. We also enter into confidentiality and/or

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invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants and current and potential affiliates, customers and business partners. We also generally control access to and distribution of proprietary documentation and other confidential information.

We have been issued numerous patents in the U.S. and abroad, covering a wide range of our technology. Additionally, we have filed numerous patent applications with respect to certain of our technology in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and patent offices outside the U.S. Patents may not be awarded with respect to these applications and even if such patents are awarded, such patents may not provide us with sufficient protection of our intellectual property.

We have obtained trademark registrations for the VERISIGN mark in the U.S. and other countries, and have filed new trademark applications for the new VERISIGN logo in the same countries. We have common law rights in other proprietary names. We take steps to enforce and police Verisign’s trademarks. We rely on the strength of our Verisign brand to help differentiate ourselves in the marketing of our products and services.

With regard to our Naming Services businesses, our principal intellectual property consists of, and our success is dependent upon, proprietary software used in our Naming Services businesses and certain methodologies and technical expertise we use in both the design and implementation of our current and future registry services and Internet-based products and services businesses, including the conversion of IDNs. We own our proprietary Shared Registration System through which registrars submit second-level domain name registrations for each of the registries we operate, as well as the ATLAS distributed lookup system which processes billions of queries per day. Some of the software and protocols used in our registry services are in the public domain or are otherwise available to our competitors.

Under the agreement reached with Symantec for the sale of our Authentication Services business, which closed on August 9, 2010 (the “Closing Date”), Symantec acquired all trademarks primarily used in our Authentication Services business, including our checkmark logo and the Geotrust and thawte brand names, and we granted Symantec a five-year license in connection with the VeriSign.com website. The VeriSign.com website will be operated by Symantec for a period of five years following the Closing Date, subject to certain rights of Verisign (including the right to include links to sub-domains operated by us).

Employees

The following table shows a comparison of our consolidated employee headcount, by function, including historical headcount associated with the divested and wound-down businesses:

We have never had a work stoppage, and no U.S.-based employees are represented under collective bargaining agreements. Our ability to achieve our financial and operational objectives depends in large part upon our continued ability to attract, integrate, train, retain and motivate highly qualified sales, technical and managerial personnel, and upon the continued service of our senior management and key sales and technical personnel. Competition for qualified personnel in our industry and in some of our geographical locations is intense, particularly for software development personnel.

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In addition to other information in this Form 10-K, the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating us and our business because these factors currently have a significant impact or may have a significant impact on our business, operating results or financial condition. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K as a result of the risk factors discussed below and elsewhere in this Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the SEC.

Risks relating to our business

Our operating results may fluctuate and our future revenues and profitability are uncertain.

Our operating results have varied in the past and may fluctuate significantly in the future as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. These factors include the following:

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Our operating expenses may increase. If an increase in our expenses is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in our revenues, our operating results will suffer, particularly as revenues from some of our services are recognized ratably over the term of the service, rather than immediately when the customer pays for them, unlike our sales and marketing expenditures, which are expensed in full when incurred.

Due to all of the above factors, our revenues and operating results are difficult to forecast. Therefore, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results will not necessarily be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance. Also, operating results may fall below our expectations and the expectations of securities analysts or investors in one or more future periods. If this were to occur, the market price of our common stock would likely decline.

Our operating results may continue to be adversely affected as a result of unfavorable market, economic, social and political conditions.

An unstable global economic, social and political environment may have a negative impact on demand for our services, our business and our foreign operations, including the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, natural disasters, the eurozone crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling crisis. The economic, social and political environment has or may negatively impact, among other things:

In addition, to the extent that the economic, social and political environment impacts specific industry and geographic sectors in which many of our customers are concentrated, that may further negatively impact our business. If the market, economic, social and political conditions in the U.S. and globally do not improve, or if they further deteriorate, we may experience material adverse impacts on our business, operating results and financial position as a consequence of the above factors or otherwise.

We may experience significant fluctuations in our financial results.

The successful operation of our business depends on numerous factors, many of which are not entirely under our control, including, but not limited to, the following:

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Issues arising from our agreements with ICANN, the DOC and the GSA could harm our Registry Services business.

We are parties to agreements (i) with the DOC with respect to certain aspects of the DNS, (ii) with ICANN and the DOC as the exclusive registry of domain names within the .com gTLD and (iii) with ICANN with respect to being the exclusive registry for the .net and .name gTLDs.

We face risks arising from our agreements with ICANN and the DOC, including the following:

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In addition, under the .com, .net and .name Registry Agreements, as well as the Cooperative Agreement with the DOC, we are prohibited from holding a greater than 15% ownership interest in any ICANN accredited registrar. This prohibition on cross-ownership currently applies to all eighteen ICANN gTLDs, but does not apply to ccTLDs. ICANN has adopted a proposal to allow the operators of new gTLDs to also own, be owned 100% by, or otherwise be affiliated with, a registrar. The impact of these changes to the distribution channel is uncertain but could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, ICANN has also adopted a procedure pursuant to which an operator of one of the existing eighteen ICANN gTLDs can apply to remove the cross-ownership restrictions with respect to new, but not existing gTLDs. If Verisign were to seek removal of the cross-ownership restriction with respect to new gTLDs, it is uncertain whether ICANN and/or the DOC approval would be obtained.

Substantially all of our revenue is derived from our Registry Services business.

Our Registry Services business, which derives most of its revenues from registration fees for domain names, generates substantially all of our revenue. If there is a disruption in the Registry Services business, including any disruption from changes in the domain name industry, changes in or challenges to our agreements with ICANN, including any changes resulting from legal challenges to these agreements, changes in customer preferences, a downturn in the economy or changes in technology related to the use of domain names, there may be a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, a failure of the .com Registry Agreement to renew on the same or similar terms when it expires in 2012 could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Challenges to Internet administration could harm our Registry Services business.

Risks we face from challenges by third parties, including governmental authorities in the U.S. and other countries, to our role in the ongoing operation of the Internet include:

As a result of these and other risks, it may be difficult for us to introduce new services in our Registry Services business and we could also be subject to additional restrictions on how this business is conducted, which may not also apply to our competitors.

Our international operations subject our business to additional economic risks that could have an adverse impact on our revenues and business.

As of December 31, 2011, we had 117, or 12%, of our employees outside the U.S. Expansion into international markets has required and will continue to require significant management attention and resources. We may also need to tailor some of our services for a particular market and to enter into international distribution and operating relationships. We have limited experience in localizing our services and in developing international distribution or operating relationships. We may not succeed in expanding our services into new international markets or expand our presence in existing markets. Failure to do so could harm our business. Moreover, local laws and customs in many countries differ significantly from those in the U.S. In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it is common for others to engage in business

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practices that are prohibited by our internal policies and procedures or U.S. law or regulations applicable to us. There can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors and agents will not take actions in violation of such policies, procedures, laws and/or regulations. Violations of laws, regulations or key control policies by our employees, contractors or agents could result in financial reporting problems, fines, penalties, or prohibition on the importation or exportation of our products and services and could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we face risks inherent in doing business on an international basis, including, among others:

We are exposed to risks faced by financial institutions.

The hedging transactions we have entered into expose us to credit risk in the event of default by one of our counterparties. Despite the risk control measures we have in place, a default by one of our counterparties, or liquidity problems in the financial services industry in general, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our marketable securities portfolio could experience a decline in market value, which could materially and adversely affect our financial results.

As of December 31, 2011, we had $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash, of which $32.9 million was invested in marketable securities. The marketable securities consist of debt securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and other U.S. government corporations and agencies meeting the criteria of our investment policy, which is focused on the preservation of our capital through the investment in investment grade securities. We currently do not use derivative financial instruments to adjust our investment portfolio risk or income profile.

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These investments, as well as any cash deposited in bank accounts, are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by unusual events, such as the eurozone crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling crisis, which have affected various sectors of the financial markets and led to global credit and liquidity issues. Over the past several years, the volatility and disruption in the global credit market reached unprecedented levels. If the global credit market deteriorates further, our investment portfolio may be impacted and we could determine that some of our investments have experienced an other-than-temporary decline in fair value, requiring an impairment charge which could adversely impact our financial results.

Governmental regulation and the application of existing laws may slow business growth, increase our costs of doing business, create potential liability and have an adverse effect on our business.

Application of new and existing laws and regulations to the Internet and communications industry can be unclear. The costs of complying or failing to comply with these laws and regulations could limit our ability to operate in our current markets, expose us to compliance costs and substantial liability and result in costly and time-consuming litigation.

Foreign, federal or state laws could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to conduct business in certain foreign countries. For example, laws designed to restrict who can register domain names, the on-line distribution of certain materials deemed harmful to children, on-line gambling (especially as we consider providing NIA Services to this sector), counterfeit goods, and cybersquatting; laws designed to require registrants to provide additional documentation or information in connection with domain name registrations; and laws designed to promote cyber security may impose significant additional costs on our business or subject us to additional liabilities. We have contracts pursuant to which we provide services to the U.S. government and even though these contracts are immaterial, they impose compliance costs, including compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which could be significant to the Company.

Due to the nature of the Internet, it is possible that state or foreign governments might attempt to regulate Internet transmissions or prosecute us for violations of their laws. We might unintentionally violate such laws, such laws may be modified and new laws may be enacted in the future. Any such developments could increase the costs of regulatory compliance for us, affect our reputation, force us to change our business practices or otherwise materially harm our business. In addition, any such new laws could impede growth of or result in a decline in domain name registrations, as well as impact the demand for our services.

We rely on third parties who maintain and control root zone servers and route Internet communications.

We currently administer and operate only two of the thirteen root zone servers. The others are administered and operated by independent operators on a non-regulated basis. Root zone servers are name servers that contain authoritative data for the very top of the DNS hierarchy. These servers have the software and data needed to locate name servers that contain authoritative data for the top-level domains. These root zone servers are critical to the functioning of the Internet. Consequently, our Registry Services business could be harmed if these independent operators fail to maintain these servers properly or abandon these servers, which would place additional capacity demands on the two root zone servers we operate.

Further, our Registry Services business could be harmed if any of the independent operators fails to include or provide accessibility to the data that it maintains in the root zone servers that it controls, or presents inconsistent data for the top-level domains.

Changes in customer behavior, either as a result of evolving technologies or user practices, may impact the demand for domain names.

Currently, Internet users navigate to a website either by directly typing its domain name into a web browser or through the use of a search engine. If (i) web browser or Internet search technologies were to change significantly; (ii) Internet search engines changed the value of their algorithms on the use of a domain for finding

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a website; (iii) Internet users’ preferences or practices were to shift away from direct navigation; (iv) Internet users were to increase the use of web and phone applications to locate and access content; or (v) Internet users were to increase the use of second or third level domains or alternate identifiers, such as social networking and microblogging sites, in each case the demand for domain names could decrease.

Changes in the level of spending on on-line advertising and/or the way that on-line networks compensate owners of websites could impact the demand for domain names.

Some domain name registrars and registrants seek to generate revenue through advertising on their websites; changes in the way these registrars and registrants are compensated (including changes in methodologies and metrics) by advertisers and advertisement placement networks, such as Google and Yahoo!, could adversely affect the market for those domain names favored by such registrars and registrants resulting in a decrease in demand and/or the renewal rate for those domain names. In addition, as a result of the general economic environment, spending on on-line advertising and marketing may not increase as projected or may be reduced, which in turn, may result in a further decline in the demand for those domain names.

Consolidation or changes in ownership or management among third-party registrars could result in reduced marketing efforts or other operational changes that could harm our Registry Services business.

Third-party registrars utilize substantial marketing efforts to increase the demand and/or renewal rates for domain names. Consolidation in the registrar industry or changes in ownership or management among individual registrars could result in significant changes to their business, operating model and cost structure. Such changes could include reduced marketing efforts or other operational changes that could adversely impact the demand and/or the renewal rates for domain names. Our Registry Services business, which generates substantially all of our revenue, derives most of its revenues from registrations and renewals of domain names, and decreased demand for and/or renewals of domain names could cause a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Undetected or unknown defects in our services could harm our business and future operating results.

Services as complex as those we offer or develop could contain undetected defects or errors. Despite testing, defects or errors may occur in our existing or new services, which could result in compromised customer data, loss of or delay in revenues, loss of market share, failure to achieve market acceptance, diversion of development resources, injury to our reputation, tort or warranty claims, increased insurance costs or increased service and warranty costs, any of which could harm our business. The performance of our services could have unforeseen or unknown adverse effects on the networks over which they are delivered as well as on third-party applications and services that utilize our services, which could result in legal claims against us, harming our business. Furthermore, we often provide implementation, customization, consulting and other technical services in connection with the implementation and ongoing maintenance of our services, which typically involves working with sophisticated software, computing and communications systems. Our failure or inability to meet customer expectations in a timely manner could also result in loss of or delay in revenues, loss of market share, failure to achieve market acceptance, injury to our reputation and increased costs.

If we encounter system interruptions or failures, we could be exposed to liability and our reputation and business could suffer.

We depend on the uninterrupted operation of our various systems, secure data centers and other computer and communication networks. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:

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Most of our systems are located at, and most of our customer information is stored in, our facilities in New Castle, Delaware; Dulles, Virginia; and Fribourg, Switzerland. To the extent we are unable to partially or completely switch over to primary alternate or tertiary sites, any damage or failure that causes interruptions in any of these facilities or our other computer and communications systems could materially harm our business. Although we carry insurance for property damage, we do not carry insurance or financial reserves for interruptions or potential losses arising from terrorism.

In addition, our Registry Services business and certain of our other services depend on the efficient operation of the Internet connections from customers to our secure data centers and from our customers to the Shared Registration System. These connections depend upon the efficient operation of Internet service providers and Internet backbone service providers, all of which have had periodic operational problems or experienced outages in the past.

A failure in the operation of our top-level domain name zone servers, the domain name root zone servers, or other events could result in the deletion of one or more domain names from the Internet for a period of time or a misdirection of a domain name to a different server. In the event that a registrar has not implemented back up services recommended by us in conformance with industry best practices, a failure in the operation of our Shared Registration System could result in the inability of one or more other registrars to register and maintain domain names for a period of time. A failure in the operation or update of the master database that we maintain could also result in the deletion of one or more top-level domains from the Internet and the discontinuation of second-level domain names in those top-level domains for a period of time or a misdirection of a domain name to a different server. Any of these problems or outages could decrease customer satisfaction, harming our business or resulting in adverse publicity that could adversely affect the market’s perception of the security of e-commerce and communications over the Internet as well as of the security or reliability of our services.

In addition, a failure in our NIA Services could have a negative impact on our reputation and our business could suffer.

We experienced security breaches in the corporate network in 2010 which were not sufficiently reported to Management.

In 2010, the Company faced several successful attacks against its corporate network in which access was gained to information on a small portion of our computers and servers. We have investigated and do not believe these attacks breached the servers that support our DNS network as all DNS zone files were and are protected by a series of integrity checks including real-time monitoring and validation. Information stored on some of the compromised corporate systems was exfiltrated. The Company’s information security group was aware of the attacks shortly after the time of their occurrence and the group implemented remedial measures designed to mitigate the attacks and to detect and thwart similar additional attacks. However, given the nature of such attacks, we cannot assure that our remedial actions will be sufficient to thwart future attacks or prevent the future loss of information. In addition, although the Company is unaware of any situation in which possibly exfiltrated information has been used, we are unable to assure that such information was not or could not be used in the future.

The occurrences of the attacks were not sufficiently reported to the Company’s management at the time they occurred for the purpose of assessing any disclosure requirements. Management was informed of the incident in September 2011 and, following the review, the Company’s management concluded that our disclosure controls

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and procedures are effective. However, the Company has implemented reporting line and escalation organization changes, procedures and processes to strengthen the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures in this area. See Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” in Part II of this report.

If we experience security breaches, we could be exposed to liability and our reputation and business could suffer.

We retain certain customer and employee information in our secure data centers and various registration systems. It is critical to our business strategy that our facilities and infrastructure remain secure and are perceived by the marketplace to be secure. The Company, as an operator of critical infrastructure, is frequently targeted and experiences a high rate of attacks. These include the most sophisticated form of attacks, such as advanced persistent threat (“APT”) attacks and zero-hour threats, which means that the threat is not compiled or has been previously unobserved within our observation and threat indicators space until the moment it is launched, making these attacks virtually impossible to anticipate and defend against. The Shared Registration System, the domain name root zone servers and top-level domain name zone servers that we operate are critical hardware and software to our Registry Services operations. We expend significant time and money on the security of our facilities and infrastructure. Despite our security measures, our infrastructure may be vulnerable to physical break-ins, computer viruses, attacks by hackers or nefarious actors or similar disruptive problems, including hacktivism. It is possible that we may have to expend additional financial and other resources to address such problems. Any physical or electronic break-in or other security breach or compromise of the information stored at our secure data centers and domain name registration systems may jeopardize the security of information stored on our premises or in the computer systems and networks of our customers. In such an event, we could face significant liability, customers could be reluctant to use our services and we could be at risk for loss of various security and standards-based compliance certifications needed for certain of our businesses, all or any of which could adversely affect our reputation and harm our business. Such an occurrence could also result in adverse publicity and therefore adversely affect the market’s perception of the security of e-commerce and communications over the Internet as well as of the security or reliability of our services. For example, in 2010 our corporate network was breached. See “Risk Factors—We experienced security breaches in the corporate network in 2010 which were not sufficiently reported to Management.”

We rely on our intellectual property, and any failure by us to protect, or any misappropriation of, our intellectual property could harm our business.

Our success depends in part on our internally developed technologies and intellectual property. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our trade secrets or other forms of our intellectual property without authorization. Furthermore, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights in those countries to the same extent U.S. law protects these rights in the U.S. In addition, it is possible that others may independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property. If we do not effectively protect our intellectual property, our business could suffer. Additionally, we have filed patent applications with respect to certain of our technology in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and patent offices outside the U.S. Patents may not be awarded with respect to these applications and even if such patents are awarded, such patents may not provide us with sufficient protection of our intellectual property. In the future, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. This type of litigation, regardless of its outcome, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention and technical resources.

We also license third-party technology that is used in our products and services to perform key functions. These third-party technology licenses may not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our business would suffer if we lost the rights to use certain of these technologies. Additionally, another party could claim that the licensed software infringes a patent or other proprietary right. Litigation between the licensor and a third-party or between us and a third-party could lead to royalty obligations for which we are not

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indemnified or for which indemnification is insufficient, or we may not be able to obtain any additional license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. The loss of or our inability to obtain or maintain any of these technology licenses could harm our business.

We rely on the strength of our Verisign brand to help differentiate ourselves in the marketing of our products. Dilution of the strength of our brand could harm our business. We are at risk that we will be unable to register, build equity in, or enforce the new logo for the Company.

We could become subject to claims of infringement of intellectual property of others, which could be costly to defend and could harm our business.

Claims relating to infringement of intellectual property of others or other similar claims have been made against us in the past and could be made against us in the future. It is possible that we could become subject to additional claims for infringement of the intellectual property of third parties. The international launch of the new logo for the Company could present additional potential risks for third party claims of infringement. Any claims, with or without merit, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel attention, cause delays in our business activities generally, or require us to develop a non-infringing logo or technology or enter into royalty or licensing agreements. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. If a successful claim of infringement was made against us, we could be required to pay damages or have portions of our business enjoined. If we could not identify and adopt an alternative non-infringing logo, develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely and cost-effective basis, our business could be harmed.

In addition, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of intellectual property rights in Internet-related businesses are uncertain and still evolving. Because of the growth of the Internet and Internet-related businesses, patent applications are continuously being filed in connection with Internet-related technology. There are a significant number of U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications in our areas of interest, and we believe that there has been, and is likely to continue to be, significant litigation in the industry regarding patent and other intellectual property rights.

We could become involved in claims, lawsuits or investigations that may result in adverse outcomes.

In addition to possible intellectual property litigation and infringement claims, we may become involved in other claims, lawsuits and investigations. Such proceedings may initially be viewed as immaterial but could prove to be material. Litigation is inherently unpredictable, and excessive verdicts do occur. Adverse outcomes in lawsuits and investigations could result in significant monetary damages, including indemnification payments, or injunctive relief that could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Given the inherent uncertainties in litigation, even when we are able to reasonably estimate the amount of possible loss or range of loss and therefore record an aggregate litigation accrual for probable and reasonably estimable loss contingencies, the accrual may change in the future due to new developments or changes in approach. In addition, such investigations, claims and lawsuits could involve significant expense and diversion of management’s attention and resources from other matters.

We must establish and maintain strategic, channel and other relationships.

One of our significant business strategies has been to enter into strategic or other similar collaborative relationships in order to reach a larger customer base than we could reach through our direct sales and marketing efforts, including in international markets. We may need to enter into additional relationships to execute our business plan. We may not be able to enter into additional, or maintain our existing, strategic relationships on commercially reasonable terms. If we fail to enter into additional relationships, we would have to devote substantially more resources to the distribution, sale and marketing of our services than we would otherwise.

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Our success in obtaining results from these relationships will depend both on the ultimate success of the other parties to these relationships and on the ability of these parties to market our services successfully.

Furthermore, any changes by our distributors to their existing marketing strategies could have a material adverse effect on our business. Similarly, if one or more of our distributors were to encounter financial difficulties, or if there were a significant reduction in marketing expenditures by our distributors (including registrars), as a result of industry consolidation or otherwise, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, including a decrease in domain name registrations and renewals. Failure of one or more of our strategic, channel or other relationships to result in the development and maintenance of a market for our services could harm our business. If we are unable to maintain our existing relationships or to enter into additional relationships, this could harm our business.

The success of our NIA Services depends in part on the acceptance of our services.

We are investing in our NIA Services, and the future growth of these services depends, in part, on the commercial success, acceptance, and reliability of our NIA Services. These services will suffer if our target customers do not adopt or use these services. We are not certain that our target customers will choose our NIA Services or continue to use these services even after adoption.

We rely on third parties to provide products which are incorporated in our NIA Services.

The NIA Services incorporate and rely on third party hardware and software products, many of which have unique capabilities. If Verisign was unable to procure these third party products, the NIA Services may malfunction, not perform as well as they should perform, not perform as well as they have been performing or not perform as planned, and our business could suffer.

Many of our target markets are evolving, and if these markets fail to develop or if our products and services are not widely accepted in these markets, our business could be harmed.

Our Registry Services and NIA Services businesses are developing services in emerging markets, including services that involve naming and directory services other than registry and related infrastructure services. These emerging markets are rapidly evolving, may never gain wide acceptance and may not grow. Even if these markets grow, our services may not be widely accepted. Accordingly, the demand for our services in these markets is very uncertain. The factors that may affect market acceptance of our services in these markets include the following:

If the market for e-commerce and communications over IP and other networks does not grow or these services are not widely accepted in the market, our business could be materially harmed.

We depend on key employees to manage our business effectively and have experienced changes in our senior management team, and we may face difficulty in attracting and retaining full-time, qualified leaders.

We depend on the performance of our senior management team and other key employees. Our success also depends on our ability to attract, integrate, train, retain and motivate these individuals and additional highly skilled technical and sales and marketing employees, both in the U.S. and abroad.

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During the third quarter of 2011, our Board appointed D. James Bidzos, our Executive Chairman, as President and Chief Executive Officer, and John Calys, our Vice President, Controller, as Interim Chief Financial Officer, following the resignations of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, respectively. The search for a regular full-time replacement to fill the chief financial officer position may be a distraction to our senior management, business partners and customers, and, although we believe we have taken appropriate measures to address the impact of these departures, there is a risk that such changes may impair our ability to meet our business objectives. During the period of transition following the appointment of a permanent chief financial officer, there may be operational inefficiencies as the chief financial officer becomes familiar with our business and operations. We cannot provide you with any assurance that the search for any replacements will be successful, and if we cannot recruit (or experience delays in recruiting) a qualified regular full-time replacement for such position, our business may suffer.

We have anti-takeover protections that may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control that could benefit our stockholders.

Our amended and restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board of Directors (“Board”). These provisions include:

We have also adopted a stockholder rights plan that may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control or the acquisition of a substantial block of our common stock and may make any future unsolicited acquisition attempt more difficult. Under the rights plan:

In addition, Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person which together with its affiliates owns or within the last three years has owned 15% or more of our voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless in the same transaction the interested stockholder acquired 85% ownership of our voting stock (excluding certain shares) or the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Section 203 therefore may

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impact the ability of an acquirer to complete an acquisition of us after a successful tender offer and accordingly could discourage, delay or prevent an acquirer from making an unsolicited offer without the approval of our Board.

Changes in, or interpretations of, tax rules and regulations may adversely affect our effective tax rates.

We are subject to income taxes in both the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are subject to audit by various tax authorities. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different than that which is reflected in historical income tax provisions and accruals. Should additional taxes be assessed as a result of an audit or litigation, an adverse effect on our income tax provision and net income in the period or periods for which that determination is made could result.

We are a U.S.-based multinational company subject to tax in multiple U.S. and foreign tax jurisdictions. A significant portion of our foreign earnings for the current fiscal year were earned by our Swiss subsidiaries. Our effective tax rate could fluctuate significantly on a quarterly basis and could be adversely affected to the extent earnings are lower than anticipated in countries where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in countries where we have higher statutory rates.

Various legislative proposals that would reform U.S. corporate tax laws have been proposed by the Obama administration as well as members of Congress. We are unable to predict whether these or other proposals will be implemented. We have not yet determined whether, or the extent to which, these proposals will ultimately impact us.

Our inability to indefinitely reinvest our foreign earnings could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Deferred income taxes have not been provided on most of the undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries because these earnings have been indefinitely reinvested and we do not plan to initiate any action that would precipitate the payment of income taxes thereon. We consider the following matters, among others, in evaluating our plans for indefinite reinvestment: the forecasts, budgets and financial requirements of the parent and subsidiaries for both the long and short term; the tax consequences of a decision to reinvest; and any U.S. and foreign government programs designed to influence remittances. If factors change and as a result we are unable to indefinitely reinvest the foreign earnings, the income tax expense and payments may differ significantly from the current period and could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

We are subject to the risks of owning real property.

We closed on the purchase of the land and building in Reston, Virginia, constituting our headquarters facility, on November 15, 2011. Ownership of this property may subject us to risks, including:

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Risks relating to the competitive environment in which we operate

The business environment is highly competitive and, if we do not compete effectively, we may suffer price reductions, reduced gross margins and loss of market share.

General:    New technologies and the expansion of existing technologies may increase competitive pressure. We cannot assure you that competing technologies developed by others or the emergence of new industry standards will not adversely affect our competitive position or render our services or technologies noncompetitive or obsolete. In addition, our markets are characterized by announcements of collaborative relationships involving our competitors. The existence or announcement of any such relationships could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, we may not be able to compete effectively with current or future competitors, and competitive pressures that we face could materially harm our business.

Competition in Registry Services:    We face competition in the domain name registry space from other gTLD and ccTLD registries that are competing for the business of entities and individuals that are seeking to establish a Web presence, including registries offering services related to the .info, .org, .mobi, .biz, .pro, .aero, .museum, .coop and .xxx gTLDs and registries offering services related to ccTLDs. ICANN currently has registry agreements with 16 registries for the operation of 18 gTLDs. In addition, there are over 250 Latin script ccTLD registries and 38 IDN ccTLD registries. Furthermore, under our agreements with ICANN, we are subject to certain restrictions in the operation of .com, .net and .name on pricing, bundling, methods of distribution and use of registrars that do not apply to ccTLDs and therefore may create a competitive disadvantage. If other registries launch marketing campaigns for new or existing TLDs, including forms of marketing campaigns that we are prohibited from running under the terms of our agreements with ICANN, which result in registrars giving other TLDs greater prominence on their websites, advertising or marketing materials, we could be at a competitive disadvantage and our business could suffer.

We also face competition from service providers that offer outsourced domain name registration, resolution and other DNS services to organizations that require a reliable and scalable infrastructure. Among the competitors are Neustar Inc., Afilias Limited, ARI Registry Services and Nominet UK, Inc. In addition, to the extent end-users navigate using search engines or social media, as opposed to direct navigation, we may face competition from search engine operators such as Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and Yahoo! Inc., operators of social networks such as Facebook, and operators of microblogging tools such as Twitter. Furthermore, to the extent end-users increase the use of web and phone applications to locate and access content, we may face competition from providers of such web and mobile applications.

Additional competition to our business may arise from the introduction of new TLDs by ICANN. These include IDN TLDs and the upcoming introduction of new gTLDs by ICANN. On October 30, 2009, ICANN approved a fast track process for the awarding of new IDN ccTLDs and such new IDN ccTLDs have started to be introduced into the root. An application period for other new domain extensions (including ones for which we could apply) opened in January 2012 with new registration opportunities available by the beginning of 2013. We do not yet know the impact, if any, that these new domain extensions may have on our business. Applicants for such new TLDs may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. Furthermore, ICANN will allow the operators of new gTLDs to also own, be owned 100% by or otherwise affiliated with a registrar, whereas we are currently prohibited by our agreements with ICANN and the DOC from owning more than 15% of a registrar. As a result, operators of new gTLDs may be able to obtain competitive advantages through such vertical integration. ICANN has also approved a process pursuant to which an operator of an existing gTLD could apply to become a registrar with respect to a new gTLD; however, it is uncertain whether ICANN and/or the DOC would approve the necessary changes to Verisign’s existing agreements to allow us to vertically integrate with respect to new gTLDs, in which case, we may be at a competitive disadvantage. While we intend to apply for one or more of these new domain extensions, there is no certainty that we will ultimately be successful, and even if we are successful in obtaining one or more of these new domain extensions, there is no guarantee that such extensions will be any more successful than the domain name extensions obtained by our

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competitors. Similarly, while we may provide back-end registry services to other applicants for new gTLDs, we face competition from other back-end registry service providers and there is no guarantee that such applicants we do enter into agreements with will be successful in obtaining one or more of these new domain extensions or that such domain extensions will be successful.

Competition in Network Intelligence and Availability Services:    Several of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories and/or significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do and therefore may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards and customer requirements. Many of these competitors also have broader and more established distribution channels that may be used to deliver competing products or services directly to customers through bundling or other means. If such competitors were to bundle competing products or services for their customers, we may experience difficulty establishing or increasing demand for our products and services or distributing our products successfully.

We face competition in the network intelligence and availability services industry from companies or services such as iSight Partners, Security Services X-Force Threat Analysis Service, Secunia ApS, Dell SecureWorks, McAfee, Inc., Prolexic Technologies, Inc., AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., Dyn, Inc.’s Dynect Platform, NeuStar Ultra Services, OpenDNS, BlueCat Networks, Inc., Infoblox Inc., Nominum, Inc. and Afilias Limited.

Our inability to react to changes in our industry and successfully introduce new products and services could harm our business.

The Internet and communications network services industries are characterized by rapid technological change and frequent new product and service announcements which require us continually to improve the performance, features and reliability of our services, particularly in response to competitive offerings or alternatives to our products and services. In order to remain competitive and retain our market share, we must continually improve our access technology and software, support the latest transmission technologies, and adapt our products and services to changing market conditions and customer preferences and practices, or launch entirely new products and services in anticipation of, or in response to, market trends. We cannot assure you that we will be able to adapt to these challenges or anticipate or respond successfully or in a cost effective way to adequately meet them. Our failure to do so would adversely affect our ability to compete and retain customers or market share.

Risks related to the sale of our Authentication Services business and the completion of our divestitures

We face risks related to the terms of the sale of the Authentication Services business.

Under the agreement reached with Symantec for the sale of our Authentication Services business (the “Symantec Agreement”), we agreed to several terms that may pose risks to us, including the potential for confusion by the public with respect to Symantec’s right to use certain of our trademarks, brands and domain names, as well as the risk that current or potential investors in or customers of the Company may incorrectly attribute to the Company problems with Symantec products or services that currently use the VERISIGN brand pursuant to a license granted by the Company to Symantec. Any such confusion may have a negative impact on our reputation, our brand and the market for our products and services. In addition, we may determine that certain assets transferred to Symantec could have been useful in our Naming Services businesses or in other future endeavors, requiring us to forego future opportunities or design or purchase alternatives which could be costly and less effective than the transferred assets. Further, we may not be able to achieve the full strategic and financial benefits we expect from the sale of our Authentication Services business.

Under the terms of the Symantec Agreement, we have licensed rights to certain of our domain name registrations to Symantec. We are at risk that our customers will go to a URL for a licensed domain name and be unable to locate our Registry or NIA Services. In addition, we will continue to maintain the registration rights for

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the domain names licensed to Symantec for which Symantec has sole control over the displayed content, and we may be subject to claims of infringement if Symantec posts content that is alleged to infringe the rights of a third party.

We continue to be responsible for certain liabilities and transition services following the divestiture of certain businesses.

Under the agreements reached with the buyers of certain divested businesses, including the Authentication Services business, we remain liable for certain liabilities related to the divested businesses. In addition, we have entered into, and may in the future amend or extend, a transition services agreement with Symantec in connection with the divestiture of the Authentication Services business. These transition services may be required for a longer period of time than anticipated by management, and currently, we are obligated to provide the transition services at a fixed price, but our actual costs to provide such services may exceed the fees Symantec is contractually obligated to pay.

There is a possibility that we will incur unanticipated costs and expenses associated with management of liabilities relating to the businesses we have divested, including requests for indemnification by the buyers of the divested businesses. These liabilities could potentially relate to (i) breaches of contractual representations and warranties we gave to the buyers of the divested businesses, or (ii) certain liabilities relating to the divested businesses that we retained under the agreements reached with the buyers of the divested businesses. Such liabilities could include certain litigation matters, including actions brought by third parties. Where responsibility for such liabilities is to be contractually allocated to the buyer or shared with the buyer or another party, it is possible that the buyer or the other party may be in default for payments for which they are responsible, obligating us to pay amounts in excess of our agreed-upon share of those obligations.

Following the divestiture of certain businesses, our ability to compete in certain market sectors is restricted.

Under the agreements reached with buyers for certain businesses we divested, including the Authentication Services business, we are restricted from competing, either directly or indirectly, with those businesses or from entering certain market sectors for a defined period of time pursuant to negotiated non-compete arrangements.

Risks related to our securities

We have a considerable number of common shares subject to future issuance.

As of December 31, 2011, we had one billion authorized common shares, of which 159.4 million shares were outstanding. In addition, of our authorized common shares, 19.9 million common shares were reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding employee stock option and employee stock purchase plans (“Equity Plans”), and 36.4 million shares were reserved for issuance upon conversion of the 3.25% junior subordinated convertible debentures due 2037 (the “Convertible Debentures”). As a result, we keep substantial amounts of our common stock available for issuance upon exercise or settlement of equity awards outstanding under our Equity Plans and/or the conversion of Convertible Debentures into our common stock. Issuance of all or a large portion of such shares would be dilutive to existing security holders, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities.

Our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if we do not effectively manage our liabilities.

As a result of the sale of the Convertible Debentures, we have a substantial amount of long-term debt outstanding. In addition to the Convertible Debentures, we have a Facility with a borrowing capacity of $200.0 million. As of December 31, 2011, we had borrowed $100.0 million under the Facility. The availability of borrowing capacity under the Facility allows us immediate access to working capital if we identify opportunities

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for the use of this cash. Our maintenance of substantial levels of debt could adversely affect our flexibility to take advantage of corporate opportunities. The Facility is described in Note 7, “Debt and Interest Expense,” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

We may not have the ability to repurchase the Convertible Debentures in cash upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, or to pay cash upon the conversion of Convertible Debentures, as required by the indenture governing the Convertible Debentures.

As a result of the sale of the Convertible Debentures, we have a substantial amount of long-term debt outstanding. Holders of our outstanding Convertible Debentures will have the right to require us to repurchase the Convertible Debentures upon the occurrence of a fundamental change as defined in the Indenture dated as of August 20, 2007 (the “Indenture”) between the Company and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee. Although we currently intend to settle the principal amount of the Convertible Debentures in cash as required under the Indenture, we may not have sufficient funds to repurchase the Convertible Debentures in cash or have the ability to arrange necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, upon conversion of the Convertible Debentures, we will be required to make cash payments to the holders of the Convertible Debentures equal to the lesser of the principal amount of the Convertible Debentures being converted and the conversion value (as defined in the Indenture) of those debentures. Such payments could be significant, and we may not have sufficient funds to make them at such time.

A fundamental change may also constitute an event of default or prepayment under, or result in the acceleration of the maturity of, our then-existing indebtedness. Our ability to repurchase the Convertible Debentures in cash or make any other required payments may be limited by law or the terms of other agreements relating to our indebtedness outstanding at the time. Our failure to repurchase the Convertible Debentures or pay cash in respect of conversions when required would result in an event of default with respect to the Convertible Debentures.

While we currently have the intent and ability to settle the principal in cash, if we conclude that we no longer have the ability, in the future, we will be required to change our accounting policy for earnings per share from the treasury stock method to the if-converted method.

None.

Our corporate headquarters are located in Reston, Virginia. We have administrative, sales, marketing, research and development and operations facilities located in the U.S., Brazil, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 454,000 square feet of space, which includes facilities in Reston and Dulles, Virginia and New Castle, Delaware. As of December 31, 2011 we leased approximately 245,000 square feet of space, primarily in the U.S. and to a lesser extent, in Europe and Asia Pacific. These facilities are under lease agreements that expire at various dates through 2017.

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We believe that our existing facilities are well maintained and in good operating condition, and are sufficient for our needs for the foreseeable future. The following table lists our major locations and primary use as of December 31, 2011:

As of December 31, 2011, on a worldwide basis, we had an aggregate of approximately 180,000 square feet that was vacant and in restructuring, and approximately 70,000 square feet that was owned by us and leased to third parties or subleased, which is not included in the table above.

See Note 14, “Commitments and Contingencies,” Legal Proceedings, of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Not applicable.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers as of February 24, 2012:

D. James Bidzos has served as Executive Chairman since August 2009 and President and Chief Executive Officer since August 2011. He served as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on an interim basis from June 2008 to August 2009 and served as President from June 2008 to January 2009. He served as Chairman of the Board since August 2007 and from April 1995 to December 2001. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board from December 2001 to August 2007. Mr. Bidzos served as a director of VeriSign Japan from March 2008 to August 2010 and served as Representative Director of VeriSign Japan from March 2008 to September 2008. Mr. Bidzos served as Vice Chairman of RSA Security Inc., an Internet identity and access management solution provider, from March 1999 to May 2002, and Executive Vice President from July 1996 to February 1999. Prior thereto, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of RSA Data Security, Inc. from 1986 to February 1999.

John D. Calys has served as Interim Chief Financial Officer since September 2011 and Vice President and Controller since December 2010. From September 2007 to December 2010, Mr. Calys was Vice President and Controller for XO Holdings, Inc., a telecommunications services provider, which was formerly a publicly traded

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company. From August 2005 to May 2007, Mr. Calys served as Vice President and Assistant Treasurer for Sprint Nextel Corporation. Mr. Calys served as Vice President and Assistant Controller for Nextel Communications, Inc. from May 2003 to August 2005. Mr. Calys’ career began as an auditor with Ernst & Young, serving clients primarily in the manufacturing and financial services industries. Mr. Calys holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

Richard H. Goshorn has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since June 2007. From October 2004 to May 2007, he served as General Counsel for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, an international law firm. From 2002 to 2003, Mr. Goshorn was Corporate Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Acterna Corporation Inc., a public communications test equipment company. From 1991 to 2001 he held a variety of senior executive legal positions with London-based Cable and Wireless PLC, a telecommunications company, including the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Cable & Wireless Global. Mr. Goshorn holds a B.A. degree in Economics from the College of Wooster and a J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law.

Patrick S. Kane has served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Naming Services, since January 2011. From October 2007 to December 2010, he served as Vice President and Assistant General Manager, Naming Services and from November 1999 to October 2007 he served as Director, Senior Product and Program Manager. Prior to joining Verisign, he served in many capacities with American Management Systems and Electronic Data Systems, where he began his career as a Systems Engineer. Mr. Kane holds a B.S. degree in Architectural Engineering from University of Texas at Austin.

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PART II

Price Range of Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VRSN.” The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices per share for our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market:

On February 17, 2012, there were 707 holders of record of our common stock. We cannot estimate the number of beneficial owners since many brokers and other institutions hold our stock on behalf of stockholders. On February 17, 2012, the reported last sale price of our common stock was $37.18 per share as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

The market price of our common stock has been and is likely to continue to be highly volatile and significantly affected by factors such as:

The market price of our common stock also has been and is likely to continue to be significantly affected by expectations of analysts and investors. Reports and statements of analysts do not necessarily reflect our views. To the extent we have met or exceeded analyst or investor expectations in the past does not necessarily mean that we will be able to do so in the future. In the past, securities class action lawsuits have often followed periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

On April 27, 2011, our Board declared a special cash dividend of $2.75 per share of our outstanding common stock totaling $463.5 million that was paid on May 18, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 9, 2011. On December 9, 2010, our Board declared a special cash dividend of $3.00 per share of our outstanding common stock totaling $518.2 million that was paid on December 28, 2010 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 20, 2010. Each of these special dividends was a means to return

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proceeds from our divestitures. Other than these special cash dividends, we have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock or other securities. We continually evaluate the overall cash and investing needs of the business and consider the best uses for our cash, including investments in the strengthening of our infrastructure and growth opportunities for our business, as well as potential share repurchases.

Share Repurchases

On July 27, 2010, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to approximately $1.1 billion of our common stock, in addition to the $393.6 million of our common stock remaining available for repurchase under the previous 2008 Share Buyback Program, for a total repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of our common stock (collectively, the “2010 Share Buyback Program”). The 2010 Share Buyback Program has no expiration date. Purchases made under the 2010 Share Buyback Program could be effected through open market transactions, block purchases, accelerated share repurchase agreements or other negotiated transactions. No share repurchases were made during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. As of December 31, 2011, there was $831.3 million remaining for future share repurchases under the 2010 Share Buyback Program.

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Performance Graph

The information contained in the Performance Graph shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” with the SEC or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act.

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock, the Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Information Technology Index. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Information Technology Index on December 31, 2006, and calculates the return annually through December 31, 2011. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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The following table sets forth selected financial data as of and for the last five fiscal years. The information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of results of future operations, and should be read in conjunction with Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K, to fully understand factors that may affect the comparability of the information presented below.

Selected Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: (in millions, except per share data)

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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: (in millions)

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, statements regarding our anticipated costs and expenses and revenue mix. Forward-looking statements include, among others, those statements including the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “believes” and similar language. Our actual results may differ significantly from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to publicly release any revisions to the forward-looking statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document.

Overview

We are a provider of Internet infrastructure services. By leveraging our global infrastructure, we provide network confidence and availability for mission-critical Internet services, such as domain name registry services and infrastructure assurance services. Our service capabilities enable domain name registration through registrars and provide network availability for registrars and Internet users alike.

Our business consists of one reportable segment, Naming Services, which consists of Registry Services and Network Intelligence and Availability (“NIA”) Services. Registry Services operates the authoritative directory of all .com, .net, .cc, .tv, and .name domain names and the back-end systems for all .gov, .jobs and .edu domain names. As of December 31, 2011, we had approximately 113.8 million domain names registered under the .com and .net registries, our principal registries. The number of domain names registered is largely driven by continued growth in online advertising, e-commerce, and the number of Internet users, which is partially driven by greater availability of broadband, as well as advertising and promotional activities carried out by us and third-party registrars. Although growth in absolute number of registrations remains greatest in the U.S., growth on an annual percentage basis is expected to be greatest in markets outside of the U.S. over the long-term. NIA Services provides infrastructure assurance services to organizations and is comprised of Verisign iDefense Security Intelligence Services, Managed Domain Name System Services, and Distributed Denial of Service Protection Services. Revenues from NIA Services are not significant in relation to our consolidated revenue.

2011 Business Highlights and Trends

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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Management Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates those estimates. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

An accounting estimate is considered critical if the nature of the estimates or assumptions is material due to the levels of subjectivity and judgment involved, and the impact of changes in the estimates and assumptions would have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements. We believe the following critical accounting estimates and policies have the most significant impact on our consolidated financial statements:

Revenue recognition

We generate revenues by providing services over a period of time. Fees for these services are deferred and recognized as performance occurs. The majority of our revenue transactions contain standard business terms and conditions. However, at times, we enter into non-standard arrangements including multiple-element arrangements. As a result, we must evaluate (1) whether an arrangement exists, (2) how the arrangement consideration should be allocated among the deliverables; (3) when to recognize revenue on the deliverables; and (4) whether all elements of the arrangement have been delivered. Our revenue recognition policy also requires an assessment as to whether collection is reasonably assured, which requires us to evaluate the creditworthiness of our customers.

Fair value of financial instruments

Our Convertible Debentures have a contingent interest payment provision that is identified as an embedded derivative. The embedded derivative is accounted for separately at fair value, and is marked to market at the end of each reporting period. We utilize a valuation model based on stock price, bond price, risk adjusted interest rates, volatility, and credit spread observations to estimate the value of the derivative. Several of these inputs to the model are not observable and require management judgment.

Litigation and contingencies

Liabilities for loss contingencies are based on management’s judgment as to the potential amount of loss incurred. A liability is recorded when a loss is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.

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These liabilities are based largely on estimates that require significant judgment. If actual results differ from these estimates, our results of operations could be materially affected in future periods when the contingencies are resolved.

Income taxes

Accounting for income taxes requires significant judgments in the development of estimates used in income tax calculations. Such judgments include, but are not limited to, the likelihood we would realize the benefits of net operating loss carryforwards, domestic and/or foreign tax credit carryforwards, the adequacy of valuation allowances, and the rates used to measure transactions with foreign subsidiaries. To the extent recovery of deferred tax assets is not likely, we record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized.

Our operations involve dealing with uncertainties and judgments in the application of complex tax regulations in multiple jurisdictions. The final taxes payable are dependent upon many factors, including negotiations with taxing authorities in various jurisdictions and resolution of disputes arising from U.S. federal, state, and international tax audits. We only recognize or continue to only recognize tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination. We adjust these amounts in light of changing facts and circumstances; however, due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from our current estimate of the tax liabilities.

Deferred income taxes have not been provided on the undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries because these earnings have been indefinitely reinvested and we do not plan to initiate any action that would precipitate the payment of income taxes thereon. We consider the following matters, among others, in evaluating our plans for indefinite reinvestment: the forecasts, budgets and financial requirements of the parent and subsidiaries for both the long and short term; the tax consequences of a decision to reinvest; and any U.S. and foreign government programs designed to influence remittances. If factors change and as a result we are unable to indefinitely reinvest the foreign earnings, the income tax expense and payments may differ significantly from the current period and could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Earnings per Share

We use the treasury stock method to calculate the impact of our convertible debentures on diluted earnings per share. Under this method, only a positive conversion spread related to the convertible debentures is included in the diluted earnings per share calculations. This is based on management’s intent and ability to settle the principal amount of the debt in cash. A change in management’s intent and ability would require us to use the if-converted method, which could have a material impact on our diluted earnings per share.

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth selected information regarding our results of operations as a percentage of revenues:

Revenues

Revenues related to our Registry Services are primarily derived from registrations for domain names in the .com, .net, .cc, .tv, .name, .gov and .jobs domain name registries. Revenues from .cc, .tv, .name, .gov and .jobs are not significant. For domain names registered with the .com and .net registries, we receive a fee from third-party registrars per annual registration that is fixed pursuant to our agreements with ICANN. Individual customers, called registrants, contract directly with third-party registrars or their resellers, and the third-party registrars in turn register the .com, .net, .cc, .tv, .name, .gov and .jobs domain names with Verisign. Changes in revenues are driven largely by increases in the number of new domain name registrations and the renewal rate for existing registrations, in each case as impacted by continued Internet growth, promotional marketing programs, marketing expenditure by third-party registrars, as well as fee increases as permitted under our agreements with ICANN. On July 1, 2010, we increased our .com domain name registration fees by 7% from $6.86 to $7.34 and our .net domain name registration fees by 10% from $4.23 to $4.65. In July 2011, we announced another fee increase for .com domain name registrations of 7% from $7.34 to $7.85 and for .net domain name registrations of 10% from $4.65 to $5.11. The fee increases announced in July 2011 became effective January 15, 2012. We have the contractual right to increase the fees for .net domain name registrations by up to 10% each year during the term of our renewed agreement with ICANN through June 30, 2017. We offer promotional marketing programs for our registrars based upon market conditions and the business environment in which the registrars operate. We are largely insulated from the risk posed by fluctuations in exchange rates due to the fact that all revenues paid to us for .com and .net registrations are in U.S. dollars. Revenues from NIA Services are not significant in relation to our total consolidated revenue.

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A comparison of revenues is presented below:

The following table compares domain names ending in .com and .net managed by our Registry Services business:

Our revenues increased by $91.4 million in 2011, as compared to 2010, primarily due to an 8% year-over-year increase in the number of domain names ending in .com and .net and increases in our .com and .net registry fees in July 2010 as per our agreements with ICANN. Our revenues increased by $64.6 million in 2010, as compared to 2009, primarily due to a 9% year-over-year increase in the number of domain names ending in .com and .net and increases in our .com and .net registry fees in October 2008 and July 2010 as per our agreements with ICANN, partially offset by a $7.6 million decrease in revenues because of a one-time project in the U.S. that was completed in 2009.

The growth in the number of active domain names was primarily driven by continued Internet growth and new domain name promotional programs. We expect to see continued growth in the number of active domain names in 2012 as a result of further Internet growth. In addition, we expect to see continued growth internationally in both .com and .net domain name bases, especially in markets that we have targeted through our marketing programs. We expect revenues to increase in fiscal 2012 as compared to fiscal 2011 as a result of continued growth in the number of active domain names ending in .com and .net and implementation of the price increase which became effective in January 2012 as domain names are renewed at the increased price.

Mature markets such as the U.S., where broadband and e-commerce have seen strong market penetration, are expected to see decreasing incremental growth rates reflecting the maturing of the markets. We expect to see larger increases in certain international regions, resulting from greater broadband and Internet penetration and expanding e-commerce as electronic means of payments are increasingly adopted. Presentation of geographic revenues is included in Note 10, “Geographic and Customer Information,” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K.

New TLDs, including new IDN TLDs, ccTLDs and gTLDs, may be introduced by ICANN in 2012. We cannot assess the impact, if any, the introduction of these new TLDs will have on our revenues and results of operations. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors—The business environment is highly competitive and, if we do not compete effectively, we may suffer price reductions, reduced gross margins and loss of market share,” of this Form 10-K.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues consist primarily of salaries and employee benefits expenses for our personnel that manage the operational systems, depreciation expenses, operational costs associated with the delivery of our services, fees paid to ICANN, customer support and training, consulting and development services, costs of facilities and computer equipment used in these activities, telecommunications expense and allocations of indirect costs such as corporate overhead. All allocations of indirect costs are included in continuing operations.

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A comparison of cost of revenues is presented below:

2011 compared to 2010:    Cost of revenues increased primarily due to increases in salary and employee benefits expenses, depreciation expenses, telecommunication expenses, contract and professional services expenses, and direct cost of revenues, partially offset by a decrease in allocated overhead expenses. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased by $7.4 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount to support Registry Services, and an increase in stock-based compensation expenses due to additional vested RSUs granted during 2011 to option holders as they did not participate in the December 2010 and May 2011 special cash dividends. Depreciation expenses increased by $3.0 million, primarily due to an increase in capitalized hardware and software purchased to support investments in infrastructure projects. Telecommunication expenses increased by $2.8 million, primarily due to additional circuits required to support the increase in our network infrastructure. Contract and professional services expenses increased by $1.2 million, primarily due to an increased need for temporary staff. Direct cost of revenues increased by $1.1 million, primarily due to costs for a new data hosting service. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $5.7 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs.

2010 compared to 2009:    Cost of revenues decreased primarily due to decreases in allocated overhead expenses, expenses related to a one-time revenue project, occupancy expenses, contract and professional services expenses, and equipment and software expenses, partially offset by increases in salary and employee benefits expenses, depreciation expenses, telecommunication expenses and fees paid to ICANN. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $14.2 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs and a decrease in proportional headcount within the cost of revenues function as a result of the divestitures in 2010 and 2009. Expenses related to a one-time revenue project that was completed in 2009 decreased by $4.5 million. Occupancy expenses decreased by $2.4 million, primarily due to the purchase in December 2009 of a previously leased facility, management cost-saving initiatives to reduce overall utility expenses, and the elimination of certain shared services utility expenses as a result of the sale of the Authentication Services business. Contract and professional services expenses decreased by $1.8 million, primarily due to a decrease in the need for such external services and the increase in internal resources. Equipment and software expenses decreased by $1.2 million, primarily due to a decrease in equipment and software maintenance contracts required to support the business as a result of the sale of the Authentication Services business and the purchase in 2010 of certain equipment that had been previously leased. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased by $4.2 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount. Depreciation expenses increased by $3.7 million, primarily due to an increase in capitalized hardware and software to support investments in our infrastructure and the purchase in 2009 of a previously leased facility. Telecommunication expenses increased by $3.3 million, primarily due to an increase in colocation expenses and additional circuits required to support the increase in our network infrastructure. Fees paid to ICANN increased by $3.0 million resulting from a fee increase in July 2009.

We expect cost of revenues as a percentage of revenues to decrease slightly in 2012 as compared to 2011, as our revenue grows faster than the related costs.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, sales commissions, sales operations and other personnel-related expenses, travel and related expenses, trade shows, costs of lead generation, costs of computer and communications equipment and support services, facilities costs, consulting fees, costs of marketing programs, such as online, television, radio, print and direct mail advertising costs, and allocations of indirect costs such as corporate overhead. All allocations of indirect costs are included in continuing operations.

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A comparison of sales and marketing expenses is presented below:

2011 compared to 2010:    Sales and marketing expenses increased primarily due to increases in advertising and consulting expenses and salary and employee benefits expenses, partially offset by a decrease in allocated overhead expenses. Advertising and consulting expenses increased by $8.1 million, primarily due to increases in product marketing initiatives promoting Registry Services. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased by $7.8 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount of our sales force and an increase in stock-based compensation expenses due to additional vested RSUs granted during 2011 to option holders as they did not participate in the December 2010 and May 2011 special cash dividends. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $3.1 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs and a decrease in proportional headcount within the sales and marketing function as a result of the divestiture of the Authentication Services business.

2010 compared to 2009:    Sales and marketing expenses increased primarily due to increases in advertising and consulting expenses and salary and employee benefits expenses, partially offset by a decrease in allocated overhead expenses. Advertising and consulting expenses increased by $6.4 million, primarily due to certain corporate and Registry Services related advertising and marketing campaigns in 2010. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased $6.3 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount of our sales force and other new products and services. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $5.4 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs and a decrease in proportional headcount within the sales and marketing function as a result of divestitures in 2010 and 2009.

We expect sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenues to increase slightly in 2012 as compared to 2011, as we realize a full year effect of increased headcount in our sales force and continued investments in certain marketing initiatives.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs related to research and development personnel, including salaries and other personnel-related expenses, consulting fees, facilities costs, computer and communications equipment, support services used in our service and technology development, and allocations of indirect costs such as corporate overhead. All allocations of indirect costs are included in continuing operations.

A comparison of research and development expenses is presented below:

2011 compared to 2010:    Research and development expenses decreased primarily due to a decrease in allocated overhead expenses and an increase in capitalized labor, partially offset by increases in salary and employee benefits expenses and contract and professional services expenses. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $3.4 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs. Capitalized labor increased by $1.3 million, primarily due to an increase in the volume of work performed on internally developed software projects. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased by $2.5 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount to support the development of our DNS infrastructure and new services. Contract and professional services expenses increased by $1.1 million in 2011, primarily due to an increased need for temporary staff.

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2010 compared to 2009:    Research and development expenses increased primarily due to an increase in salary and employee benefits expenses, partially offset by a decrease in allocated overhead expenses, an increase in capitalized labor, and a decrease in contract and professional services expenses. Salary and employee benefits expenses increased by $9.5 million, primarily due to an increase in average headcount primarily used to support the development of the DNS infrastructure and the NIA Services business. Allocated overhead expenses decreased by $3.3 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs as a result of the divestitures in 2010 and 2009. Capitalized labor increased by $2.4 million, primarily due to an increase in the volume of work performed on internally developed software projects. Contract and professional services expenses decreased by $1.6 million, primarily due to a decrease in the need for such external services and the increase in internal resources.

We expect research and development expenses as a percentage of revenues to remain consistent in 2012 as compared to 2011.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related expenses for our executive, administrative, legal, finance, information technology and human resources personnel, costs of facilities, computer and communications equipment, management information systems, support services, professional services fees, certain tax and license fees, and bad debt expense, offset by allocations of indirect costs such as facilities and shared services expenses to other cost types. All allocations of indirect costs are included in continuing operations.

A comparison of general and administrative expenses is presented below:

2011 compared to 2010:    General and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to decreases in salary and employee benefits expenses, occupancy expenses, miscellaneous general and administrative expenses, depreciation expenses, contract and professional services expenses, telecommunication expenses, and equipment and software expenses, partially offset by a decrease in overhead expenses allocated to other cost types. Salary and employee benefits expenses decreased by $18.2 million, primarily as a result of reduced corporate support functions needed subsequent to the divestiture of the Authentication Services business. Occupancy expenses decreased by $7.3 million, primarily due to lower rent expenses as the lease for certain office buildings expired in 2010. Miscellaneous general and administrative expenses decreased by $3.5 million, primarily due to the release of $5.9 million of liabilities in 2011 related to non-income tax expenses as a result of the lapse of the statutes of limitations, partially offset by certain adjustments in 2010 for a release of an accrual for certain non-income tax contingencies when the statute of limitations expired. Depreciation expenses decreased by $3.1 million, primarily due to ceasing further depreciation on corporate assets held for sale in May 2010, the expenses of which were classified in continuing operations until the third quarter of 2010. Contract and professional services expenses decreased by $3.0 million, primarily due to costs in 2010 to support the divestiture of the Authentication Services business. Telecommunication expenses decreased by $1.6 million, primarily due to lower shared costs included in continuing operations as a result of divestitures. Equipment and software expenses decreased by $1.6 million, primarily due to lower shared software costs subsequent to the divestiture of the Authentication Services business. Overhead expenses allocated to other cost types decreased by $12.1 million, primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs.

2010 compared to 2009:    General and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to decreases in contract and professional services expenses, telecommunication expenses, depreciation expenses, miscellaneous general and administrative expenses, and salary and employee benefits expenses, partially offset by a decrease in

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corporate overhead expenses allocated to other cost types. Contract and professional services expenses decreased by $9.7 million, primarily due to professional services costs incurred in 2009 for accounting and auditing services related to our divestiture strategy, as well as a reduction in our need for such outside professional services. Telecommunication expenses decreased by $6.2 million, primarily due to a reduction in circuits to support the business as a result of the divestitures and a one-time minimum commitment short-fall expense recorded in 2009. Depreciation expenses decreased by $4.9 million, primarily due to certain capital software projects becoming fully depreciated prior to 2010 and ceasing further depreciation on corporate assets held for sale in May 2010, the expenses of which were classified as continuing operations until the third quarter of 2010. Miscellaneous general and administrative expenses decreased by $4.1 million, primarily due to certain adjustments in 2010 for a release of an accrual for certain non-income tax contingencies when the statute of limitations expired, a refund of a previously expensed non-income tax payment, and an adjustment of certain expense accruals, coupled with certain asset write-offs during 2009. Salary and employee benefits expenses decreased by $4.0 million primarily due to a decrease in average headcount primarily due to the divestitures in 2010 and 2009 and a reduction in the amount of overhead to support the business. Overhead expenses allocated to other cost types decreased by $21.4 million primarily due to a decrease in allocable indirect costs and proportionately higher headcount in the general and administrative function as a result of the divestures in 2010 and 2009.

We expect general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues to decrease in 2012 as compared to 2011, as we realize a full year of post-divestiture cost reductions in our general and administrative function.

Restructuring and Impairment Charges

See Note 6, “Restructuring Charges,” of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15 of this Form 10-K. Additionally, in 2009, we recorded an impairment charge of $9.7 million related to our .name gTLD intangible asset.

Interest Expense

Interest expense consists of contractual interest payments on Convertible Debentures, amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs on the liability component of our Convertible Debentures, contingent interest payments to holders of our Convertible Debentures, interest expenses related to our current $200.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility, and our previous $500.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the “2006 Facility”), offset by capitalized interest. We terminated the 2006 Facility in November 2010.

A comparison of interest expense is presented below:

The Indenture governing the Convertible Debentures requires the payment of contingent interest to the holders of the Convertible Debentures if the Board declares a dividend to our stockholders that is designated by the Board as an extraordinary dividend. The contingent interest is calculated as the amount derived by multiplying the per share declared dividend with the if-converted number of shares applicable to the Convertible

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Debentures. The Board declared extraordinary dividends in April 2011 and December 2010, and consequently, we paid $100.0 million and $109.1 million contingent interest, respectively, to holders of the Convertible Debentures. The lower contingent interest payment in 2011 was the primary driver of the decrease in total interest expense from 2010. Interest expense increased in 2010 from 2009 primarily due to the contingent interest payment.

Non-operating Income, Net

Non-operating income, net, consists primarily of interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, net gains or losses on the sale and impairment of investments, net gains or losses on the divestiture of certain businesses, unrealized gains and losses on the contingent interest derivative on the Convertible Debentures, income from transition services agreements, and the net effect of foreign currency gains and losses.

A comparison of non-operating income, net, is presented below: