Verisign Q4 & Full Year 2017 Earnings Conference Call February 8, 2018
Safe Harbor Disclosure Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, whether the U.S. Department of Commerce will approve any exercise by us of our right to increase the price per.com domain name, under certain circumstances, the uncertainty of whether we will be able to demonstrate to the U.S. Department of Commerce that market conditions warrant removal of the pricing restrictions on.com domain names and the uncertainty of whether we will experience other negative changes to our pricing terms; the failure to renew key agreements on similar terms, or at all; new or existing governmental laws and regulations in the U.S. or other applicable foreign jurisdictions; system interruptions, security breaches, attacks on the internet by hackers, viruses, or intentional acts of vandalism; the uncertainty of the impact of changes to the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance; changes in internet practices and behavior and the adoption of substitute technologies; the success or failure of the evolution of our markets; the operational and other risks from the introduction of new gtlds by ICANN and our provision of back-end registry services; the highly competitive business environment in which we operate; whether we can maintain strong relationships with registrars and their resellers to maintain their marketing focus on our products and services; challenging global economic conditions; economic, legal and political risk associated with our international operations; our ability to protect and enforce our rights to our intellectual property and ensure that we do not infringe on others intellectual property; the outcome of legal or other challenges resulting from our activities or the activities of registrars or registrants, or litigation generally; the impact of our new strategic initiatives, including our IDN gtlds; whether we can retain and motivate our senior management and key employees; and the impact of unfavorable tax rules and regulations. More information about potential factors that could affect our business and financial results is included in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2016, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Verisign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this announcement. 2
Agenda Introduction Registry Services Highlights Financial Performance / Guidance Closing / Q&A / Appendix 3
Registry Services Highlights Domain Name Base (1) at 146.4 Million Names, 2.9% Y/Y Millions 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 131.9 Million.com Names and 14.5 Million.net Names.com/.net Domain Name Base 1) The domain name base as presented here is the active zone plus the number of domain names that are registered but not configured for use in the respective Top-Level Domain zone file plus the number of domain names that are in a client or server hold status. This data is not comparable to previous earnings presentations, (prior to first quarter 2015), where names in hold status were not included. The sum of the.com and.net names may not match the total domain name base due to rounding. 4
Registry Services Highlights 9.0 Million New Name Registrations in Q4 2017 Compared with 8.8 Million in Q4 2016 Q3 2017 renewal rate 74.4% Q4 2017 renewal rate expected to be approximately 72.2% (1)(2) compared with 67.6% in Q4 2016 Ending Q4 2017 Domain Name Base increased by 0.57M registrations from prior quarter end 32.7M registrations expiring in Q1 2018 vs. 32.3M in Q1 2017 Ending Q1 2018 Domain Name Base expected to increase by between 1.5M to 2.0M registrations from end of Q4 2017 (2) Millions 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Q1 New Name Registrations Q2 Q3 Q4 Renewal Rate '13`14`15`16`17 '13'14'15'16'17 '13'14'15'16'17 '13'14'15'16'17 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50%.com/.net New Name Registrations Renewal Rate (1) 1) Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter. 2) This guidance is based on historical seasonality and current market trends. 5
2017 Full Year Financial Highlights Revenue of $1,165M, up 2.0% y/y Operating GAAP: $708M Non-GAAP: $761M (1) Operating Margin GAAP Operating Margin 60.7% Non-GAAP Operating Margin 65.3% (1) Free Cash Flow of $653M (2) CapEx of $49M $ Millions 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Revenue & Profitability Non-GAAP Operating Margin (1) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Balance Sheet Revenue Non-GAAP Operating Margin Cash balance of $2.4B (3) of which $728M was domestic as of Dec. 31, 2017 Deferred Revenue of $999M at end Q4 2017 Total debt of $2.4B book value, $3.05B notional value Comprised of $1.78B of three Senior Notes issues (net of debt issuance costs) and $628M liability component of $1.25B convertible debentures 1) Please refer to Summary of Non-GAAP Measures for important information. 2) Free cash flow is non-gaap financial measure defined as cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures. Please see Free Cash Flow Calculation in slide appendix for more detail. 3) Includes marketable securities. 6
Q4 2017 Financial Performance Revenue of $296M, up 3.2% y/y GAAP operating margin of 59.7% GAAP diluted EPS of $0.83 Non-GAAP operating margin of 64.1% (1) Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.96 (1) Operating Cash Flow of $199M Free Cash Flow of $190M (2) $ Millions 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0 Revenue & Profitability Non-GAAP Operating Margin (1) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 952 Full-Time Employees at Dec. 31, 2017 (3) Revenue Non-GAAP Operating Margin 1) See Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures in slide appendix for important information. 2) Free cash flow is a non-gaap financial measure defined as cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures. See Free Cash Flow Calculation in slide appendix for more detail. 3) Net of 1 intern. 7
Financial Guidance (1) 2018 Revenue $1.195 billion to $1.215 billion Full year 2018 Non-GAAP Operating Margin (2) 65.5% to 66.5% 2018 Non-GAAP Interest Expense and Non-GAAP Non- Operating, net (3) $115 million to $122 million expense 2018 Capital Expenditures $45 million to $55 million expense 2018 Cash Taxes $70 million to $90 million 1) Our guidance is based on expectations about the outlook of our business in addition to our financial projections for interest income and expense. Guidance for all non-gaap figures is based on the definition of non-gaap metrics noted below. See Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Guidance in slide appendix. 2) The most directly comparable GAAP measure to non-gaap operating margin is GAAP operating income. Non-GAAP operating margin is defined as GAAP operating income adjusted for stock-based compensation which is then divided by revenues. 3) The most directly comparable GAAP measure to Non-GAAP Interest Expense is GAAP Interest Expense. Non-GAAP Interest Expense excludes non-cash interest expense, which is included in GAAP Interest Expense. 8
Q&A Appendix 9
Convertible Debentures Dilution Calculation Basic inputs (as of Dec. 31, 2017) $1.25 billion notional 29.0968 shares per $1,000 is the current conversion ratio 36.37 million shares issuable (based on conversion ratio) $34.368 current conversion price Treasury stock method dilution calculation (1) (Average Share Price x Shares Issuable) Notional = Share Dilution Average Share Price Q4 calculation $111.62 was the average share price during Q4 2017 ($111.62 x 36.37M shares) $1.25B = 25.2M shares $111.62 1) Verisign uses the Treasury stock method to account for the dilutive effect of the convertible debentures. For more information see the quarterly convertible debenture dilution information posted at https://investor.verisign.com/events.cfm 10
Subordinated Convertible Debentures Interest deduction on tax return compared to cash interest paid: Year Subordinated Convertible Debentures Tax Deduction Interest Deduction on Tax Return ($ millions) Potential upside contingent interest payments (2) : Cash Interest Paid (1) ($ millions) Excess Deduction ($ millions) 2012 136.5 40.6 95.9 2013 144.6 40.6 104.0 2014 154.2 40.6 113.6 2015 175.0 51.4 123.6 2016 183.7 54.0 129.7 2017 191.5 55.9 135.6 The area in yellow shows the average trading price in the 10 days prior to Aug. 15, 2017, triggering contingent interest of $9.1 million. Potential Upside Contingent Interest Payments 50 bp on Market Value of $1.25 billion Subordinated Convertible Debentures Less Subordinated Convertible Debenture Average Trading Price (as a % of par) (3) than 150% 175% 200% 225% 275% 290% 300% 325% 350% Semi-Annual Contingent Interest Amount ($mm) on $1.25 billion notional $ - $ 5.5 $ 6.3 $ 7.0 $ 8.6 $ 9.1 $ 9.4 $ 10.2 $ 10.9 1) Cash interest paid is coupon interest plus contingent interest. 2) The upside trigger is tested semi-annually. Beginning with the semi-annual interest period commencing August 15, 2014, upside contingent interest payments started to accrue as the upside trigger was met. 3) Average trading price of the debentures is determined by averaging the secondary market bid quotations for the debentures for the 10 trading days immediately preceding the first day of each semi-annual interest period. The upside trigger is met when the average trading price is equal to or greater than $1,500 per $1,000 principal amount of the debentures. 11
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Adjusted EBITDA Verisign provides quarterly and annual financial statements that are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Along with this information, management typically discloses and discusses certain non- GAAP financial information in quarterly earnings releases, on investor conference calls and during investor conferences and related events. This non-gaap financial information does not include the following types of financial measures that are included in GAAP: stock-based compensation, unrealized gain/loss on the contingent interest derivative on the subordinated convertible debentures, and non-cash interest expense. Non-GAAP net income is decreased by amounts accrued, if any, during the period for contingent interest payable through August 15, 2017, resulting from upside or downside triggers related to the subordinated convertible debentures, and is adjusted for an income tax rate of 25 percent starting from the second quarter of 2017, and 26 percent for the other periods presented herein, both of which differ from the GAAP income tax rate. On a quarterly basis, Verisign also provides Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-gaap financial measure and is calculated in accordance with the terms of the indentures governing Verisign s senior notes. Adjusted EBITDA refers to net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, unrealized gain / loss on the contingent interest derivative on the subordinated convertible debentures and unrealized gain / loss on hedging agreements and gain on the sale of a business. Management believes that this non-gaap financial data supplements the GAAP financial data by providing investors with additional information that allows them to have a clearer picture of Verisign s operations and financial performance and the comparability of Verisign s operating results from period to period. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The tables appended to this release include a reconciliation of the non-gaap financial information to the comparable financial information reported in accordance with GAAP for the given periods. Financial forecasts and guidance are forward looking statements and actual results may vary for a number of reasons including those mentioned in our most recent 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filings with the SEC. 12
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended December 31, 2017 September 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 Operating Net Operating Net Operating Net GAAP as reported $ 176,432 $ 102,837 $ 181,059 $ 114,899 $ 168,762 $ 105,552 Adjustments: Stock-based compensation... 12,864 12,864 14,105 14,105 14,299 14,299 Unrealized loss on contingent interest derivative on the subordinated convertible debentures... 9 Non-cash interest expense... 3,851 3,779 3,440 Contingent interest payable on subordinated convertible debentures... (1,879 ) (3,859 ) Tax adjustment... (480) (6,741 ) (4,192 ) Non-GAAP...$ 189,296 $ 119,072 $ 195,164 $ 124,163 $ 183,061 $ 115,249 Revenues...$ 295,501 $ 292,428 $ 286,271 Non-GAAP operating margin... 64.1 % 66.7% 63.9 % Diluted shares... 124,257 124,074 125,454 Diluted EPS, non-gaap... $ 0.96 $ 1.00 $ 0.92 SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION The following table presents the classification of stock-based compensation: Three Months Ended December 31, Three Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended December 31, 2017 2017 2016 Cost of revenues...$ 1,719 $ 1,774 $ 1,886 Sales and marketing... 1,433 1,369 1,518 Research and development... 1,560 1,575 1,773 General and administrative... 8,152 9,387 9,122 Total stock-based compensation expense...$ 12,864 $ 14,105 $ 14,299 13
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited) Year Ended December 31, 2017 2016 Operating Net Operating Net GAAP as reported $ 707,722 $ 457,248 $ 686,572 $ 440,645 Adjustments: Stock-based compensation... 52,907 52,907 50,044 50,044 Unrealized loss (gain) on contingent interest derivative on the subordinated convertible debentures... 893 (2,402 ) Non-cash interest expense... 14,678 13,411 Contingent interest payable on subordinated convertible debentures... (9,445) (14,265 ) Tax adjustment... (24,352) (22,742 ) Non-GAAP...$ 760,629 $ 491,929 $ 736,616 $ 464,691 Revenues...$ 1,165,095 $ 1,142,167 Non-GAAP operating margin... 65.3% 64.5% Diluted shares... 124,180 128,833 Diluted EPS, non-gaap... $ 3.96 $ 3.61 SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION The following table presents the classification of stock-based compensation: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Cost of revenues...$ 7,030 $ 7,253 Sales and marketing... 5,688 5,738 Research and development... 6,113 6,739 General and administrative... 34,076 30,314 Total stock-based compensation expense...$ 52,907 $ 50,044 14
Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation VERISIGN, INC. RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP ADJUSTED EBITDA (In thousands) (Unaudited) The following table reconciles GAAP net income to non-gaap Adjusted EBITDA for the periods shown below: Three Months Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31, 2017 2016 2017 Net $ 102,837 $ 105,552 $ 457,248 Interest expense... 40,467 28,982 136,336 tax expense... 39,210 36,301 141,764 Depreciation and amortization... 12,213 14,053 49,878 Stock-based compensation... 12,864 14,299 52,907 Unrealized loss on contingent interest derivative on the subordinated convertible debentures... 9 893 Unrealized loss (gain) on hedging agreements... 43 (115 ) 257 Gain on sale of business... (10,421) Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA $ 207,634 $ 199,081 $ 828,862 15
Free Cash Flow Calculation Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow (1)(2) ($M) Q115 Q215 Q315 Q415 FY15 Q116 Q216 Q316 Q416 FY16 Q117 Q217 Q317 Q417 FY17 Cash Flow from Operating Activities 138.7 180.4 163.4 187.6 670.0 149.6 167.4 171.1 205.0 693.0 148.2 180.7 174.7 199.2 702.8 Acquisition of Property and Equipment, Net (13.0) (8.8) (6.8) (12.0) (40.7) (7.1) (6.4) (6.4) (6.7) (26.6) (9.7) (9.3) (21.6) (8.9) (49.5) Total Free Cash Flow 125.6 171.5 156.6 175.6 629.3 142.6 161.0 164.6 198.3 666.4 138.5 171.4 153.0 190.3 653.3 1) Free Cash Flow is a non-gaap financial measure defined as cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures. Since adoption of FASB /ASU 2016-09, free cash flow from operating activities is no longer adjusted for excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation. 2) The sum of the amounts in the columns and rows may not match the total amounts shown due to rounding. 16 16
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Guidance (Reconciliation of Financial Guidance as given on slide 8 of Feb 2018 earnings presentation) 1) Full year 2018 non-gaap operating margin guidance: 65.5% to 66.5% Low High GAAP operating margin 61.0% 62.0% Stock-based compensation 4.5% 4.5% Non-GAAP operating margin 65.5% 66.5% 2) Full year 2018 non-gaap interest expense and non-gaap non-operating income, net guidance: $115 million to $122 million expense Low High (in millions) GAAP interest expense (i) $ 165.0 $ 165.0 GAAP non-operating income, net (33.8) (26.8) Non-cash interest expense (16.1) (16.1) Non-GAAP interest expense and non-operating income, net $ 115.0 $ 122.0 (i) - Amount presented assumes the contingent interest to be paid in August 2018 and February 2019 based on the price of the subordinated convertible debentures as of December 29, 2017. 17
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