VERISIGN INC/CA 10-K

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES a. Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures Based on our management’s evaluation, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (our principal executive officer) and our Chief Financial Officer (our principal financial officer), as of December 31, 2024, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. b. Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 using the criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on our evaluation under the COSO framework, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is effective to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has issued a report concerning the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. See “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in Item 8 of this Form 10-K. c. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the three months ended December 31, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. d. Inherent Limitations of Disclosure Controls and Internal Control over Financial Reporting Because of their inherent limitations, our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent material errors or fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. The effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting is subject to risks, including that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with our policies or procedures may deteriorate. 56 ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION Insider Trading Arrangements Our directors and executive officers may from time to time enter into plans or other arrangements for the purchase or sale of our shares that are intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or may represent a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement under the Exchange Act. There were no directors or executive officers that adopted , terminated or modified plans or other arrangements during the quarter ended December 31, 2024. Director Retirement On February 10, 2025, Roger H. Moore announced his retirement from the Board of Directors effective as of the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders of VeriSign, Inc. at the end of his current term. Mr. Moore’s retirement did not result from any disagreement with the Company concerning any matter relating to its operations, policies, or practice. Bylaw Amendment On February 10, 2025, our Board of Directors amended Article I, Section 2(f) of our Bylaws to change the time period during which the Secretary will not call a stockholder-requested special meeting to consider an identical or substantially similar item presented at an earlier meeting of stockholders. The amendment shortens the time period when such a meeting will not be called by permitting a request that is delivered starting after 90 days, instead of 180 days, after the prior stockholders’ meeting. This description of the amendment to the Bylaws is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Bylaws, as amended, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 3.02 to this Form 10-K. Item 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS. None. 57 Table of Contents PART III ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE The information required by this item regarding our directors and nominees, Audit Committee, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, and Compensation Committee will be included under the captions “Proposal No. 1—Election of Directors,” “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners” and “Corporate Governance” in our Proxy Statement related to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference (our “2025 Proxy Statement”). Pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K, the information required by this item relating to our executive officers is included under the caption “Information About Our Executive Officers” in Part I of this Form 10-K. We have adopted a written Code of Conduct, which is posted on our Investor Relations website under “Ethics and Business Conduct” at https://investor.verisign.com/corporate-governance . The Code of Conduct applies to all of our directors, officers, and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and other senior accounting officers. We have also adopted the “Corporate Governance Principles for the Board of Directors,” which provide guidance to our directors on corporate practices that serve the best interests of our company and our stockholders. We intend to satisfy any disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the Code of Conduct, to the extent applicable to the principal executive officer, principal financial officer, or other senior accounting officers, by posting such information on our website, on the web page found by clicking through to “Ethics and Business Conduct” as specified above. The information required by this item regarding our insider trading policies and procedures will be included under the caption “ Insider Trading Policy ” in our 2025 Proxy Statement. ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2025 Proxy Statement from the discussions under the captions “Compensation of Directors,” “Non-Employee Director Retainer Fees and Equity Compensation Information” and “Non-Employee Director Compensation Table for 2024,” “Executive Compensation” and “Executive Compensation Tables.” ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference from the discussions under the captions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in our 2025 Proxy Statement. ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2025 Proxy Statement from the discussions under the captions “Policies and Procedures with Respect to Transactions with Related Persons,” “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Independence of Directors.” ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG LLP , McLean, VA , Auditor Firm ID: 185 . Information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our 2025 Proxy Statement from the discussions under the captions “Principal Accountant Fees and Services” and “Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Auditors.” 58 Table of Contents PART IV ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES (a) Documents filed as part of this report 1. Financial statements The financial statements are set forth under Item 8 of this Form 10-K, as indexed below. Page Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 33 Consolidated Balance Sheets 36 Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 37 Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Deficit 38 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 39 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 40 2. Financial statement schedules Financial statement schedules are omitted because the information called for is not material or is shown either in the consolidated financial statements or the notes thereto. 3. Exhibits (a) Index to Exhibits Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, the Company has filed certain agreements as exhibits to this Form 10-K. These agreements may contain representations and warranties by the parties thereto. These representations and warranties have been made solely for the benefit of the other party or parties to such agreements and (1) may be intended not as statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties to such agreements if those statements prove to be inaccurate, (2) may have been qualified by disclosures that were made to such other party or parties and that either have been reflected in the Company’s filings or are not required to be disclosed in those filings, (3) may apply materiality standards different from what may be viewed as material to investors and (4) were made only as of the date of such agreements or such other date(s) as may be specified in such agreements and are subject to more recent developments. Accordingly, these representations and warranties may not describe the Company’s actual state of affairs at the date hereof or at any other time. Incorporated by Reference Exhibit Number Exhibit Description Form Date Number Filed Herewith 2.01 Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March 6, 2000, by and among the Registrant, Nickel Acquisition Corporation and Network Solutions, Inc. 8-K 3/8/00 2.1 3.01 Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant. 10-K 2/17/17 3.01 3.02 Bylaws of VeriSign, Inc. 10-K X 4.01 Indenture dated as of March 27, 2015 between VeriSign, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. 8-K 3/30/15 4.1 4.02 Indenture, dated as of July 5, 2017, between VeriSign, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. 8-K 7/5/17 4.1 4.03 Indenture, dated as of June 8, 2021, between VeriSign, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. 8-K 6/8/21 4.1 4.04 First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of June 8, 2021, between VeriSign, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. 8-K 6/8/21 4.2 59 Table of Contents Incorporated by Reference Exhibit Number Exhibit Description Form Date Number Filed Herewith 4.05 Description of Securities of the Registrant 10-K 2/19/21 4.04 10.01 Amendment No. Thirty (30) to Cooperative Agreement - Special Awards Conditions NCR-92-18742, between VeriSign and U.S. Department of Commerce managers. 10-K 7/12/07 10.27 10.02 Form of Indemnity Agreement entered into by the Registrant with each of its directors and executive officers. + 10-Q 4/28/10 10.01 10.03 VeriSign, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan Form of Non-Employee Director Restricted Stock Unit Agreement. + 10-Q 7/27/12 10.03 10.04 Amendment Number Thirty-Two (32) to the Cooperative Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and Department of Commerce, entered into on November 29, 2012. 8-K 11/30/12 10.2 10.05 VeriSign, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan Form of Employee Restricted Stock Unit Agreement + 10-K 2/19/16 10.70 10.06 VeriSign, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for awards granted in 2022 and 2023+ 10-Q 4/28/16 10.01 10.07 Amended and Restated VeriSign, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and restated + DEF 14A 4/29/16 Appendix A 10.08 Amendment Number Thirty-Three (33) to the Cooperative Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and Department of Commerce, entered into on October 20, 2016 8-K 10/20/16 10.2 10.09 Amendment Number Thirty-Four (34) to the Cooperative Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and Department of Commerce, entered into on October 20, 2016 8-K 10/20/16 10.3 10.10 Amended and Restated 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as adopted August 30, 2007, and amended May 25, 2017. + DEF 14A 4/12/17 Appendix A 10.11 Form of Amended and Restated Change-in-Control and Retention Agreement [CEO Form of Agreement]. + 10-Q 7/27/17 10.01 10.12 Amended and Restated Change-in-Control and Retention Agreement. + 10-Q 7/27/17 10.02 10.13 Amendment Thirty-Five (35) to the Cooperative Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Commerce, entered into on October 26, 2018 8-K 11/1/18 10.1 10.14 Asset Purchase Agreement between Verisign, Inc., as the seller and Neustar, Inc., as the buyer, dated as of October 24, 2018 10-K 2/15/19 10.20 10.15 Amendment to Asset Purchase Agreement and Transition Services Agreement between Neustar, Inc. and VeriSign, Inc., dated as of December 10, 2019 † 10-K 2/14/20 10.22 10.16 .Net Registry Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. 8-K 6/30/23 10.1 10.17 Credit Agreement, dated as of December 6, 2023 among VeriSign, Inc., the borrowing subsidiaries party thereto, the lenders party thereto, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent. 8-K 12/08/23 10.1 60 Table of Contents Incorporated by Reference Exhibit Number Exhibit Description Form Date Number Filed Herewith 10.18 VeriSign, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for awards granted in or after 2024+ 10-K 2/15/24 10.10 10.19 Registry Agreement between VeriSign, Inc. and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, entered into on November 25, 2024. 8-K 11/25/24 10.1 19.01 I nsider T rading Policy X 21.01 Subsidiaries of the Registrant. X 23.01 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. X 24.01 Powers of Attorney (Included as part of the signature pages hereto). X 31.01 Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a). X 31.02 Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a). X 32.01 Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code (18 U.S.C. 1350). * X 32.02 Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(b) and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code (18 U.S.C. 1350). * X 97 Incentive-Based Compensation Recovery Policy 10-K 2/15/24 97 101 Interactive Data File. The instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. X 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101). X * As contemplated by SEC Release No. 33-8212, these exhibits are furnished with this Form 10-K and are not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not incorporated by reference in any filing of VeriSign, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in such filings. + Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. † Certain portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K. ITEM 16. 10-K SUMMARY None. 61 Table of Contents SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Reston, Commonwealth of Virginia, on the 13 th day of February 2025. VERISIGN, INC . By: /S/ D. JAMES BIDZOS D. James Bidzos Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS that each individual whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints D. James Bidzos, George E. Kilguss, III, and Thomas C. Indelicarto, and each of them, his or her true lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granted unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or his, her or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on the 13 th day of February 2025. Signature Title /S/ D. JAMES BIDZOS Chief Executive Officer, President, Executive Chairman and Director (Principal Executive Officer) D. JAMES BIDZOS /S/ GEORGE E. KILGUSS, III Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) GEORGE E. KILGUSS, III /S/ JOHN D. CALYS Senior Vice President, Global Controller and Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) JOHN D. CALYS /S/ COURTNEY D. ARMSTRONG Director COURTNEY D. ARMSTRONG /S/ YEHUDA ARI BUCHALTER Director YEHUDA ARI BUCHALTER /S/ KATHLEEN A. COTE Director KATHLEEN A. COTE /S/ THOMAS F. FRIST III Director THOMAS F. FRIST III /S/ JAMIE S. GORELICK Director JAMIE S. GORELICK /S/ DEBRA W. MCCANN Director DEBRA W. MCCANN /S/ ROGER H. MOORE Director ROGER H. MOORE /S/ TIMOTHY TOMLINSON Director TIMOTHY TOMLINSON 62