New Dividend Initiators in 2025: Verisign Joins the Club

Buffett Favorite Verisign Begins Dividend — Plus 5 Other First-Time Payers

Last week, Verisign VRSN 0.00%↑ has made a major move by announcing its first-ever dividend payout. This marks a significant shift in their shareholder return strategy. With massive buybacks and strong free cash flow, Verisign is now in a position to pay a dividend, demonstrating confidence in its financial strength and long-term stability. We’re closely following this development, as Verisign leads the way as one of the new dividend payers of 2025.

🎯 On February 21, 2025, we published a post about potential new dividend payers — and guess what? Verisign was on our list! We also highlighted nine other great stocks that are well-positioned to start paying a dividend. 🎯

One of the most prominent names among the new dividend payers is Verisign VRSN 0.00%↑ , best known for operating the .com and .net internet domains. Verisign announced last week that it would begin paying a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share. At the current stock price of $272.79, this equates to a 1.1% dividend yield. The stock has already delivered a year-to-date return of nearly 32%, and the dividend adds an additional layer of shareholder return going forward.

Verisign’s business model is simple but powerful: it runs critical internet infrastructure with high margins and minimal capital needs. The company is also a long-time favorite of Warren Buffett, who holds a position in Verisign through Berkshire Hathaway.

The video below explains Buffett’s position in Verisign: VRSN conducts massive buybacks and generates significant free cash flow, now making a dividend possible.

Historically, Verisign returned capital mainly via share buybacks, having repurchased nearly 30% of its outstanding shares over the past decade, including 6% in 2024 and over 2% already in 2025. The newly announced annual dividend commitment of about $290 million is easily covered by Verisign’s strong free cash flow. Given the company's financial strength, many expect Verisign’s dividend to grow in the years ahead.

Beyond Verisign, several other companies have also initiated dividends this year.