Reglikedomain industry desk

Verisign predicts .com/.net domain base to fall this quarter: The cliff is here

Verisign predicts .com/.net domain base to fall this quarter: The cliff is here

Firm forecasts a drop for Q4.

Verisign (NYSE: VRSN) expects the total number of .com and .net domain names registered at the end of the fourth quarter to be less than at the beginning of the quarter. In other words, more domain names will be deleted than are registered during the quarter.

CEO Jim Bidzos disclosed on today’s investor conference call that the firm expects the total base to drop by 1.5 million to 2.8 million domain names during the fourth quarter.

In other words, this long and steady growth chart is regarding to go negative:

com-base

I’ve explained the reason for this predicted drop ahead of. At a high level, fresh registrations in Q4 of 2015 were much higher than expected due to Chinese speculation. Those fresh registrations are coming up for renewal now, and many of them are unlikely to be renewed.

Also on the wire

Other reporting from the domain desk.

HUncategorizedHurricane Harvey were popular in domains last month — Blockchain andYour Top 10 DomainsUncategorizedYour Top 10 DomainsAnd Michael Berkens get trademarks for “Right of the Dot” — Monte CahnUncategorizedAnd Michael Berkens get trademarks for “Right of the Dot” — Monte CahnI’m bullish on domain namesUncategorizedI’m bullish on domain namesHUncategorizedHere’s What Happens to Value of Domains When Fresh gTLDs are ReleasedSUncategorizedSigns a Top Level Domain is Doomed — Five WarningPUncategorizedPokemon names tops in .com last month: No surpriseApes in on Otherside domains but misses a key one — Yuga LabsUncategorizedApes in on Otherside domains but misses a key one — Yuga LabsStill elude Major League Baseball — 3 domainsUncategorizedStill elude Major League Baseball — 3 domains