VeriSign (VRSN)

Exits Q4 With Non-GAAP Operating Margin Greater Than 35%

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – February 5, 2009 – VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

Q4 2008 Financial Results

On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported revenue of $247 million from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2008. On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported consolidated net income of $39 million and earnings per share of $0.20 on a fully-diluted basis. These GAAP results reflect a $91 million non-cash impairment charge on certain long-lived assets, loss on sale of discontinued operations, and estimated losses on certain assets held for sale, $32 million of which was recorded in discontinued operations. Also recorded were restructuring charges of $12 million, $8 million of which was recorded in discontinued operations related to assets held for sale. In light of ongoing economic developments, we continue to review the level of impairment charge on long-lived assets, loss on sale of discontinued operations, and estimated losses on certain assets held for sale, including those carried as discontinued operations.

Because the company has not fully completed the tax provision calculation process, tax provisions for both the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008 are still preliminary and therefore GAAP net income/loss and GAAP earnings/loss per share for these periods are also preliminary. Final tax provisions, GAAP net income/loss, and GAAP earnings/loss per share will be updated in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 to be filed with the SEC and may differ materially from the amounts reported above.

On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported segment revenue for Internet Infrastructure and Identity Services (3IS), or the “core businesses” of Naming, SSL and IAS, of $245 million, up 3% from Q3 2008 and up 16% year-over-year. GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter was -3.7%.

On a non-GAAP basis (which excludes items described below) for its core businesses, VeriSign reported net income of $54 million for the fourth quarter of 2008 and fully-diluted earnings per share of $0.28. Non-GAAP operating margins for the fourth quarter were 35.1%. A table reconciling the GAAP to the non-GAAP results reported above is appended to this release.

“VeriSign again demonstrated solid performance in extremely difficult economic conditions, with 16% year-over-year revenue growth and greater than 35% non-GAAP operating margin for the fourth quarter," said Jim Bidzos, executive chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer on an interim basis of VeriSign. "We believe our growth and financial performance reflect that our strategy of divesting non-core businesses and focusing on our strong core units is the right one. While we have not achieved all of our divestiture goals, we did sell seven of 12 non-core businesses since late 2007, and we remain very focused, despite the challenging environment, on completing sales of the remaining larger businesses.”

2008 Financial Results

On a GAAP basis, for the year ended December 31, 2008, VeriSign reported revenue of $962 million from continuing operations. On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported a consolidated net loss of $240 million for 2008

and a loss per share of $1.20 on a fully-diluted basis. These full-year GAAP results reflect a $413 million non-cash impairment charge for certain long-lived assets, loss on sale of discontinued operations, and estimated losses on certain assets held for sale, of which $355 million is recorded in discontinued operations. Also recorded were restructuring charges of $150 million, $39 million of which is recorded in discontinued operations related to assets held for sale. As noted above, our tax provision for fiscal year 2008 is preliminary, and therefore GAAP net income/loss and GAAP earnings/loss per share are also preliminary.

On a GAAP basis, for 2008, VeriSign reported segment revenue for Internet Infrastructure and Identity Services (3IS), or the “core businesses,” of $936 million, up 20% year-over-year.

On a non-GAAP basis for its core businesses, VeriSign reported net income of $193 million for 2008 and fully-diluted earnings per share of $0.96. A table reconciling the GAAP to the non-GAAP results reported above is appended to this release.

“We’re very pleased with our performance this year, especially in light of the weakening economy,” said Brian Robins, acting chief financial officer of VeriSign. “In addition to reporting solid revenue and earnings for the year, we generated approximately $475 million in cash flow from operations in 2008, ending the year with nearly $800 million in cash and equivalents. Furthermore, we believe that our divide and focus approach to managing our businesses has paid off as our execution this quarter continued to be strong.”