威瑞信 (VRSN) 2019 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone. Welcome to VeriSign's Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. Unauthorized recording of this call is not permitted. At this time, I'd like to turn the comments over to Mr. David Atchley, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Treasurer. Please go ahead, sir.

大家好。歡迎參加 VeriSign 2019 年第三季財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。未經授權不得對本次通話進行錄音。現在，我想將意見轉交給投資人關係副總裁兼公司財務主管 David Atchley 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to VeriSign's Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call. With me are Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman, President and CEO; Todd Strubbe, Executive Vice President and COO; and George Kilguss, Executive Vice President and CFO.

謝謝接線員，大家下午好。歡迎參加 VeriSign 2019 年第三季財報電話會議。和我在一起的有執行董事長、總裁兼執行長吉姆‧比佐斯 (Jim Bidzos)； Todd Strubbe，執行副總裁兼營運長；以及執行副總裁兼財務長 George Kilguss。

This call and presentation are being webcast from the Investor Relations website, which is available under About VeriSign on verisign.com. There you will also find our third quarter 2019 earnings release. At the end of this call, the presentation will be available on that site, and within a few hours, the replay of the call will be posted.

本次電話會議和簡報透過投資者關係網站進行網路直播，網站可在 verisign.com 上的「關於威瑞信」下找到。您也可以在那裡找到我們 2019 年第三季的收益報告。本次電話會議結束後，該簡報將在該網站上發布，幾個小時內，將發布電話會議的重播。

Financial results in our earnings release are unaudited, and our remarks include forward-looking statements that are subject to the risks and uncertainties that we discuss in detail in our documents filed with the SEC, specifically the most recent report on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

我們的收益發布中的財務表現未經審計，我們的言論包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到我們在向SEC 提交的文件中詳細討論的風險和不確定性的影響，特別是關於10-K 和10表格的最新報告-Q，確定可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中包含的結果有重大差異的風險因素。

VeriSign retains its long-standing policy not to comment on financial performance or guidance during the quarter unless it is done through a public disclosure. The financial results in today's call and the matters we will be discussing today include GAAP and non-GAAP measures used by VeriSign. GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation information is appended to our earnings release and slide presentation as applicable, each of which can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website.

威瑞信保留其長期政策，除非透過公開揭露的方式，否則不會對本季的財務業績或指引發表評論。今天電話會議的財務表現以及我們今天將討論的事項包括威瑞信使用的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 衡量標準。GAAP 與非 GAAP 調節資訊附加在我們的收益發布和幻燈片簡報中（如果適用），每個資訊都可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

In a moment, Jim and George will provide some prepared remarks. And afterward, we will open the call for your questions. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Jim.

稍後，吉姆和喬治將提供一些準備好的發言。之後，我們將開啟電話詢問您的問題。說到這裡，我想把電話轉給吉姆。

Thanks, David, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased to report another solid quarter for VeriSign. Our results are in line with our objectives of offering security and stability to our customers while generating profitable growth and providing long-term value to our shareholders.

謝謝大衛，大家下午好。我很高興地報告威瑞信又一個穩健的季度。我們的業績符合我們的目標，即為客戶提供安全性和穩定性，同時實現獲利成長並為股東提供長期價值。

At the end of September, the domain name base in .com and .net totaled 157.4 million, consisting of 144 million names for .com and 13.4 million names for .net, with a year-over-year growth rate of 3.8%. During the third quarter, we processed 9.9 million new registrations and the domain name base increased by 1.27 million names.

截至9月底，.com、.net網域總數達1.574億個，其中.com網域1.44億個，.net網域1,340萬個，年增3.8%。第三季度，我們處理了 990 萬個新註冊，網域庫增加了 127 萬個名稱。

Although renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter, we believe that the renewal rate for the third quarter of 2019 will be approximately 73.6%. This preliminary rate compares to 74.8% achieved in the third quarter of 2018. For 2019 full year, we now expect the domain name base growth rate to be between 3.2% and 3.7%.

儘管續訂率要到季結束後 45 天才能完全衡量，但我們認為 2019 年第三季的續訂率將約為 73.6%。相比之下，2018 年第三季的初步率為 74.8%。對於 2019 年全年，我們目前預計域名基數成長率將在 3.2% 至 3.7% 之間。

As noted during our recent earnings calls, we are engaged in the process with ICANN to incorporate the terms of Amendment 35 to the Cooperative Agreement, including the pricing terms into our .com Registry Agreement. For those not familiar with this, let me remind you that under the 2016 Amendment to our .com Registry Agreement with ICANN, which extended the term of the agreement, we and ICANN also agreed to negotiate in good faith to do 2 things. First, we agreed to reflect changes to the Cooperative Agreement into the .com agreement, including pricing terms. Second, we agreed to amend the. com agreement to include terms to preserve and enhance the security and stability of the .com registry or the Internet. We believe these discussions with ICANN are nearly complete. While it will be inappropriate at this time to provide more details, I can say that we are satisfied with the results so far. As noted, this is an ICANN process and we expect that before long, ICANN will be publishing for public comment the documents we have been discussing.

正如我們在最近的財報電話會議中所指出的，我們正在與 ICANN 合作，將合作協議第 35 號修正案的條款（包括定價條款）納入我們的 .com 註冊管理機構協議中。對於那些不熟悉這一點的人，請允許我提醒您，根據我們與ICANN 的.com 註冊管理機構協議的2016 年修正案（該修正案延長了協議期限），我們和ICANN 還同意真誠地進行談判以做兩件事。首先，我們同意將合作協議的變更反映在 .com 協議中，包括定價條款。其次，我們同意修改。com 協議包括維護和增強 .com 註冊管理機構或互聯網的安全性和穩定性的條款。我們相信與 ICANN 的討論已接近完成。雖然現在不適合提供更多細節，但我可以說我們對迄今為止的結果感到滿意。如前所述，這是 ICANN 流程，我們預計不久之後，ICANN 將發布我們一直在討論的文件以徵求公眾意見。

During the third quarter, we continued our share repurchase program by repurchasing 1 million shares of common stock for $194 million. Our financial position remains strong with $1.23 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of the quarter. We continually evaluate the overall cash and investing needs of the business and consider the best uses for our cash, including potential share repurchases.

第三季度，我們繼續實施股票回購計劃，以 1.94 億美元回購 100 萬股普通股。我們的財務狀況依然強勁，截至本季末現金、現金等價物及有價證券為 12.3 億美元。我們不斷評估業務的整體現金和投資需求，並考慮現金的最佳用途，包括潛在的股票回購。

And now I'd like to turn the call over to George.

現在我想把電話轉給喬治。

Thank you, Jim, and good afternoon, everyone. Third quarter GAAP results produced revenue of $308 million, up 0.9% year-over-year.

謝謝吉姆，大家下午好。第三季 GAAP 業績實現營收 3.08 億美元，年增 0.9%。

Operating expense totaled $103 million compared to $105 million last quarter and $111 million in the third quarter a year ago. The small sequential quarter-over-quarter decrease in operating expenses is primarily a result of the timing of spend related to some sales and marketing programs. Year-over-year, the decrease in operating expenses is primarily due to lower expenses as a result of the sale of our Security Services business as well as the timing of spend related to periodic and planned changes to and investments in our infrastructure.

營運費用總計 1.03 億美元，上季為 1.05 億美元，去年第三季為 1.11 億美元。營運費用較上季小幅下降主要是由於與某些銷售和行銷計劃相關的支出時間表所致。與去年同期相比，營運費用的減少主要是由於出售我們的安全服務業務以及與我們的基礎設施的定期和計劃變更和投資相關的支出時間表而導致的費用減少。

Operating income totaled $206 million compared with $195 million in the third quarter of 2018. The operating margin in the quarter came to 66.7% compared to 63.8% in the same quarter a year ago.

營業收入總計 2.06 億美元，而 2018 年第三季為 1.95 億美元。本季營業利益率為 66.7%，而去年同期為 63.8%。

Net income totaled $154 million compared to $138 million a year earlier, which produced diluted earnings per share of $1.30 in the third quarter this year compared to $1.13 for the same quarter last year. As of September 30, 2019, the company maintained total assets of $1.9 billion and total liabilities of $3.3 billion. Assets included $1.2 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, of which $511 million were held domestically, with the remainder held abroad.

淨利潤總計 1.54 億美元，而去年同期為 1.38 億美元，今年第三季攤薄後每股收益為 1.30 美元，而去年同期為 1.13 美元。截至2019年9月30日，該公司總資產為19億美元，總負債為33億美元。資產包括12億美元的現金、現金等價物及有價證券，其中5.11億美元在國內持有，其餘則在國外持有。

I'll now review some additional third quarter financial metrics, which include non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP earnings per share, operating cash flow and free cash flow. I will then provide updates to our 2019 full year guidance.

我現在將回顧一些額外的第三季財務指標，其中包括非公認會計原則營業利潤率、非公認會計原則每股收益、營業現金流和自由現金流。然後我將提供 2019 年全年指導的更新。

As it relates to non-GAAP metrics, third quarter non-GAAP operating expense, which excludes $13 million of stock-based compensation, totaled $90 million compared to $91 million last quarter and $96 million in the third quarter a year ago.

由於與非 GAAP 指標相關，第三季非 GAAP 營運費用（不包括 1,300 萬美元的股票薪酬）總計 9,000 萬美元，而上季為 9,100 萬美元，去年同期為 9,600 萬美元。

Non-GAAP operating margin for the third quarter was 70.8% compared to 70.1% last quarter and 68.7% in the same quarter of 2018.

第三季非公認會計準則營業利益率為 70.8%，上一季為 70.1%，2018 年同季為 68.7%。

Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $161 million, resulting in non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.36 based on a weighted average diluted share count of 118.6 million shares. This compares to $1.33 last quarter and $1.23 in the third quarter of 2018.

第三季非 GAAP 淨利為 1.61 億美元，根據 1.186 億股的加權平均稀釋股數計算，非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益為 1.36 美元。相比之下，上一季為 1.33 美元，2018 年第三季為 1.23 美元。

Operating cash flow for the third quarter was $208 million, and free cash flow was $197 million compared with the $187 million and $177 million, respectively, for the third quarter last year.

第三季營運現金流為 2.08 億美元，自由現金流為 1.97 億美元，去年第三季分別為 1.87 億美元和 1.77 億美元。

Beginning with the first quarter 2020 earnings results, we plan to eliminate our discussion and presentation of non-GAAP measures with the exception of free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA on which we will continue to report. As a result, our full year 2020 guidance, which we'll provide on our next call, will only include GAAP metrics. This change is the culmination of the declining trend and influence of our non-GAAP adjustments over the last several years and is consistent with the evolving trends and best practices in financial reporting.

從 2020 年第一季收益結果開始，我們計劃取消對非 GAAP 指標的討論和演示，但自由現金流和調整後 EBITDA 除外，我們將繼續報告這些指標。因此，我們將在下次電話會議上提供的 2020 年全年指引將僅包括 GAAP 指標。這一變化是過去幾年我們非公認會計原則調整的下降趨勢和影響的頂峰，並且與財務報告的不斷發展的趨勢和最佳實踐一致。

Now I'd like to provide updates to our full year 2019 guidance. Revenue is now expected to be in the range of $1.228 billion to $1.233 billion, narrowed from the $1.225 billion to $1.235 billion range provided on our last call. This revenue range is based on our expectation for continued growth of our domain name base for the full year 2019 of between 3.2% and 3.7%.

現在我想提供 2019 年全年指導的更新。目前預計收入範圍為 12.28 億美元至 12.33 億美元，較我們上次電話會議提供的 12.25 億美元至 12.35 億美元範圍收窄。這項收入範圍是基於我們對 2019 年全年網域基礎持續成長 3.2% 至 3.7% 的預期。

Our non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be between 69.5% and 70%, increased and narrowed from the 68% to 69% range provided on our last call. Our interest expense and nonoperating income net is now expected to be an expense of between $44 million to $49 million, narrowed from the $42 million to $49 million range provided on our last call.

我們的非 GAAP 營業利潤率預計將在 69.5% 至 70% 之間，從我們上次電話會議中提供的 68% 至 69% 範圍有所增加並收窄。我們的利息支出和營業外收入淨額目前預計為 4,400 萬至 4,900 萬美元，較上次電話會議提供的 4,200 萬至 4,900 萬美元範圍有所縮小。

Capital expenditures in 2019 are now expected to be between $40 million and $50 million, decreased from the $45 million to $55 million range provided on our last call. Cash taxes are now expected to be between $85 million and $95 million, narrowed from the $85 million to $100 million range provided previously.

目前預計 2019 年的資本支出將在 4,000 萬美元至 5,000 萬美元之間，低於我們上次電話會議提供的 4,500 萬美元至 5,500 萬美元的範圍。目前現金稅預計為 8,500 萬美元至 9,500 萬美元，較先前提供的 8,500 萬美元至 1 億美元範圍收窄。

To recap, VeriSign continued to demonstrate sound financial performance during the third quarter of 2019.

回顧一下，VeriSign 在 2019 年第三季繼續展現出良好的財務表現。

Now I'll turn the call back to Jim for his closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給吉姆，讓他作結束語。

Thanks, George. The third quarter is another solid quarter for VeriSign. And as further expansion of the domain name base and year-over-year revenue growth, we generated and efficiently returned value to our shareholders. We continued our work to protect, grow and manage the business while continuing our focus on providing long-term value to our shareholders.

謝謝，喬治。第三季是威瑞信又一個穩健的季度。隨著域名基礎的進一步擴大和收入的逐年增長，我們為股東創造並有效地回報了價值。我們繼續努力保護、發展和管理業務，同時繼續專注於為股東提供長期價值。

We will now take your questions. Operator, we're ready for the first question.

我們現在將回答您的問題。接線員，我們準備好回答第一個問題了。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question today from Rob Oliver with Baird.

（操作員說明）今天我們將回答 Rob Oliver 和 Baird 提出的第一個問題。

It's Matthew Lemenager on for Rob. I do appreciate the comments around the ICANN registry agreement negotiation. So as we look forward, could you remind us, once the public comment period would open up, what does the time line look like after that? I believe you have to give a 6-month notification period before you can make any formal changes in pricing. So I assume that entire review period with ICANN would be complete by kind of April 2020, which can be time frame that it's going to need to be completed by. But can you just remind us what the time line looks like after the public comment period opens?

馬修·萊梅納格 (Matthew Lemenager) 替補羅布 (Rob)。我非常感謝 ICANN 註冊管理機構協議談判的評論。那麼，當我們展望未來時，您能否提醒我們，一旦公眾評審期開始，之後的時間線會是什麼樣子？我相信您必須先給予 6 個月的通知期，然後才能對定價進行正式更改。因此，我假設 ICANN 的整個審核期將於 2020 年 4 月完成，這可能是需要完成的時間範圍。但您能否提醒我們公眾評議期開始後的時間安排是怎樣的？

Sure, Matt. Yes, let me explain how -- what we expect in the public comment period with the caveat that this is an ICANN process so I can't speak with certainty and I don't speak for ICANN, but I can tell you what the expectation is and what they typically do. As I mentioned, we will expect them to shortly publish these documents for a comment period. ICANN's comment periods are typically about 40 days. There's typically a short period where they review the comments. And then after that, it's normally expected that some action would be taken an approval on, on that process. Again, it's ICANN process. I can't tell you with certainty, but that's typically what they do and that's basically an expectation based on what they've done in the past.

當然，馬特。是的，讓我解釋一下我們在公眾意見徵詢期內的期望，但需要注意的是，這是一個ICANN 流程，因此我不能肯定地說，而且我不代表ICANN 發言，但我可以告訴您期望是什麼是以及他們通常做什麼。正如我所提到的，我們預計他們很快就會發布這些文件以供徵求意見。ICANN 的意見徵詢期通常約為 40 天。他們通常會花很短的時間來審查評論。之後，通常預計會對該流程採取一些行動以獲得批准。再次強調，這是 ICANN 流程。我不能肯定地告訴你，但這就是他們通常所做的事情，這基本上是基於他們過去所做的事情的期望。

In terms of any price increases, we don't guide to pricing. We need to finalize this ICANN process first. So I can't offer you any details on that, but hopefully that answered your question.

對於任何價格上漲，我們不指導定價。我們需要先完成 ICANN 流程。所以我無法向您提供任何詳細信息，但希望這能回答您的問題。

Yes, that's helpful. And then I think another one on kind of the newer initiatives, I suppose. Is there any update to .web and the process there?

是的，這很有幫助。然後我想另一篇關於新舉措的文章，我想。.web 及其流程有任何更新嗎？

Yes. Actually, there is some new information since we spoke to you last quarter on .web. Just for the benefit, I guess, of everybody else on the call, for context, there's an option for .web. And one of the losing bidders, a company called Afilias, a competitor of ours, filed what is a form of an arbitration proceeding called an IRP in November of 2018 that's against ICANN. And as a reminder, ICANN filed a response to the complaint. We're not a party to that arbitration, but we have filed a request asking to participate in that arbitration as an interested party, which is allowed by ICANN's rules. So the update is that since last quarter, kind of a significant update, I guess, is that an arbitration panel has been appointed, convened, that actually held a hearing just very recently, a couple of weeks ago, on our request to participate. That hearing was held, and we expect a ruling on that issue of our participation before the end of the year.

是的。事實上，自從上個季度我們在 .web 上與您交談以來，出現了一些新資訊。我想，只是為了讓通話中的其他人受益，為了上下文，有一個 .web 選項。失敗的競標者之一，一家名為 Afilias 的公司，我們的競爭對手，於 2018 年 11 月針對 ICANN 提起了名為 IRP 的仲裁程序。謹此提醒，ICANN 對投訴做出了回應。我們不是該仲裁的一方，但我們已提交請求，要求作為利益相關方參與該仲裁，這是 ICANN 規則允許的。因此，更新是，自上個季度以來，我認為一個重要的更新是，任命並召集了一個仲裁小組，實際上就在最近，幾週前，應我們的參與要求舉行了聽證會。聽證會已經舉行，我們預計在年底前就我們的參與問題做出裁決。

Okay. Got it. And then lastly, just on the sales and marketing expense. It was down 28% year-over-year. I think it's a couple of quarters in a row that's declined. I mean do you -- is there any expectation -- would that go -- just trying to think about how to, I don't know, call that out into 2020. It seems like -- would that level off at some point if we kind of do .web and put marketing dollars behind that? Or anything, I guess, maybe that you could give color around the sales and marketing expense?

好的。知道了。最後，只是銷售和行銷費用。年減 28%。我認為這是連續幾季出現下降。我的意思是，你是否——是否有任何期望——會不會——只是想想想如何，我不知道，在 2020 年實現這一點。看起來——如果我們做 .web 並投入行銷資金，這種情況會在某個時候趨於平穩嗎？或者什麼，我想，也許你可以對銷售和行銷費用進行說明？

Yes. Sure, Matt. This is George. So as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, the big change in expense year-over-year really is a result of the sale of our VSS business. As it relates to sales and marketing, there was -- most of that expense came out of sales and marketing year-over-year, so that's primarily the year-over-year decline. As far as where sales and marketing is going in the future, we'll provide -- we don't provide guidance on the individual segments, but we will give you an idea of our expectation for next year on our call in February.

是的。當然，馬特。這是喬治。正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，費用同比的巨大變化實際上是我們出售 VSS 業務的結果。由於與銷售和行銷相關，大部分費用來自同比銷售和行銷，因此這主要是同比下降。至於未來銷售和行銷的發展方向，我們將提供—我們不會提供針對各個細分市場的指導，但我們將在二月份的電話會議上向您介紹我們對明年的期望。

Our next question will come from Sterling Auty with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題將來自摩根大通的斯特林·奧蒂。

Let's start with the renewal rate in the quarter down year-over-year. Can you give us some context or color? Is there any particular region or factor that led to that decline?

讓我們從本季同比下降的續訂率開始。您能給我們一些背景資訊或顏色嗎？是否有任何特定地區或因素導致了這種下降？

Sure, Sterling. This is George. Regarding renewal rates, our Q3 preliminary renewal rate is expected to be down about 1.2% or 73.6% year-over-year when you consider the 2 major components of our renewal rates. Our previous renewed rate has held consistent in the mid-80% range both year-over-year and sequentially. However, we've seen a slight decrease in our first-time renewal rate in the quarter. And while there's a variety of factors that can influence that, it -- for us, it's really been a geographic mix in the quarter, as we previously mentioned. China registrars, first-time renewal rate as well as what we call the emerging markets at historically lower first-time renewal rates than, let's say, more mature markets like the U.S. and Europe. And as China has continued to grow for us in 2018 and again in 2019, it's really this change in geographic mix which is causing a little bit of downward pressure on the first-time renewal rate.

當然，斯特林。這是喬治。關於續約率，考慮到我們續訂率的兩個主要組成部分，我們第三季的初步續約率預計將年減約 1.2% 或 73.6%。我們先前的續訂率無論是同比還是環比都保持在 80% 左右的範圍內。然而，我們發現本季的首次續訂率略有下降。雖然有多種因素會影響這一點，但正如我們之前提到的，對我們來說，這實際上是本季的地理組合。中國註冊商的首次續訂率以及我們所謂的新興市場的首次續訂率歷史上低於美國和歐洲等更成熟的市場。隨著中國在 2018 年和 2019 年持續成長，地理結構的變化確實對首次續訂率造成了一些下行壓力。

So that makes sense. So maybe a follow-up is, the 9.9 million new names processed in the quarter, can you give us maybe a little bit more granularity as to what the geographic makeup of that looks like and how that has trended over the last year?

所以這是有道理的。因此，也許後續行動是，本季度處理的 990 萬個新名字，您能否給我們更詳細的信息，了解其地理構成以及去年的趨勢？

Well, if you point to the 9.9 million gross adds, and that's a good stat for us. I mean gross adds were up 3.5% year-over-year in the third quarter, which actually was a record gross add third quarter for us. So continued good demand for the product in the third quarter here.

好吧，如果你指的是 990 萬的總增加量，這對我們來說是一個很好的統計數據。我的意思是，第三季的總增加額年增了 3.5%，這實際上是我們第三季總增加的創紀錄水平。因此，第三季對該產品的需求持續良好。

As far as the regions of gross adds, they tend to change quarter-to-quarter depending on where registrars are fulfilling demand. But again, China has done well for us in the third quarter. Third quarter, we saw EMEA do pretty well for us, and Asia Pacific was doing pretty well for us as well in the third quarter.

就總成長地區而言，它們往往會根據註冊服務商滿足需求的地區而逐季變化。但同樣，中國在第三季為我們做得很好。第三季度，我們看到歐洲、中東和非洲地區的表現非常好，亞太地區在第三季的表現也非常好。

Got it. Moving over to the negotiation with ICANN. I think there's a number of investors that just felt like, well, why isn't this just a slam dunk, quick, put in Item 35 and you're done. I think from some of the commentary you've made in the earnings calls, it does seem to be more of a negotiation, and negotiation usually means both sides want something. There has been some question that I get from investors as to whether the ICANN fee would go up or what other elements we might actually see. Is there any just high-level color that you can give even prior to seeing the public comment documents?

知道了。接下來與 ICANN 進行談判。我認為有很多投資者只是覺得，好吧，為什麼這不是一個灌籃，快點，放入第 35 項，你就完成了。我認為從你在財報電話會議中所做的一些評論來看，這似乎更像是一場談判，而談判通常意味著雙方都想要一些東西。我從投資者那裡得到了一些關於 ICANN 費用是否會上漲或我們可能實際看到的其他因素的問題。在看到公眾意見文件之前，您是否可以給予任何高層次的描述？

So your question is specifically about when in terms of the publication for public comment? I'm not sure. You kind of lost me right at end there. I'm just not sure exactly what the question is.

所以你的問題具體是關於什麼時候公開徵求公眾意見？我不知道。你在最後就失去了我。我只是不確定問題到底是什麼。

Yes. To be very specific, the question is, since it's a negotiation, should we expect that not only would we see changes to pricing coming into the registry agreement from Item 35, but will there be other changes to the registry agreement since it is a negotiation?

是的。具體來說，問題是，既然這是一次談判，我們是否應該預期不僅會看到註冊管理機構協議第35 項中的定價發生變化，而且由於這是一次談判，註冊管理機構協議是否還會出現其他變化？

Well, there's -- so I think -- no, I said that we can't provide any details, but I can reiterate and tell you that there's an obligation to move the changes from the Cooperative Agreement, which is the pricing, and we're satisfied with that process. And that is the Amendment 35 pricing.

嗯，所以我認為 - 不，我說過我們無法提供任何細節，但我可以重申並告訴您，我們有義務從合作協議中刪除更改，即定價，我們對這個過程很滿意。這就是第 35 號修正案的定價。

There's also an obligation resulting from the 2016 extension to provide the security and stability. So I can tell you that in that process, we're satisfied as well with that process, with the discussions that we've had, including security and stability. And that -- in that process, any obligations or expenses that arise from it, that's also an area where we're satisfied with the progress and also the Amendment 35 pricing, obviously. So hopefully that answers your question.

2016 年延期也產生了提供安全性和穩定性的義務。所以我可以告訴你，在這個過程中，我們對這個過程以及我們所做的討論（包括安全性和穩定性）感到滿意。在此過程中，由此產生的任何義務或費用，這也是我們對進展以及第 35 號修正案定價感到滿意的領域。希望這能回答你的問題。

Yes, that makes sense. And then last question, George, just back -- as we think about the new guidance for the 3.2% to 3.7% growth in the domain overall, should we think that this would be a continuation of the trend in the renewal rate that gets us to that level for the full year? Or is there any other factors that kind of weighed on it?

是的，這是有道理的。最後一個問題，喬治，剛剛回來——當我們考慮該領域整體增長 3.2% 至 3.7% 的新指導時，我們是否應該認為這將是續訂率趨勢的延續，這讓我們全年達到這個水平嗎？或者有其他因素影響它嗎？

I mean, Sterling, as we all know, there is seasonality we have in fourth quarter, i.e., there are quite a few holidays in the fourth quarter in the U.S. and abroad. And so it's obviously a combination of adds and renewal rates, but our guidance fully reflects our expectations for the full year performance.

我的意思是，英鎊，眾所周知，第四季度有季節性，即美國和國外第四季度有很多假期。因此，這顯然是增加率和續訂率的組合，但我們的指導充分反映了我們對全年業績的預期。

We will take our last question from Nick Jones with Citi.

我們將回答花旗銀行尼克瓊斯的最後一個問題。

I guess thinking a little bit longer term, is there any discernible differences in kind of the number of people who are parking domains today than maybe were during the last recession? And is there kind of any difference in the business today or the profile of the registrants that you could add some color around that are different today?

我想從長遠來看，今天停車區域的人數與上次經濟衰退期間相比是否有任何明顯的差異？當今的業務或註冊者的概況是否存在任何差異，您可以在今天的不同之處添加一些色彩？

I think that's a very tough question to get into any specifics on. But generally, I can tell you that this business has shifted steadily over the years. You probably remember a few years ago when Google was making changes to its search algorithm and affected the way that people monetized domains, that affected registrar buying habits. Geography can play a role as well. People buy domains for different purposes in different geographies. So it's -- there are many purposes, obviously, from branding yourself and building businesses. People buy domains for defensive registration purposes. There are lots of different reasons to buy them. They vary over time. Other external factors that influence them, geography. So it's kind of hard to generalize. I can't think of any standout change or shift that I can point to that indicates any specific change or aspect of our business. As George said, this was a record Q3 with 9.9 million gross adds and so demand is good for the product. Whatever the mix may be, that's a subject for publication of some data in the future. We might look at that. It's a good question, but it's really hard to sort of give you a detailed, sort of granular answer to that. There's just so much activity and so many different reasons that people buy domains and so many different types of monetization as well.

我認為這是一個很難詳細討論的問題。但總的來說，我可以告訴你，這項業務多年來一直在穩步變化。您可能還記得幾年前，Google對其搜尋演算法進行了更改，並影響了人們透過網域獲利的方式，從而影響了註冊商的購買習慣。地理也可以發揮作用。人們在不同地區出於不同目的購買域名。顯然，打造自己的品牌和建立業務有很多目的。人們購買網域名稱是出於防禦性註冊的目的。購買它們的理由有很多。它們隨著時間的推移而變化。其他影響他們的外在因素，地理。所以很難一概而論。我想不出有任何顯著的變化或轉變可以表明我們業務的任何具體變化或方面。正如 George 所說，第三季總銷量創歷史新高，增加了 990 萬輛，因此對該產品的需求良好。無論是什麼組合，這都是未來發布一些數據的主題。我們可能會看看。這是一個很好的問題，但是很難給你一個詳細、細緻的答案。人們購買域名的活動如此之多，原因也如此之多，貨幣化的類型也如此之多。

Yes. And as a reminder, Nick, we're a thick registry so we really -- excuse me, a thin registry, so we don't...

是的。尼克，提醒一下，我們的註冊機構很厚，所以我們真的——對不起，註冊機構很薄，所以我們不…

You don't say the registrant. Registrants don't provide that. So we don't have quite as much information, but we certainly study these trends and it's -- there's a diverse set of reasons that people buy domains.

你沒有說註冊人。註冊人不提供該資訊。因此，我們沒有那麼多信息，但我們確實研究了這些趨勢，而且人們購買域名的原因多種多樣。

Okay. Got it. Appreciate it. One more. With kind of an upcoming political cycle and the growing scrutiny on kind of big tech, is there any kind of increased regulatory risk to VeriSign as you guys try to implement Amendment 35 as we get into 2020? Or how should we think about that?

好的。知道了。欣賞它。再來一張。隨著即將到來的政治週期以及對大型科技公司日益嚴格的審查，當你們在進入 2020 年時嘗試實施第 35 號修正案時，威瑞信的監管風險是否會增加？或者說我們該如何思考這個問題？

We've read what you read about that. That's all we know. I read everything lately. We've read what you've read.

我們已經閱讀了您所讀到的相關內容。這就是我們所知道的。我最近讀了所有內容。我們已經閱讀了您所閱讀的內容。

That will conclude today's question-and-answer session. At this time, I will turn the conference over to Mr. David Atchley for final comments.

今天的問答環節到此結束。此時，我將把會議轉交給 David Atchley 先生徵求最後意見。

Thank you, operator. Please call the Investor Relations department with any follow-up questions from this call. Thank you for your participation. This concludes our call. Have a good evening.

謝謝你，接線生。如果本次電話會議有任何後續問題，請致電投資者關係部門。感謝您的參與。我們的通話到此結束。祝你晚上愉快。

That does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。