The top-performing U.S. stock in Berkshire Hathaway ‘s enormous equity portfolio this year turns out to be a lesser-known name in the internet world. VeriSign , which provides a dotcom domain registry service, has seen its shares climb more than 21% this year and more than 32% over the past 12 months. The Reston, Virginia-based company recently reported a rise in fourth-quarter revenue, boosted by solid demand for domain registrations. Berkshire first bought VeriSign stock in the fourth quarter of 2012, shortly after Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett hired Ted Weschler as his investing lieutenant. The conglomerate left the size of the position virtually unchanged from 2014 until 2024, when it raised it slightly, to 14%. VRSN YTD mountain VeriSign in 2025. On the surface, VeriSign looks like a pure technology stock, a sector Buffett usually avoids. But VeriSign’s business actually fits the 94-year-old investment legend’s preferences. VeriSign largely manages the domain-name registries for two of the internet’s most valuable domains, .com and .net. Its sales primarily come from businesses and individuals obtaining and renewing a specific domain name. ” $VRSN is like a Utility stock for the Internet. They run the .com and .net handles, and they get paid every time someone buys a new domain or renews a domain,” Bespoke Investment Group said in a note. “It makes sense that Berkshire owns ~14% of this even though it’s a Tech stock.” VeriSign shares took off after a regulatory overhang was resolved. The Biden administration eventually renewed a federal contract with the company, agreeing to talks on registration prices. “We view Verisign as being one of the safer plays in Internet with a narrower range of outcomes given its almost utility-like nature as a domain registry, ability to pass on regular price increases that leads to a resiliant top-line and best in class EBITDA margins, providing what we believe to be an attractive risk/reward for investors,” Citigroup said in a recent research report. The Wall Street firm has a buy rating on the stock.
