This quarter beat expectations, primarily due to record highs in the domain name base, strong new registrations, and improved renewal rates.

Key data: Revenue $429M (+6.6% YoY), diluted EPS $2.34 (+11.4% YoY), .com/.net domain name base 176.1 million (record high).

Business progress: The CEO emphasized "100% service availability" extending a 29-year record, with infrastructure handling over 600 billion DNS queries per day (average 7 million queries per second). Management showcased AI tools driving domain name demand, while also announcing that the .com wholesale price will rise to $10.97 effective November 1 (first price increase since February 2024). Additionally, plans were announced to launch enhanced security services through a blog series, but there was no commitment to participate in ICANN's new gTLD round.

Guidance and outlook: Raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $1.73-1.745 billion, domain growth expectations raised to 3.1%-4.3%.

Risk/highlight signals: Positive — renewal rate of 76.3% improved YoY, management confident in AI and marketing plans; Watch points — first-year renewal rate remains in the "mid-40% range", and cautious stance on new gTLD participation.