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APP vs. VRSN: AppLovin vs. VeriSign Stock Comparison

How do AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN) both fall under the Software & Services industry group, but APP is classified in Software while VRSN is classified in IT Services.

VeriSign (VRSN) has more than two decades of public-market history since January 30, 1998, whereas AppLovin (APP) listed on April 15, 2021 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Company profile comparison for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
Profile ItemAPPVRSN
NameAppLovin Corporation Class A Common StockVeriSign, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorInformation TechnologyInformation Technology
GICS Industry GroupSoftware & ServicesSoftware & Services
GICS IndustrySoftwareIT Services
GICS Sub-IndustryApplication SoftwareInternet Services & Infrastructure
Market Capitalization129.62 billion USD27.69 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNasdaq
Listing DateApril 15, 2021January 30, 1998
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

APP
VRSN
GSPC
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Total Return (1Y)-34.71%28.37%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)116.87%15.25%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)31.34%5.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

APP
VRSN
GSPC
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

AppLovin (APP) has a highly aggressive beta of 2.25, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while VeriSign (VRSN) is defensive at 0.67 and tends to be less market-sensitive — a wide gap in beta profiles.

Risk profile metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)80.36%28.25%
Beta (5Y)2.250.67
Max Drawdown (5Y)-91.90%-38.85%
Avg. Volume (3M)5.33M869.64K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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APP and VRSN are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.490.85
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.691.24

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: AppLovin (APP) earns 210.09% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; VeriSign (VRSN) has no ROE this period.

APP

Software & Services industry group

210.09%

APP
210.09%
Max
53.85%
Q3
17.90%
Median
6.59%
Q1
-9.59%
Min
-50.52%

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

--

Max
53.85%
Q3
17.90%
Median
6.59%
Q1
-9.59%
Min
-50.52%
VRSN
--
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): VRSN does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; APP is benchmarked against the Software & Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both AppLovin (APP) at 65.89% and VeriSign (VRSN) at 49.07% keep an unusually large share of revenue as bottom-line profit — each net margin clears its industry’s benchmark range.

APP

Software & Services industry group

65.89%

APP
65.89%
Max
41.17%
Q3
15.28%
Median
4.63%
Q1
-5.42%
Min
-33.17%

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

49.07%

VRSN
49.07%
Max
41.17%
Q3
15.28%
Median
4.63%
Q1
-5.42%
Min
-33.17%
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their net margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Before financing and tax, both AppLovin (APP) at 78.22% and VeriSign (VRSN) at 68.62% run unusually efficient core operations — each operating margin clears its industry’s benchmark range.

APP

Software & Services industry group

78.22%

APP
78.22%
Max
46.89%
Q3
17.64%
Median
8.73%
Q1
-2.13%
Min
-30.45%

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

68.62%

VRSN
68.62%
Max
46.89%
Q3
17.64%
Median
8.73%
Q1
-2.13%
Min
-30.45%
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
ROE (TTM)210.09%--
ROA (TTM)49.57%54.90%
Net Margin (TTM)65.89%49.07%
Operating Margin (TTM)78.22%68.62%
Gross Margin (TTM)88.78%88.57%

Growth

Revenue Growth

AppLovin (APP) at 69.99% delivers above-range revenue growth, while VeriSign (VRSN) at 6.37% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in revenue momentum.

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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

AppLovin (APP) at 115.23% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while VeriSign (VRSN) at 10.13% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for APP.

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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Revenue Growth (YoY)69.99%6.37%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)24.84%5.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)115.23%10.13%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)--12.18%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

AppLovin (APP) at 3.81 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while VeriSign (VRSN) at 0.42 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

APP

Software & Services industry group

3.81

Max
5.11
APP
3.81
Q3
2.77
Median
1.67
Q1
1.01
Min
0.03

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

0.42

Max
5.11
Q3
2.77
Median
1.67
Q1
1.01
VRSN
0.42
Min
0.03
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their current ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: AppLovin (APP) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07 against its industry range, while VeriSign (VRSN) reports no figure this period.

APP

Software & Services industry group

1.07

Max
2.52
Q3
1.13
APP
1.07
Median
0.40
Q1
0.07
Min
0.00

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

--

Max
2.52
Q3
1.13
Median
0.40
Q1
0.07
Min
0.00
VRSN
--
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): VRSN does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; APP is benchmarked against the Software & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Current Ratio (MRQ)3.810.42
Debt / Equity (MRQ)1.07--
Net Debt / EBITDA0.061.09

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

AppLovin (APP) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile VeriSign (VRSN) reports a yield of 1.03%, ranking against industry peers normally.

APP

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

APP
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

1.03%

VRSN
1.03%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

AppLovin (APP) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile VeriSign (VRSN) reports a payout of 34.45%, ranking against industry peers normally.

APP

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

APP
0.00%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

34.45%

VRSN
34.45%
Max
0.00%
Q3
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.03%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%34.45%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both AppLovin (APP) at 26.34 and VeriSign (VRSN) at 33.23 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

APP

Software & Services industry group

26.34

Max
112.94
Q3
60.32
Median
32.91
APP
26.34
Q1
18.77
Min
6.69

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

33.23

Max
112.94
Q3
60.32
VRSN
33.23
Median
32.91
Q1
18.77
Min
6.69
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both AppLovin (APP) at 17.04 and VeriSign (VRSN) at 15.99 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

APP

Software & Services industry group

17.04

Max
17.91
APP
17.04
Q3
8.78
Median
4.25
Q1
2.23
Min
0.02

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

15.99

Max
17.91
VRSN
15.99
Q3
8.78
Median
4.25
Q1
2.23
Min
0.02
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

VeriSign (VRSN) reports a negative P/B ratio of -12.13, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile AppLovin (APP) reports 39.29, ranking against industry peers normally.

APP

Software & Services industry group

39.29

APP
39.29
Max
16.63
Q3
8.50
Median
4.30
Q1
1.92
Min
-3.90

VRSN

Software & Services industry group

-12.13

Max
16.63
Q3
8.50
Median
4.30
Q1
1.92
Min
-3.90
VRSN
-12.13
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AppLovin (APP) vs. VeriSign (VRSN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AppLovin (APP) and VeriSign (VRSN)
MetricAPPVRSN
P/E Ratio (TTM)26.3433.23
P/S Ratio (TTM)17.0415.99
P/B Ratio (MRQ)39.29-12.13
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)2.87%2.89%