Franklin Resources, Inc. vs Verisign, Inc. — how do they compare? Franklin Resources, Inc. trades at $33.51 (market cap $16.95B), while Verisign, Inc. trades at $284.18 (market cap $26.00B). The key difference: Verisign, Inc. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Franklin Resources, Inc. pays the higher dividend (3.96%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BEN | VRSN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $16.95B | $26.00B |
Sector | Financials | Technology |
52-Week High | $35.77 | $310.00 |
52-Week Low | $21.18 | $211.49 |
Enterprise Value | $29.90B | $27.31B |
Dividend Yield | 3.96% | 1.13% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Franklin Resources (BEN) trades at $33.52, down 0.74% on the day, with a bullish technical signal supported by moving averages. The company reported Q2 2026 EPS of $0.72, beating estimates, and achieved record AUM of $1.80 trillion as of July 31, 2026, driven by strong inflows and diversification efforts. Valuation ratios include a P/E of 22.69 and P/S of 1.85, while profitability metrics show a net income margin of 8.72%.
The outlook is positive with earnings beats and AUM growth, but risks include weaker ROE of 1.34% and net cash outflows. Analyst consensus price target is $36.50, suggesting potential upside, supported by a 'Buy' rating from 22% of analysts. Investors should monitor margin expansion and competitive pressures in the asset management sector.
VeriSign (VRSN) trades at $293.34, down 0.41% with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The company reported strong Q2 2026 results with record domain registrations and 6% revenue growth, maintaining robust profit margins near 50%. Recent delegation of .web domain and AI-driven registration growth provide positive catalysts.
The stock offers 9% upside to consensus price target of $320 with 60% analyst buy ratings. Key risks include contract renewals and premium valuation at 31x P/E. Strong cash flow generation and dividend payments support shareholder returns amid stable internet infrastructure demand.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Franklin Resources provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. At the end of August 2022, Franklin had $1.388 trillion in managed assets, composed primarily of equity (32%), fixed-income (38%), multi-asset/balanced (10%) funds, alternatives (16%), and money market funds (4%). Distribution tends to be weighted more toward retail investors (49% of AUM) investors, as opposed to institutional (49%) and high-net-worth (2%) clients. Franklin is also one of the more global firms of the U.S.-based asset managers with more than 35% of its AUM invested in global/international strategies and 25% of managed assets sourced from clients domiciled outside the United States.
Read more on BEN →Verisign is the sole authorized registry for several generic top-level domains, including the widely utilized .com and .net top-level domains. The company operates critical Internet infrastructure to support the domain name system, including operating two of the world's 13 root servers that are used to route Internet traffic. In 2018, the firm sold off its Security Services business, signalling a renewed focus on the core registry business.
Read more on VRSN →