VeriSign's Pain Falls Mainly in Domain Names

Before VeriSign (VRSN Quote) shares fell off a cliff Friday to a new 52-week low, a pack of analysts downgraded the company, citing its ailing domain name business.

While troubles in the domain name world are nothing new, they look as if they are going to get worse before they get better. The crux of the problem: The domain name land grab of the dot-com days has been replaced by a greater number of registrars fighting each other with cutthroat tactics for a shrinking base of customers.

The total number of registered domain names has been declining monthly since October, according to SnapNames, a domain industry infrastructure provider that publishes a monthly count on domain names. ...