Domain Stocks: From -26% to +51%, here’s how they’re doing this year

Tucows, MMX and GoDaddy are enjoying great years, Endurance and Web.com…not so much.

There are just a couple of months left in the year, and it has been one of ups and downs for many domain name stocks. The S&P 500 has returned about 7% this year. Here’s how domain name stocks have fared, ordered from best to worst.

• Tucows (NASDAQ: TCX) leads the board, opening January 4 at $20.57 and closing yesterday $31.02, up 51%. Its growth is driven from mobile, not domains.
• Minds + Machines (LSE AIM: MMX) started the year at 8.30 pence and is up 42% to 11.75 pence. The company has continued to buy back shares while simultaneously taking a strategic investment from a Chinese firm.
• GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) is continuing an upward trend, up 16% this year. It opened the year at $31.71 and closed yesterday at $36.82. Its market cap has topped $6 billion.
• Rightside (NASDAQ: NAME) has had lots of ups and downs, but overall it’s up 8% on the year, from $8.22 to $8.87.
• Neustar (NYSE: NSR) is up 7% from $23.52 to $25.20 at the close yesterday. It is in the process of splitting into two companies.
• Centralnic (LSE AIM: CNIC) opened the year at 48.30 pence and is off about 5% to 46.0 pence.
• Verisign (NYSE: VRSN) is off 5% from $85.69 to $81.37.
• Web.com (NASDAQ: WEB) is sinking, opening the year at $19.71 and losing 15% this year. Shares closed at $16.70 yesterday.
• Endurance International Group (NASDAQ: EIGI) has sunk 26% from $10.83 to $8.05.

These calculations are based on the opening price the first day of trading this year and the most recent close (October 24 for shares listed in the U.S.). I do not own individual shares in any of these companies.