VMware
Here's the evidence:
- $456 million in revenue, flat year-over-year. (Boring!)
- Pro forma earnings of $0.20 per share, down from $0.23 per share a year ago. (You call that progress? Maybe for a lobster.)
- $198.7 million in free cash flows, a 129% annual increase. (Now I get it!)
- A 3% increase in headcount during the quarter. (All right, you don't have to rub it in.)
So while IBM
And I do believe that what VMware is doing is the best course of action. Virtual computing is still in its infancy, and even though VMware has the first-mover advantage our Rule Breakers team loves so much, the company is under attack from well-heeled giants like Microsoft
For this reason, when I look at the marketing expense item for a company in a hot sector like virtualization, I don't see a number. I see a gas pedal.
Push that pedal to the metal as long as hard as you can afford to. The only reason to ease off is if your market is all grown up and ripe for a more subtle approach. Online video rental pioneer Netflix
And that, my friends, is why I think we ain't seen nothing yet out of VMware. The real growth story still lies ahead.
Further virtual Foolishness: