The bottom fell out of Commvault (CVLT 5.68%) shares in late April after the enterprise data management specialist disappointed investors with the slowest top-line growth it has experienced in 14 quarters. While 13% quarter-over-quarter growth would be admirable for many companies, Commvault investors were expecting larger numbers.
Commvault laid out a growth plan previously to attain $1 billion in revenue within several years – an aggressive strategy given the company generates roughly half that amount currently and needs to achieve 20% growth annually to hit its target by 2017.
Was it just a lumpy revenue quarter or is this a broader indication that U.S. IT spending for enterprise data software is slowing? Comparing Commvault's results to those for competitors EMC Corporation (EMC +0.00%) and Symantec (SYMC 5.90%) would suggest the latter.
Fool analysts Nathan Hamilton and Max Macaluso discuss Commvault's quarterly earnings in the video below and provide insights on what investors should be paying attention to in subsequent quarters.
