VMware 88% fourth-quarter increase

VMware had $1.33 billion in revenue during 2007, an 88% increase from the year before. But the virtualization software vendor, which reported its latest financial results on Monday, didn't meet Wall Street's fourth-quarter expectations, and its stock price was hit hard in after-hours trading. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also toned down its business outlook for this year, forecasting a 50% increase in revenue for 2008 as a whole. VMware officials cited several reasons for the reduced growth rate, including the increasing size of the company's revenue base, which makes it harder to sustain a meteoric rise in sales. But they also acknowledged that there is more competition in the virtualization market, even if it was something of a backhanded compliment to rival vendors. For instance, Mark Peek, VMware's chief financial officer, said during a conference call about the results that there is "an increasing number of competing companies marketing their intent to introduce virtualization products." Read the full story at the source.