By Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com - VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) shares dropped 5.6% in pre-market trading as the server software provider beat on earnings and revenue for their latest quarter, but provided a muted outlook for next quarter's and next year's revenues amid a shift in revenue models.
The company posted fiscal year Q4 2022 earnings of $1.39/share and non-GAAP earnings of $2.02/share, vs. analyst expectations of $1.98/share. VMware's revenue for the quarter was $3.53 billion, just ahead of estimates of $3.52 billion.
Revenue growth was up 7% year-over-year for Q4 and up 9% for the full year. VMware is transitioning to a more subscription and software as a service (SaaS) based model and saw that type of revenue grow 23% in Q4 and 24% for the year. That segment comprises 25% of VMware's total revenue.
“The growth in customer demand for our multi-cloud solutions was reflected in our Q4 results. We are at an exciting time in our industry, as enterprises large and small transform and modernize to become software-based, digital enterprises,” said Raghu Raghuram, CEO, VMware.
Guidance appears to be what is weighing on the stock, however. VMware guided for revenue of $3.185 billion in the quarter ending in April, and for non-GAAP earnings of $1.56/share, vs. estimates of $3.23 billion in revenue and $1.64/share in earnings. For the year, VMware guided for $13.75 billion in revenue, or 7% year-over-year growth, and non-GAAP earnings of $6.97/share. The company is forecasting an acceleration in subscription and SaaS revenue growth to 26% year over year, but the market appears to be waiting for proof that this will lead to accelerated growth, as most sell-side analysts have lowered their price targets on the stock in the wake of the report.
One, Mizuho's Gregg Moskovitz, wrote, "VMW reported slight revenue upside for F4Q, although billings growth was less than expected, and F1Q/FY23 guidance was below Street expectations. Over time, we expect that a growing contribution from SaaS and hybrid cloud subscriptions should improve VMW's positioning, but we're not confident that VMW will execute smoothly going forward...the company also has much to prove here."
This was VMware's first quarter as a wholly independent company since being spun out by Dell in November of 2021.