VMware recently reported revenue growth of 20% in its third quarter ended Sept. 30. It projects revenue growth for the year of around 21% to 22%. That means it will close out the year with total revenues close to $ 4.5 or $ 4.6 billion, compared to $ 3.8 billion last year. Pretty good for an enterprise software company facing “tough macroeconomic conditions,” as co-president Carl Eschenbach phrased it. Or is it?

Net income is up only 3%, to $ 540 million from $ 524 million, for the first nine months of 2012 compared to 2011, which means gaining that 20% revenue growth is costing VMware something.

It’s possible the spread of server consolidation around the world is still the main fuel behind VMware’s revenues. That trend is so widespread that VMware’s international revenues now exceed those produced in the U.S., $ 580 million in the third quarter versus $ 554 million.

VMware’s goal both here and abroad, however, is to participate in two of the fastest growing software markets in the world, data center virtualization and cloud computing. VMware doesn’t separate revenues by product lines, so it’s not possible to say how much each one contributes to the revenue stream.
Network Computing