Hi Larry,
No surprises here. Network storage is such a key component of most cloud architectures that it can and does serve as a bellwether of cloud adoption. What has yet to be determined is the correlation between network storage growth and cloud growth on a revenue basis. Given the variability of usage on cloud platforms and the ratio of storage to computational usage, are cloud revenues growing at 50% Y/Y? It's hard to say, which begs the question whether or not we're seeing the beginnings of a storage bubble developing in advance of expected cloud computing demand. In any respect, thank you for sharing these great data points with us. I look forward to future insights from you.
Regards,
Dave Geada
Twitter: @moosemarketer
NetApp reported a strong fourth quarter courtesy of data center buildouts fueled by server virtualization and cloud computing.
The storage company reported fourth quarter earnings of $145 million, or 40 cents a share, on revenue of $1.17 billion, up from $880 million a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were 50 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 43 cents a share on revenue of $1.09 billion.
For the year, NetApp reported earnings of $400 million, or $1.13 a share, on revenue of $3.93 billion, up 15 percent from fiscal 2009.
As for the outlook, NetApp was upbeat. The company projected revenue between $1.1 billion and $1.14 billion. Earnings will be between 31 cents a share and 35 cents a share. Non-GAAP earnings will be 43 cents a share to 47 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 37 cents a share on revenue of $1.04 billion.
What’s driving the upside? Data center upgrades. In a statement, Tom Georgens, CEO of NetApp, said:
The server virtualization and cloud computing trends are driving significant business for us, as our competitive advantages in those areas lead more customers to choose NetApp storage efficiency solutions for larger and larger data center projects.
Here’s a look at the key metrics:
