The world of enterprise software isn't always colorful. It's not today, however. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the Palo Alto, Ca.-based technology company with misleading investors about its order-backlog management practices, which enabled the company to push revenue into future quarters by delaying product deliveries to customers.
According to an investigation by the agency, VMware delayed the delivery of license keys on some sales orders so that it could recognize revenue from the corresponding license sales in the following quarter. According to the SEC, VMWare shifted tens of millions of dollars in revenue into future quarters, building a buffer in those periods and obscuring the company's financial performance as its business slowed relative to projections. The company did not tell investors that it used the back up to manage the timing of revenue recognition.
It is pretty damning. The SEC says that VMWare fudged the numbers a lot. The SEC suggested that analysts who inquired about the continued trend in backlog reduction were kept out of the loop.
The SEC says that the matter has already been settled, so don't jump to any conclusions about what can happen. The SEC said that VMWare consented to a cease-and-desist order and would pay an $8 million penalty.
It's just $8 million. VMWare paid its lawyers the same amount as it has a $52 billion market cap.
The company said in a statement that it believes the settlement is the right course of action for it and that it will continue to operate at the highest level of integrity.
One obvious question is how chip giant Broadcom feels about this now public development. A blockbuster $61 million cash-and-stock deal has yet to close, despite the fact that it was announced in May. The company has yet to respond to our request for more information.
We wonder how these allegations and the settlement news will affect the reputation of Pal Gelsinger, who left his job as CEO of VMWare to become CEO of Intel.
Dell acquired VMWare in 2015 and Gelsinger was an executive at the time.
He said in a farewell video that when he took the top job at VMWare, he had never been a CEO, wasn't a software person, and didn't really know the products or strategy.
He said in his address that he didn't know much.
VMWare shareholders might want to know how much Gelsinger knew in the next two years.
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