VMware, Inc.(NYSE: VMW) stock lost over 2.1% in the pre-market session on March 2nd, 2018. For the fourth quarter of 2018, the group witnessed a positive momentum in EMEA with large deals. The total revenue rose 14% with a non-GAAP earnings-per-share rise of 18% year-over-year to $1.68 per share. The group’s private hybrid public cloud and mobile strategy continues to resonate with customers, strong and consistent go-to-market execution globally, and a positive market environment for well-positioned enterprise companies. The VMware provider program achieved an annual revenue growth rate of over 30% in Fiscal Year 2018. The group is witnessing a solid customer momentum with their VMware Cloud for IBM, with customers like Amdocs, Rico, and Vodaphone.
For the fourth quarter of 2018, the total revenue rose 14% while the license revenue enhanced 20% on a year-over-year basis. The Hybrid cloud and SAAS represented over 8% of the total Q4 revenue with their VMware Cloud Provider Program — or VCCP – rising over 30% year-over-year.
The group’s non-GAAP operating margin during the quarter was 37.3% while non-GAAP EPS was $1.68 per share, rising 18% on a year-over-year basis on a share account of 410 million diluted shares. The Cash and short-term investments reached $11.7 billion, of which 26% was held domestically. The Unearned revenue as at quarter-end was $6.2 billion with $2.5 billion of this amount being long-term.
The group’s high levels of customer satisfaction and renewal rates were ongoing, leading to a solid S&S bookings growth in Q4. NSX licensed bookings enhanced 24% on a year-over-year basis during the fourth quarter and over 50% for the full-year. NSX use cases continue to expand beyond microsegmentation, automation, and application continuity to cloud and container networking as well as branch transformation and security. NSX has a $1.4 billion run rate based on Q4’s annualized total bookings. VSAN continued its strong growth trajectory during the quarter having a licensed bookings rise by 100% on a year-over-year and up over 130% for the full-year.
The Management license bookings rose over 10% on a year-over-year basis while the full-year, management license bookings rose in the low single digits. The overall management booking also enhanced over 10% year-over-year for both the quarter and for the full-year. The group bought $169 million of stock in the open market during Q4 and has over $900 million outstanding in their current repurchase authorization.