This earnings cycle has been relatively better than feared for
most tech stocks so far, but VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) is going to
go down as a glaring exception. While fourth quarter results
were generally solid relative to expectations, the Street
absolutely hated what management had to say about lower overall
growth in 2013 and sales growth more heavily weighted to the
second half. The stock's nearly 20% drop as of this writing
seems overdone, but VMware is going to have to rebuild its
credibility before valuation matters again.  SEE: A Primer On
Investing In The Tech Industry  Fourth Quarter Results Were
Mostly OK VMware reported 22% revenue growth over last year and
14% over the prior quarter, good for a small beat relative to
Wall Street estimates. License revenue was basically on track
with a 16% growth, while maintenance/service revenue rose 27%.
Although that all looks good, as did the 15% bookings growth,
the 7% growth in license billings was not only disappointing,
but also the second straight sub-10%