Not that long ago, the idea of cloud-computing was considered a fringe technology. Would major companies really allow an outside vendor to hold data -- via the Internet?
Well, the answer is yes. And of course, the biggest beneficiary is Salesforce.com (CRM), which is the pioneer of the cloud-computing mega trend.
This week, the company announced its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Profits surged 48% to $20.4 million or 16 cents per share and revenues were up 22% to $354 million. The Street consensus was for earnings of 15 cents per share and revenues of $342.3 million.
In all, Salesforce.com saw an increase of 4,600 new customers. The base now stands at 72,500.
While there is no doubt that Salesforce.com continues to execute, the fact remains that this is already built into the stock. After all, the market value is $8.3 billion, which is 5.5 times revenues (on the company's full-year guidance)
True, Salesforce.com has implemented new features, like its social media capabilities. But, it is going to get tougher to pump out strong growth, as the revenue base increases.
Going forward, Salesforce.com expects earnings of 12 to 13 cents per share, with revenues of $365 million to $367 million. For the year, the guidance is for earnings of 58 cents to 60 cents per share and revenues of $1.51 billion to $1.53 billion.
So far in today's trading, the shares of Salesforce.com are down 4% to $66.49.
Tom Taulli advises on business tax preparation and is also the author of a variety of books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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