WebEx Is Staying Ahead of the Crowd

EVER SINCE THE SUCCESS of Salesforce.com's (ticker: CRM) initial public offering in 2004, Subrah Iyar, the CEO of rival WebEx Communications, has argued that WebEx is much more than an online-meeting facilitator, and should be valued as such. We helped him make that case last summer ("Why WebEx Will Shine," June 12, 2006), and we're still glad we did.

The Santa Clara, Calif., provider of "on demand" software shot the lights out in its fiscal fourth quarter, and the news could get better from here. Its shares have rallied about 27%, to around 47, since Jan. 31, when WebEx (WEBX) reported that its quarterly profit rose 18%, to 33 cents a share, on a 22% gain in revenue, to $101.9 million.

Critics have worried that WebEx would fall victim to competitive threats from Microsoft (MSFT), as well as commoditization. But so far, the company is providing reliability and scale that others can't seem to match.

"We see Web collaboration as the 'killer app' over the Internet, and we are the best in class at delivering that service," Iyar says.

One fan, software analyst Peter Goldmacher of Cowen, calls WebEx "the most interesting company in the software space." He's sticking with his July prediction that the shares could top 60 in the next few years.

Our bet? It could happen sooner.

(Article provided by Barron's Online)

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

Comments

[online meeting reviews]

Yea, Webex is the top dog in the industry. Webex and Citrix are like Coke and Pepsi. Every other player in the field is just fighting for table scraps. Webex is a great buy!