The revenue drop is more significant. Broadcom bought CA in 2018, CA had roughly $4b in annual revenue. Bought Symantec in 2019. Which had roughly $2B in annual revenue. The consumer version, Norton Locklife, now also has roughly $4b in revenue without the slash and burn experienced at Symantec. In roughly 5 years, the combined franchise has managed roughly $1.5b in annual revenue growth. VMware in the same period managed around $6b in growth. Roughly 50% growth in the top line, without the slash and burn approach. With the trust of the ecosystem. So, yes, in the short run, they will have some growth in revenue, but it slows down, quickly. Last year their infrastructure software revenue grew by 3% - the average inflation rate was 4.1%, they shrunk in the previous 12 months. So I'm not sure how this will all work out but given that they have a target of $94b to return to shareholders (dilution + the cash outlay). In Broadcom's Q12024 (which was historically VMware's Q4), VMware's contribution to Broadcom was down by $1B YOY. I am waiting for earnings reporting next month, but I'm not sure they will hit their target. Customers left. Their reputation preceded them.
[1] Marc Andreesen himself is NIMBY. Which is what is contributing to the housing problem across the USA (and parts of Europe). The inability to build new housing leads to the insane property pricing and the very housing crisis that they are trying to solve https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/marc-andre...
[2] Adam Neumann is a self dealing grifter.
You have two dishonest actors proposing a solution for problems they may be causing directly...