The growth estimate is ahead of the analyst forecast, but it continues a trend toward slower growth for VMware as its software becomes more widely used. Its revenue increased 54 percent in the second quarter and 69 percent the quarter before that.

Shares in VMware leapt by as much as 24 percent after the results were reported, trading at $23.30 at the time of this report. They ended the normal day's trading at $18.73, which was 9 percent down from Monday's close.