The Information Technology 100
99
Symantec
Symantec's consumer antispam and antivirus business is thriving, pushing up revenues 38%, to $2.6 billion in the company's 2005 fiscal year, ended Apr. 1. Net income rose 44%, to $536 million. But investors remain unsettled as two concerns weigh on the stock: Microsoft's entry into the antispam market by yearend and Symantec's proposed $13 billion union with storage-software maker Veritas.
Since news of the prospective merger leaked last December, Symantec's stock has nose-dived more than 40%, hitting a low of $18.01 on Apr. 27. It has since made up about 25% of the drop but is still well below pre-deal norms. Investors worry that the slower-growing Veritas will drag down Symantec's 30%-plus revenue growth of recent years. But if CEO John Thompson can pull off the merger, the combined company will be the third-largest software company in the world and the leader in data-storage and security software.
Company Info
| STOCK INFO | SYMC |
| Revenues* | $2.6 BILLION
|
| Revenue Growth | 38.1%
|
| Return on Equity | 14.5%
|
| Total Return | -1.5%
|
| Profits* | $536.2 MILLION
|
| Industry | SOFTWARE
|
| CORPORATE WEB SITE
|
All figures are for the most recent available 12 months.
* Latest available data for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, Jan. 31, Feb. 29, Mar. 31, or Apr. 30. For companies that do not report quarterly, the most recent annual data were used.
Data provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat, BusinessWeek
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Company Snapshot
Symantec Corporation provides software, appliances, and services that help individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and large enterprises to secure and manage their information technology (IT) infrastructure. The company operates in five segments: Consumer Products, Enterprise Security, Enterprise Administration, Services, and Others. The Consumer Products segment focuses on delivering its Internet security and problem-solving products. Its products include Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, and Norton SystemWorks. These products feature LiveUpdate, which enables users to download security updates, including virus definitions, firewall rules, URL databases, and uninstall scripts. Enterprise Security segment provides security solutions for various tiers of a network, including at the gateways between the network and the outside world, at the servers and at end-user devices, including desktop personal computers, laptops, and handhelds. Its solutions include virus protection and content filtering, firewall and virtual private networking, intrusion prevention, and security management. Enterprise Administration segment offers open and modular products and services. Its products include Symantec Ghost enterprise edition, pcAnywhere, the ON iCommand product family, V2i Protector, PartitionMagic Pro, VolumeManager, and ServerMagic for NetWare, and original equipment manufacturer Factory Solutions. Its solutions are used to optimize the security and availability of its customers’ information. The Services segment provides information security solutions that incorporate technology, security practices, and global resources to help enable e-business success. Its services include Symantec Managed Security Services, Symantec Consulting Services, and Symantec Education Services. Through these services, it delivers security assessments, planning and implementation, solutions for security management and response, and knowledge transfer to develop internal security skills. Others segment comprises sunset products. The company offers its products through direct sales force, distributors, corporate resellers, value-added resellers, and system integrator channels primarily in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. As of July 21, 2004, the company had operated approximately in 35 countries. Symantec Corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
No. of Employees
5,300
Data provided by 
John W. Thompson
Bio
John W. Thompson has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Symantec Corp., Cupertino, California, a provider of software and Internet security technology since April 1999. Mr. Thompson served as President of Symantec Corp., from April 1999 to January 2002. Prior to joining Symantec, Mr. Thompson had a distinguished career with the IBM Corporation where he held senior executive positions in sales, marketing and software development. In his last assignment, he was general manager of IBM Americas and a member of the company's Worldwide Management Council. Mr. Thompson joined Symantec after 28 years at IBM Corporation. Mr. Thompson has led the transformation of the company from a consumer software publisher to the global leader in information security solutions for individuals and enterprises. With global operations in more than 35 countries, Symantec offers a broad range of software, appliances and services designed to help customers secure and manage their IT infrastructure. Under Thompson's leadership, the company has defined a new category of information security software for consumers and has made a number of strategic acquisitions to enhance its ability to serve the rapidly changing security and management needs of large global enterprises. In his most recent position as General Manager of IBM Americas, he was responsible for sales and support of IBM’s technology products and services in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Prior to his position with IBM Americas, he was General Manager, Personal Software Products, responsible for the development and marketing of O/S2, IBM’s Intel-based operating systems and other products. In September 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Thompson to the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIAC), to make recommendations regarding the security of the critical infrastructure of the United States. Mr. Thompson has served as the chair of the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology to identify and evaluate technology-driven solutions to improve the security and efficiency of national and local aviation. Mr. Thompson has been a Director of Nisource Inc. since 1993 and serves as Member of Corporate Governance and Audit Committees. He has been a Director of United Parcel Service Inc. since 2000. He also serves as a Director of Symantec Corp. and Seagate Software (Cayman) Holdings Corporation. He has been a Director of Seagate Technology Holdings since November 2000 and also serves as its Member of Audit and Chairman of Compensation Committees. Mr. Thompson holds an Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration from Florida A&M University and a Master’s Degree in Management Science from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
AGE: 55
Titles
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Total Compensation*
$2.7 MILLION
Total Value of Options**
$214.4 MILLION
Degrees Held
Florida A & M University (Bachelor's Degree), MIT Sloan School of Management (Master's Degree)
* Latest available fiscal year
** The sum of the net value of options exercised and held in the latest available fiscal year
Key Executives
John W. Thompson, John Schwarz, Michelle Amery, Janice Chaffin, Robert A. Clyde, Art Courville, Mark E. Egan, Donald E. Frischmann, Dieter Giesbrecht, Ajei Gopal, Thomas W. Kendra, Steven Messick, Greg Myers, Cecil Perez, Rebecca Ranninger, Enrique T. Salem, Vince Steckler, Takahiro Sugiyama, Giuseppe Verrini
Board Members
John W. Thompson, Tania Amochaev, Robert S. Miller, George Reyes, Daniel H. Schulman, Akihiko Narita, William T. Coleman, David L. Mahoney, Franciscus Lion
