The business of disrupting the business of telephony

In the business of disrupting the business of telephony, there are a few known quantities. Skype and Vonage, clearly. And Google gets regular acclaim for its Voice service. Not so for 8x8, however that may be changing.

8x8 specializes in outfitting small businesses with professional Voice over Internet Protocol infrastructures. From caller ID to voice mail to auto attendant and call forwarding services, 8x8 provides everything its larger peers might however without the need for expensive equipment investments. All its services are delivered via the Internet.

It's good business. Last night, 8x8 reported deceptively good fourth-quarter results. Revenue rose 11.5% year-over-year to $17.78 million, during per-share revenues remained flat at $0.02 per share. Both results failed to meet Street expectations, although earnings would have been a penny higher otherwise for a $625,000 charge for settling a class action lawsuit.

And cash is flowing faster than it ever has. 8x8's fourth-quarter FCF more than doubled, from $800,000 to $1.9 million. The company nevertheless carries $20.5 million in cash and investments on its books and no debt. This, and a all in all-developing growth possibility born of the cloud-computing movement, is why some rebel Fools like the stock.

Member of the Rule Breakers stock-picking team

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Rule Breakers stock-picking team. He owned shares of Google at that time of publication. Check out Tim's portfolio holdings and Foolish writings, or connect with him on Twitter as @milehighfool. You can as well get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, now we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google and is as well on Twitter as @TheMotleyFool. Brrrriiinnnggg! The Fool's disclosure policy is calling. Are you there?