wintermute2001
There is no requirement for companies like WP Engine to contribute to Wordpress. Zero. Mullenweg and his side admit as much.
And let's be real -- it's about the money. How many times have Mullenweg and co mentioned WPE's revenue in a discussion that's ostensibly about open source contributions? Otherwise, the Automattic rhetoric would be structured around "if WP Engine just contributes x hours a year of work then we'd drop the dispute." But we all know that's not true.
It's just sour grapes from Automattic, which is getting beaten by a competitor.
Until there's some legal obligation for WPE to contribute back to Wordpress, this is all nonsense.
This is making Automattic look thin-skinned and inept. They're going to lose a lot of credibility with their partners, if they haven't already. Anyone who actually watched Matt's talk knows it was disastrous. Someone in his circle needs to intervene and get him to drop this awkward, ill-advised and ultimately ineffective strategy.
If you're using GAAP, you have to include stock-based compensation as a cost. There are, however, a lot of tech companies that try and spin non-GAAP earnings by removing stock-based compensation, which can paint a very different picture (e.g., Salesforce)