Technology

Does BlackBerry Deserve More Credit for Q2 Earnings?

Chris Lange

Published: September 24, 2019 9:25 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:01 am

BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB) released its fiscal second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. The firm said that it had breakeven earnings and $261 million in revenue, which compares with consensus estimates that called for a net loss of $0.01 per share and $266.18 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.04 in earnings per share and revenue of $214 million.

During the latest quarter, Software and Services revenues increased 30% to $256 million. Second-quarter recurring software and services revenue (excluding IP licensing and professional services) was over 90%, and the gross margin was 75%.

BlackBerry has announced that Steve Capelli will move into the newly created role of chief revenue officer to drive revenue-generating and business development activities across the company. At the same time, BlackBerry promoted Steve Rai from deputy chief financial officer to chief financial officer. These changes will take place on October 1.

Looking ahead to the fiscal full year, the company expects to see revenue growth in the range of 23% to 25%, driven by a double-digit percentage increase in billings year over year. Consensus estimates call for earnings of $0.07 per share and $1.13 billion in revenue for fiscal 2020.

John Chen, executive chair and CEO of BlackBerry, commented:

In the quarter, our QNX, Cylance and Licensing businesses executed at or better than our expectations.  We achieved break-even non-GAAP earnings per share and generated free cash flow even with increased investments in sales and product development to support future growth.

Recent market consolidation has validated our thought leadership and the holistic strategy we shared last year.  We are integrating our endpoint management and AI technologies and capabilities on one platform to address the high-growth endpoint security market.

Shares of BlackBerry closed Monday at $7.51, in a 52-week range of $6.57 to $12.00. The consensus price target is $10.34. Following the announcement, the stock was down over 15% at $6.33 in early trading indications Tuesday.