BlackBerry (BB) has been on quite a ride.
There was a time when the Canadian company’s smartphone was the device to have among business professionals, government officials and security-conscious types.
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At its peak in 2009-2010, BlackBerry commanded more than 20% of the global smartphone market, with 85 million subscribers.
More than a third (35%) of BlackBerry users said they would pick their personal digital assistants over their spouses if they had to choose, according to a 2008 survey, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. And 87% said they take their PDAs into their bedrooms.
Yikes.
BlackBerry started sliding with the rise of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Android-based devices. And by 2016 the company said it was getting out of the smartphone game in favor of software and enterprise services, particularly in cybersecurity.
Last month, BlackBerry reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
“We made a very solid start to fiscal year 2026 with our results beating the top end of guidance almost entirely across the board,” Chief Executive John Giamatteo said during the company’s earnings call.
BlackBerry CEO sees opportunities in autonomous drive
BlackBerry’s QNX division, which specializes in software for embedded systems, particularly in industries like automotive, medical devices and industrial automation, reported revenue of $57.5 million, up 8% year-over-year and surpassing the company’s guidance.
“QNX thrives in high-performance safety-critical use cases,” Giamatteo said.. “Autonomous drive is a great example.”
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In April, the company said WeRide WRD, an autonomous-driving-technology company, was using QNX as the foundation for L2+ passenger vehicles.
“In fact, this technology is already being deployed in a couple of Chery Automobile vehicle models that are on the road in China today,” Giamatteo said. “As autonomous drive continues to ramp worldwide, we see this as an exciting opportunity for BlackBerry.”
William Kerwin, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar, wrote on June 25 that “BlackBerry showed solid execution, but its outlook for fiscal 2026 remains weak.”
“We expect macroeconomic uncertainty, slow government order cycles, and negative impacts from US automotive tariffs to weigh on sales throughout the year,” he added.
Kerwin, who who maintained his $3.60 per share fair value estimate on BlackBerry, said the company’s government business can return to growth after this year, “coming back in line with our long-term expectations for high-single-digit firm revenue growth.”
Several investment firms issued research reports on BlackBerry following the earnings report.
On June 25 RBC Capital raised its price target on BlackBerry to $4 from $3.75 and affirmed a sector-perform rating on the shares, according to The Fly.
The Q1 results were above estimates on better-than-expected secure-communications and QNX software revenue.
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Management’s outlook is conservative and still assumes an uncertain auto and macroeconomic environment, the investment firm said.
BlackBerry’s pipeline is seeing good growth, but its visibility to auto production is low and new deals may be pushed out, RBC added.
Related: Veteran trader takes a strong stand on BlackBerry stock
Canaccord raised its price target on BlackBerry to $4.60 from $4.25 and maintained a hold rating on the shares.
The investment firm said the quarterly results came in meaningfully ahead of expectations, highlighted by strong internet-of-things/QNX results, which continues to be the standout leader within the business.
Canaccord said the outlook for the business has improved over the past year.
Strategic initiatives will be incrementally streamlined and meaningfully positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization create new organic and inorganic investment opportunities.
TheStreet Pro’s Stephen Guilfoyle has updated his plan for BlackBerry.
In June, the veteran trader, whose career dates back to the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the 1980s, cut his long position in BlackBerry ahead of the earnings release.
“Effectively, I took about half of my position off at an average price of $4.32,” he told readers in his recent column. “My net basis on the entire trade is $2.93, so a profit of 47% on that portion of the trade. We’ll always take trades like that when we can.”
But he did leave half his position on the table just in case he was wrong about making an exit.
“The shares popped sharply higher at first and then continued to deteriorate from there,” he said. “I have last seen the shares cross the tape early on Monday morning, just above the $4 mark, which is actually a key technical area for the name.”
At last check on Tuesday, Blackberry’s shares had recovered and were trading around $4.12.
Guilfoyle said BlackBerry’s first-quarter report provided forward-looking sales guidance solid enough for the full fiscal year, but moderately disappointing for the fiscal second quarter. Wall Street-wide profit taking continued, he said.
BlackBerry is scheduled to report Q2 earnings in late September, he noted, “so there is a way to go.”
“We’re still working with a nicely profitable trade here. No reason to make a rash decision,” Guilfoyle said.
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