BlackBerry Misses Estimates Amid Auto Companies’ Chip Woes

(Bloomberg) -- BlackBerry Ltd. reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal first quarter. The shares rose slightly in extended trading in New York.

“This quarter we aligned the business around the two key market opportunities -- IoT and Cyber Security,” Chief Executive Officer John Chen said in a statement. “In IoT we are pleased with the strong progress of the auto business, despite global chip shortage headwinds.”

Key Insights

• Revenue was $174 million for the quarter, down 16% from the same period last year. Analysts had expected sales of $178 million.
• Gross margin decreased to 65.5% from 69.4% the prior year. Licensing and other revenue was $24 million as the company continues negotiations on the sale of some of its patents.
• On an adjusted basis the company lost 5 cents a share, compared to the 4-cent loss analysts expected.
• Looking forward, the company expects to be focused on revenue growth, increasing sales headcount in the coming quarters to match a growing sales pipeline, Chen said.
  • “Our main focus is growing the top-line, and therefore we’ve been seeing increased investments in both our software business units, as we see double digit early growth this year.”
• BlackBerry continues to have a strong balance sheet. Cash, cash equivalents and long-term investments were $769 million at the end of the quarter

Market Reaction

BlackBerry shares were trading at $12.88 as of 6:04 p.m. in New York, up 1.6% from the market close.

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