Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, September 30, 2016

Article Excerpt

BLACKBERRY LTD., $10.46, Toronto symbol BB, will quit the development and manufacturing of smartphones. It will now license its brand name—and its smartphone technology—to other firms in exchange for royalties. The company’s smartphone business continues to lose money. So, the shift will let BlackBerry focus on its more promising software operations; it works to secure the wireless communication networks of businesses and government agencies. In its fiscal 2017 second quarter, ended August 31, 2016, the company’s revenue fell 31.8%, to $334 million from $490 million a year earlier (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). That missed the consensus forecast of $394 million. Revenue from BlackBerry’s software business (44% of the total), in fact, jumped 89.0%. However, revenue from the sale of its phones and other mobile solutions (30%) fell 49.0%. Revenue from the fees it charges wireless carriers to access its networks (26%) also dropped, 56.9%. Without unusual items, the company lost $1 million, or nil per share. That beat the…