RIM Remains Strong Despite Increasing Competition; Easily Beats Analyst Expectations

BlackBerry Logo

Research In Motion reported impressive results in the third quarter, including the sale of 10.1 million BlackBerry phones, allowing the Ontario-based company to exceed analyst expectations. It also said the outlook for the fourth quarter, which includes the busy holiday period, is strong.

Revenue for the third quarter ended Nov. 28 totaled $3.92 billion, up 11 percent from the previous quarter and up 41 percent from the same quarter last year. It added 4.4 million new BlackBerry subscribers. Analysts were expecting sales of 9.7 million devices, 4 million new subscribers, and revenues of $3.78 billion. It also beat profit projections, signaling that it was able to keep its margins up despite the increasingly competitive market — including the introduction of the Motorola Droid by one of its best carrier partners, Verizon Wireless. Net income for the quarter was $628.4 million, or $1.10 a share In a Bloomberg survey, analysts expected $earnings per share of $1.04.

Earnings. | Webcast. (2 p.m. Pacific)

Revenue for the fourth quarter ending Feb. 27 is expected to range between $4.2 and $4.4 billion. Net subscriber account additions in the fourth quarter are expected to be in the range of 4.4 to 4.7 million. Earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $1.23 to $1.31 a diluted share.

In after hours trading, RIM’s stock was trading around $71.05 after closing at $63.46 a share during the day.

Comments have been disabled for this post