Posted on July 9, 2009, at 8:40 am .
Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek is upgrading RIM’s status to Buy from Hold, as recent channel checks with global carriers and partners suggesting the company had a healthy June. Although share price has lost nearly a quarter of its value since last month, the summer tends to be a slow season for the smartphone market.
That being said, BlackBerry sales with AT&T grew in the double digits month-over-month in June. With the launch of the BlackBerry Tour 9630, as well as the upcoming BlackBerry Gemini 8520, RIM is releasing more devices that has convinced Mr. Misek that RIM isn’t losing any momentum.
Even under lacklustre consumer spending conditions, Peter Misek is more comfortable with the company’s risk/reward profile now that the stock is trading at roughly 14 times Canaccord’s forward 12-month earnings projections.
RIM has demonstrated an ability to grow in very difficult conditions due to its stronghold in the enterprise and strong carrier relationships, the analyst said.
Canaccord’s price target for RIM remains at US$95 per share.
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Posted on April 3, 2009, at 8:47 am .
A lot of the information I am about to post has already been described in previous stock market and share analysis reports. I am reposting this because the numbers are presented in various ways and it’s nice to get a reminder that the economy isn’t in total shambles.
That being said, RIM has sold its 50 millionth BlackBerry! While everyone is talking about these TETs (tough economic times), RIM isn’t blinking and continuing to sell smartphones and saturate the market with hands-down the best device.
RIM reported record high revenue of US$3.46 billion in their most recent quarter, up 84 percent compared to the same time last year, as it shipped 7.8 million devices, also a new high for the company. Net profit for the quarter rose to $518.3 million, up from $412.5 million last year. RIM has also added 3.9 million new BlackBerry subscribers!
Smartphone sales are a sure bet these days. Surveys of family expenditures during the holidays report that half of respondents say they would buy electronic devices before the end of the year. Expect many of these electronic devices to be smartphones.
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Posted on March 30, 2009, at 10:28 am .
RIM’s market is currently around 50% consumer and 50% enterprise. The shift has been a while coming and it has been helped by a series of aggressive ad campaigns, new software, and rolling out more consumer-friendly devices, such as the touch-screen Storm. The move has also proved successful due to RIM increasing its share of the smartphone market—up to 19.5 percent in the last three months of 2008, from 10.9 percent a year earlier.
Investors are weary due to the fact that these efforts to get the consumer market have taken a toll on RIM’s gross profit margins, which have shrunk to 40 percent, down from 50 percent in the last six months. It is also possible that these measures, in combination with other market factors, have helped knock RIM’s share price down a third from its July 2008 high of $147 per share.
Jim Balsillie is calling the strategy a “land grab” and that the company was looking for long-term gain with it. He said of their consumer push, “So we could have a sweeter margin for a couple of quarters and we might not torque the growth quite as much and then we will rue that for the next 20 years, that we gave up the key land for a little bit of interim gratification.”
In the end, investors are going to see RIM take not only a larger chunk of the consumer market, but also the enterprise market. Consumers are starting to see the BlackBerry as a status symbol that is a must-have mobile device. Enterprise simply can’t do without their push email and plethora of productivity apps with a simple and easy to use OS to boot. Expect these investors to say “sorry for doubting you Jim Dog” in the coming years.
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