BlackBerry Reports Better Than Expected Q3 Results

Canadian cybersecurity company BlackBerry reported its third quarter financial results this week and revealed an earnings beat as cybersecurity remains strong.

The company posted third-quarter cybersecurity revenue of $128 million and reported a net profit of $74 million, compared with a loss of $130 million a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company broke even on a per-share basis for Q3, beating analysts’ average estimate of a loss of 7 cents per share.

Revenue fell to $184 million for the quarter ended Nov. 30, from $218 million a year earlier, but beat analysts’ average expectation of $177.25 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

“This quarter, BlackBerry delivered solid sequential billings and revenue growth for both the IoT and cybersecurity businesses, beating expectations for the second consecutive quarter,” John Chen, executive chairman and chief executive officer of BlackBerry, said in a statement. “We also beat expectations on earnings, despite the ongoing investment to drive future top-line growth.”

Highlights for the third quarter included BMW Group entering a multiyear agreement to use BlackBerry QNX technology to develop autonomous driving functions in multiple makes and models.

BlackBerry QNX also partnered with Google LLC and Qualcomm Inc. to reduce developer friction and time to market when virtualizing Android Automotive OS alongside safety-critical applications on the QNX Hypervision.

BlackBerry additionally forecast cybersecurity revenue to be between $125 million and $135 million in the fourth quarter, below an estimate of $143 million by one analyst, according to Refinitiv data.

The company has partnered with Exabeam Inc. to expand access to telemetry data from hundreds of network devices as part of its enhanced BlackBerry Guard-managed extended detection and response service.

Chief Executive Officer John Chen said on a conference call that the company expects automotive supply chain issues to ease in the fourth quarter and help boost demand for its QNX car software, used by automakers including Volkswagen, BMW and Ford Motor.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.