What happened
Shares of BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) dropped 24.1% in September, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the enterprise software and services specialist announced disappointing fiscal second-quarter 2020 results. To be sure, virtually all of BlackBerry’s plunge last month came on September 24 — the first trading day after its quarterly update hit the wires.
So what
That’s not to say BlackBerry’s quarterly results looked bad at first glance. After all, its non-GAAP (adjusted) revenue climbed 22% year over year to $261 million, translating to slightly better-than-expected break-even earnings on an adjusted per-share basis. But that top line also arrived well below the $266 million most analysts were anticipating and — perhaps less concerning — marked a slight deceleration from the 23% growth BlackBerry achieved three months earlier.
What’s more, during the subsequent conference call, CEO John Chen warned of “softness” from BlackBerry’s enterprise software and services (ESS) business — both in fiscal Q2 and expected to persist for another two quarters going forward — driven by a “retooling” of the company’s sales team for the segment.
Now what
Still, while admitting they were “disappointed” with its “short-term results,” Chen remained optimistic that BlackBerry is still positioned to grab a significant piece of the secure Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive software markets going forward.
Given its relative underperformance in the second quarter, however, and until BlackBerry shows more tangible progress to that end, I suspect its stock will remain under pressure.
