Following billionaires like Prem Watsa is one of the best ways investors can keep an eye on the markets. They are experts at making money, so it would make sense to see what they’re buying, and what they’re selling. Lately, billionaires like Watsa have been selling BlackBerry (TSX: BB), as the long-promised turnaround has taken far longer than investors expected. So let’s look at why BlackBerry’s most patient believers are questioning whether the company’s next chapter will arrive soon enough to justify sticking around.
Source: Getty Images
Why the sell
Prem Watsa, often described as “Canada’s Warren Buffett,” spent years defending BlackBerry stock. He called it a misunderstood value play with hidden upside in cybersecurity, QNX, and enterprise software. But after repeated restructurings, shifting strategies, and inconsistent revenue performance, the business still hasn’t delivered the steady growth or margins needed to justify a deep-value thesis.
The most recent quarters underscored the problem. Growth lagged expectations, Internet of Things (IoT) momentum slowed, and profitability remained patchy. For investors like Watsa, who prize predictable earnings power and long-term compounding, the opportunity cost became impossible to ignore. With capital better deployed into businesses showing clearer visibility and stronger execution, even he began trimming and exiting positions.
There’s also the erosion of BlackBerry stock’s narrative advantage. For years, the company leaned heavily on its reputation in security and its embedded automotive software footprint. This suggested these segments would eventually explode in value. But competitors have outpaced it in cybersecurity, automakers have adopted broader software ecosystems, and BlackBerry stock’s own product roadmap hasn’t scaled quickly enough to keep up. The split of the business into standalone cybersecurity and IoT units created more questions than confidence. Now, as someone like Watsa starts backing away after being one of BlackBerry’s most visible defenders, that deep-value thesis may have vanished.
Consider OLA
Watsa is instead gravitating toward Orla Mining (TSX: OLA), a far cry from BlackBerry stock. It offers something BlackBerry no longer does: clear, measurable growth tied to hard assets and rising cash flow. Watsa has shown a deep preference for businesses with tangible value and predictable economic drivers, and Orla fits that profile far better than a turnaround story in tech.
The company’s flagship Camino Rojo mine has been ramping up production at a steady pace, generating strong margins and consistent free cash flow even in a volatile commodity market. Unlike software firms that depend on reinvention and shifting demand cycles, Orla’s economics are anchored in long-life resources, disciplined cost control, and a development pipeline that can expand output without diluting shareholders. For deep-value investors, that combination of proven reserves, repeatable cash flow, and a well-understood path to growth is far more attractive than betting on a brand revival.
There’s also the shift in global sentiment toward gold and critical minerals as geopolitical uncertainty grows. Gold producers with low-cost structures and expanding operations are positioned to benefit from rising metal prices. Orla sits in that sweet spot. Its balance sheet is far cleaner than many mid-tier miners’, its growth profile is stronger, and its management team has earned credibility for hitting operational milestones without overspending. For someone like Watsa, Orla offers exactly that: a company trading below what its long-term production potential suggests.
Bottom line
In contrast to BlackBerry stock’s years of strategic drift, Orla gives billionaires a rare mix of stability, scarcity value, and scalable growth. The deep value turnaround simply hasn’t come along as expected. Therefore, this makes Orla a much more compelling place to put serious capital to work. For both Watsa and the everyday investor.
