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BlackBerry posts even worse than expected Q3 loss

Updated Dec 20th, 2013 11:56AM EST
BlackBerry Earnings Q3 2014

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BlackBerry on Friday posted its fiscal third-quarter results and just as everyone expected, things have gotten substantially worse since for BlackBerry since last year’s November quarter. The only question now is whether things are bottoming out ahead of a miraculous John Chen-led turnaround or if the end is near. Leading into Friday morning’s earnings results, analysts were expecting a loss of -$0.44 per share on $1.596 billion in revenue, which is down sharply from BlackBerry’s loss of -$0.22 per share on sales totaling $2.7 billion in the fiscal third quarter last year. The numbers are now in, and things were even worse than the Street was expecting, as BlackBerry’s quarterly loss widened to -$0.67 per share on $1.2 billion in revenue.

Including a massive write-down and other one-time charges, BlackBerry’s Q3 loss totaled $4.4 billion, or -$8.37 per share.

The company said it shipped just 1.9 million smartphones during the November quarter, down from 6.9 million in the same quarter last year. The Waterloo, Ontario-based vendor no longer reports subscriber figures.

BlackBerry also announced a five-year deal with Foxconn that will see the two companies co-develop some BlackBerry devices. Foxconn will then build those devices and manage the inventory while BlackBerry will retain ownership of all related IP. The companies will initially focus on Indonesia and other developing markets beginning in early 2014.

“This partnership demonstrates BlackBerry’s commitment to the device market for the long-term and our determination to remain the innovation leader in secure end-to-end mobile solutions,” said BlackBerry CEO John Chen. “Partnering with Foxconn allows BlackBerry to focus on what we do best – iconic design, world-class security, software development and enterprise mobility management – while simultaneously addressing fast-growing markets leveraging Foxconn’s scale and efficiency that will allow us to compete more effectively.”

BlackBerry shares instantly dropped more than 7% when they resumed trading at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.