How BlackBerry Stock Lost 33% in December
Shares of BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) fell 33.1% in December, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The former smartphone giant, now refocused on cybersecurity and in-car infotainment systems, trended lower amid economic turmoil. The stock's biggest drop of the month came after the company reported third-quarter results on Dec. 20. BlackBerry's financial figures barely exceeded Wall Street's expectations, while management's forward-looking comments leaned conservative. Share prices plunged by 17% over the next two days.
BlackBerry's reported numbers beat analysts' modest projections, but didn't exactly inspire confidence on their own. Sales fell by 5% year over year to $169.0 million, squeaking past the analysts' consensus figure of $168.7 million. On the bottom line, it delivered an adjusted loss of $0.05 per share, compared to a breakeven result in the prior-year period. Wall Street had expected something slightly worse, with the consensus predicting a loss of $0.07 per share.
On the earnings call, CEO John Chen noted that several "large potential government deals" were under negotiation, but said that those might not close before the end of the fourth quarter. That wasn't the confident outlook investors were hoping for, and the earnings surprise wasn't strong enough to support BlackBerry's stock price in the wake of these humble management comments.
Source Fool.com
