BlackBerry: Back in the black?

The once-iconic phonemaker expects to be profitable again

6/28/24 5:22AM

We’ll be fine

Shares of BlackBerry rose 11% yesterday after the company posted a smaller than expected loss, edging the once world-beating company back towards profitability, with the CEO expecting BlackBerry to be “generating positive cash flow in the fourth quarter”.

The results had nothing to do with shipping phones, however. Since its dramatic fall from grace, the company has pivoted towards selling the software and security features that helped make its phones so popular with security-conscious white-collar workers in the first place.

BlackBerry, along with other 2000s classics like Nokia, TomTom, and pretty much the entire MP3 market, was decimated by the release of the iPhone in 2007. The company’s revenue peaked just shy of $20 billion in 2011, but as the iPhone and other smartphones went mainstream, its sales plummeted. Just five years later, BlackBerry's revenue had dropped to around $2 billion, a period that included a staggering $4.4 billion loss in a single quarter due to a massive inventory writedown.

Realizing that its co-CEO’s famous words — "we'll be fine" — after the iPhone launch were, shall we say, a bit optimistic, the company eventually abandoned selling hardware in 2016. That shift has hardly restored BlackBerry into the global leader that it once was, its most recent annual sales amounted to just 4% of its record, but some version of the company remains alive and kicking. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ve recently used a BlackBerry product indirectly: the company reports that its software is in more than 235 million vehicles around the world.

Nia Warfield

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WBD shares were up 30% on the report, while Paramount Skydance jumped 8%.

The offer would cover WBD’s entire business — cable networks, movie studios, the whole enchilada. That comes after WBD announced plans last year to split into two divisions: one for streaming and studios, the other for its traditional cable and TV assets. A recent Wells Fargo note gave WBD a price target hike, primarily because the analysts viewed it as a prime takeover candidate.

If the deal goes through, it would bring together HBO, CNN, DC Studios, and Warner Bros.’ film library with Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and MTV, all under one umbrella.

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Fox and News Corp slide as investors digest $3.3 billion Murdoch succession settlement

Fox and News Corp shares dropped on Tuesday after Rupert Murdoch’s heirs agreed to a $3.3 billion settlement to resolve a long-running succession drama.

Under the deal, Prudence, Elisabeth, and James Murdoch will each receive about $1.1 billion, paid for in part by Fox selling 16.9 million Class B voting shares and News Corp selling 14.2 million shares. The stock sales will raise roughly $1.37 billion on behalf of the three heirs.

The new trust for Lachlan Murdoch will now control about 36.2% of Fox’s Class B shares and roughly 33.1% of News Corp’s stock, granting him uncontested voting authority over both companies for the next 25 years. Originally, the Murdoch trust was designed to hand over voting control of Fox and News Corp to Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James after his death.

Investors are weighing the trade-off. Clear leadership under Lachlan may resolve conflict internally, but the share dilution, executed at a roughly 4.5% discount, means long-term investors now hold slightly less clout than before.

Both companies’ stocks were trading close to all-time highs prior to the announcement.

BlackBerry: Back in the black?

We’ll be fine

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