Analysts On RIM’s Q1: There Was No Profit Warning But Expected To Be Weak As BlackBerry 7 Devices ‘Aging Rapidly’

Posted on Mar 28 2012 - 10:14am by Editorial Staff

Research In Motion (RIM) reported that the results for the fourth quarter and year-end of fiscal 2012 will be releasing on March 29, 2012 after the close of the market.  Over on which Analysts says that there was no profit warning but the BlackBerry 7 smartphones are “aging rapidly” and the outlook from RIM could be dismal.

Wall Street is expecting fourth quarter earnings of 82 cents a share on revenue of $4.55 billion. For fiscal 2012, RIM is expected to deliver earnings of $4.13 a share on revenue of $18.78 billion. Barclays analyst Jeff Kvaal said in a research note that RIM lacks new launches. “BB7 devices are now close to six months old, and our checks suggest that the initial enthusiasm post launch has tailed off,” said Kvaal. “We model 11M unit volumes in F4Q, at the low end of the guidance range.”

Wedbush analyst Scott Sutherland said in a research note: With the continued momentum and global expansion of iPhones and Android-based phones, our checks with industry contacts and carriers indicate interest is minimal for BlackBerry phones outside of certain emerging markets. Furthermore, with Window 8 devices coming to the market with Nokia and others, we see increased competition.

Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum is assuming that BlackBerry analysts drained just 1 million new units from RIM’s inventory levels. Gelblum said that RIM may ship 10.1 million units in the fourth quarter, down from 14.1 million in the third quarter.

(Image Source: RIM logo, Featured Image)

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.