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Why BlackBerry (BB) Stock Plunged on Friday

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Shares of cybersecurity software company and former mobile phone maker BlackBerry (BB - Free Report) dropped sharply in morning trading on Friday, falling 12% before paring back losses to close down 9.5%, after reporting weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Adjusted earnings came in at a penny per share, revenue hit $185 million, which lagged expectations, and cybersecurity revenue of $122 million was flat year-over-year due to increased competition from big names like Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and IBM (IBM - Free Report) . Sales for BlackBerry’s IoT segment were $52 million, up from $38 million a year earlier, but a chip shortage-related slowdown in the automobile sector, which is a major customer segment for BB’s IoT unit, is expected to persist and weigh on sales.

“Major OEMs have indicated continuous supply chain headwinds, particular chip shortages, although they expected the situation to largely improve as the year progresses,” said CEO John Chen. “The conflict in Ukraine has added a further disruption to an already challenging environment for the auto industry, and we will continue to monitor that impact.”

Blackberry also said on its earnings call that it expected 2023 revenue to remain unchanged from 2022. This underwhelming guidance disappointed investors, and is most likely why the tech stock plunged out of the gate today. BB is currently a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a market cap of around $3.75 billion.


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