Research in Slow Motion: Dismal earnings report coupled with startling warning sinks stock

“RIMM’s preliminary late night earnings report was a bombshell the longs could certainly have done without. The report was dismal, to say the least, and featured a startling warning of third quarter results. Earnings guidance was ratcheted down about 15%, from previous estimates, ranging from 89 cents to 97 cents to between 81 cents and 83 cents. Revenue targets were also slashed from $3.1 billion to $2.78 billion. RIMM’s poor relative strength (the shares were down more than 6% despite the nasdaq gaining 3.5%) yesterday clued me into the fact that all was not right with this company,” Mark Krieger writes for SeekingAlpha.

“The company blamed the downfall on a stronger US dollar and lower shipments of existing products, due to general economic weakness. RIMM was able to sign up 2.6 million new subscribers for the quarter, but was woefully short of its expectations of 2.9 million new customers,” Krieger writes. “The analysts at Deutsche Bank think RIMM’s disappointing results could also be blamed on poor reception of its new products (Storm and Bold). They contend the company’s latest gadgets have been subject to weak demand due to numerous flaws.”

Krieger writes, “Although the shares have dropped more than 75% form their 52-week highs, more downside is in the cards… I would not be surprised to see the shares plummet all the way down to the $20 mark.”

Full article here.

Ruthie Ackerman reports for Forbes, “On Tuesday Research In Motion’s shares sank 6.2%, or $2.48, to $37.32, after JPMorgan Chase analyst Paul Coster slashed his earnings forecast. The Blackberry maker’s shares have plunged 67.1% since the beginning of the year.”

“RIM is set to report its fiscal third-quarter results on Dec. 18,” Ackerman reports.

Full article here.

20 Comments

  1. “The company blamed the downfall on a stronger US dollar…”

    For a Canadian manufacturer, a stronger US dollar ( = weaker Canadian dollar) should be a boon. Makes its products cheaper to make, makes margins larger, is overall a huge competitive advantage when selling to the US market.

    To pull this out of their asses as an excuse for poor business results takes the cake. It’s like blaming a poor race showing on having a horse that’s too fast.

  2. Yet, the stock is now UP slightly as of 10:45 AM. They still will grow at 60% year over year. Not too shabby.

    Randiandian – they account for everything in US dollars and derive MOST of their revenue from the US. Please understand this before saying stupid things.

  3. No matter what, RIM is not “cool” with consumers (especially teens and college age), and at the same time has to be taking a hit from a drop in corporate demand. How can anyone on the corporate side justify buying people new Blackberries when they are laying off thousands of workers and losing money?

    Apple should benefit in the comparisons at the end of the quarter. I just don’t think as many kids asked for Blackberry Bolds as they did iPhones or iPods for Christmas.

    However, all bets are off for 1Q 2009, when nobody has a reason to spend money like they do at Christmas.

  4. Rimm’s numbers are disappointing due to poor execution. The Bold and Storm were late to market, compared to what they were projecting earlier. And, once to market were buggy, necessitating further shipping delays. This has very little to do with forex fluctuations. They just don’t want to admit to poor execution, which falls directly at the Co-CEOs feet.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.