Its phones may be nothing more than relics for Gen Z to romanticize, but BlackBerry has managed to chart a new course.
What happened: The Waterloo company reported a 71% year-over-year jump in its operating earnings last quarter, handily beating analysts’ expectations. After not posting a net profit for three years, BlackBerry has now done so for the third time in four quarters.
The company’s vehicle software division, QNX, drove the banner results and is now forecasting double-digit growth for next year.
Catch-up: BlackBerry once commanded 20% of the smartphone market, but after the iPhone took over the world, the Waterloo company struggled to redefine itself. Since peaking in 2008, its stock has plummeted over 96%.
After several new devices flopped, Blackberry gave up on the smartphone market entirely and has now honed in, quite successfully, on the in-car software business.
Why it matters: The glory days of the BlackBerry being the status symbol aren’t coming back, but with a pivot to a less-sexy, but fast-growing sector, the path for a comeback appears to be paved for the Canadian company.
New cars these days are essentially computers on wheels, and as vehicles become even more reliant on software, BlackBerry is set to reap the rewards. Globally, the company’s software is already in one in every seven vehicles on the road.
What’s next: QNX is currently developing software to power autonomous robots for factories and households. Maybe the next killer BlackBerry product will be a robot to do our chores?—LA
