BlackBerry beats Q1 earnings estimates

BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2020 but revenues came in shy of estimates. Shares were down 2% in premarket hours on Wednesday.

Total GAAP revenue grew 16% year-over-year to $247 million but fell short of forecasts of $264 million. Non-GAAP revenue was up 23% to $267 million.

On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss of $35 million, or $0.09 per share, versus $60 million, or $0.11 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EPS amounted to $0.01 while analysts had projected a breakeven EPS.  

During the quarter, total GAAP Software and Services revenue rose 27% year-over-year to $240 million while non-GAAP Software and Services revenue increased 35% to $260 million. BlackBerry Software and Services revenues, excluding Cylance, grew 10% on a GAAP basis and 8% on a non-GAAP basis.

John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO, said, “We are off to a good start to achieve our financial outlook for fiscal 2020. We are ahead of our schedule in our Cylance integration, while investing in the right opportunities to drive long-term growth and profitability for BlackBerry. Customers are looking forward to our robust product cycle this year, with over 30 new secure communication products and services to be released.”

For fiscal 2020, on a non-GAAP basis, BlackBerry expects total revenue to grow 23-27% year-over-year, driven by a double-digit percentage increase in billings. Within this, IoT revenue is expected to grow 12-16% year-over-year while BlackBerry Cylance revenue is expected to grow 25-30%.

Licensing revenue is projected to decrease by 5% year-over-year. The company estimates non-GAAP service access fees to be between $10 million and $20 million of revenue in fiscal year 2020.  

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