Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) shares were up a whopping 42% to $65.42 this morning after the company blew away earnings estimates and forecasted even stronger results over this quarter and the next.
After the bell yesterday, the company behind the increasingly popular BlackBerry handheld email device said that third-quarter revenues climbed 107% year over year to $153.9 million. Meanwhile, Research In Motion (RIM) added 154,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 865,000. As a result, earnings came in at $16.3 million, or $0.20 per share.
Excluding a litigation provision of $9.2 million, the company earned $0.31 per share on a pro forma basis. By comparison, analysts had expected earnings of $0.17 on that basis.
And apparently, RIM is ripe for further growth.
RIM expects revenue in the current quarter to come in between $195 million and $210 million, vs. its previous guidance of $150 million to $160 million. At the same time, the company said that it is on track to add another 180,000 to 200,000 BlackBerry subscribers, breaking the 1 million mark. RIM also expects to earn $0.30 to $0.40 per share. Excluding the litigation provision, that comes to $0.45 to $0.55 per share, more than doubling the analyst estimate of $0.22 per share.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2005, RIM expects to earn $0.35 to $0.50 per share -- $0.50 to $0.65 on a pro forma basis -- on revenues of $220 million to $240 million. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.23 per share on revenues closer to $160 million.
The company cited "strong execution and momentum in [its] carrier channels" for the performance.
Not three months ago, Barron'spanned the stock near $27, after the then-profitless company's stock price had rocketed from a March low of just under $11 per share. At the time, RIM's $340 million in trailing annual sales didn't seem to justify its $2.1 billion market cap. But with RIM's explosive performance and heightened expectations, the stock suddenly doesn't look so expensive.
Beyond earnings, the company is in great shape, with $531 million in cash and investments and negligible debt. RIM also recently had the not-so-meaningful validation of being added to the Nasdaq 100. With a growing list of business partners and clients -- which includes PalmSource (Nasdaq: PSRC), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), and now Sony Ericsson (a licensing agreement announced yesterday) -- Research In Motion may have a very bright future.
Talk BlackBerry on the Research In Motion discussion board.
Jeff Hwang can be reached at JHwang@fool.com.
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