What happened
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd (BB +0.26%) were up 13.4% as of 1:42 p.m. EDT Friday after the enterprise software and services specialist announced better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter 2019 earnings.
More specifically, BlackBerry's adjusted (non-GAAP) quarterly revenue declined 14% year over year to $214 million, which translated to adjusted earnings of $21 million, or $0.04 per share. Both the top and bottom lines arrived comfortably ahead of consensus estimates, which called for earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $207.4 million.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
So what
BlackBerry's revenue decline was partially offset by the relative outperformance of its technology solutions segment, where sales climbed 29% year over year to a company-record $49 million on growth in the automotive space. Still, BlackBerry chairman and CEO John Chen pointed out that the enterprise software and services business also contributed to the company's relative outperformance this quarter, with segment sales climbing on a sequential basis from fiscal Q1.
"I am very encouraged by BlackBerry's leadership opportunities in the fast-growing Enterprise of Things," Chen added, "and by our strategy to capitalize on these significant future opportunities with BlackBerry Spark, our platform to securely communicate and collaborate between smart endpoints."
Now what
BlackBerry reaffirmed its full fiscal-year 2019 outlook, which calls for positive adjusted earnings and free cash flow, as well as 8% to 10% growth in total software and services revenue.
In any case, given its solid quarterly beat and with shares of BlackBerry down 15% year to date leading into this report, the stock is understandably rebounding today.
