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Blackberry shrinks, operating profit disappears | heise online

Published 2 months ago3 minute read

The Canadian IT company Blackberry reports shrinking sales. In the financial year 2025, which ended in February, Blackberry generated 535 million US dollars in revenue, almost 30% less than in the previous financial year. This is not expected to increase in the current financial year, with management predicting a further decline to between 504 and 534 million dollars.

Because financial analysts had significantly different expectations, Blackberry shares were punished after the announcement of the financial figures on Wednesday. At one point, the share price was more than 20 percent below the previous day's close, and at the close of trading it was still down more than nine percent. This is the first annual report for which Blackberry CEO John J. Giamatteo is fully responsible for.

Blackberry (formerly Research in Motion, RIM) is no longer in the smartphone business, but has two business areas: software for the Internet of Things including connected cars (QNX) and software for IT security (Secure Communications). The company also licenses its portfolio of intellectual property rights.

License revenues have been hit particularly hard. Annual sales have slumped by 90 percent to 26.3 million dollars. For the current year, Blackberry expects around 24 million dollars, i.e., another tenth less.

Sales of IT security solutions have fallen by four percent to 272.6 million dollars. The trend is intensifying, not least because Blackberry sold its subsidiary Cylance in December, but also because many customers are cutting back on IT security. Sales of 230 to 240 million dollars are expected in the 2026 financial year.

The QNX division has grown by almost ten percent to 236 million dollars. It is also set to grow further to an annual turnover of 250 to 270 million dollars.

Blackberry's operating profit has evaporated to a black zero: While it was still eleven million dollars in 2024, it will be just 0.8 million in 2025. The management does not provide a forecast for further development. As profits from financial assets have also fallen by almost 60 percent, the pre-tax profit is more than 70 percent lower at 8.5 million dollars.

But not everything is bad. On the one hand, lower profits mean lower taxes; on the other hand, net losses from discontinued operations were significantly higher in 2024 than in 2025, allowing Blackberry to reduce its net loss for the year from 130.2 to 79 million dollars. And this amount is entirely attributable to net losses from discontinued operations. In addition, the sale of Cylance resulted in a book profit of 10.2 million dollars.

The operating cash flow also developed positively. The minus of 3.5 million dollars in financial year 2024 turned into a plus of 16.5 million dollars in 2025. Thanks to cash proceeds of almost 80 million dollars from the sale of discontinued operations (Cylance), cash flow from investing activities also improved, with Blackberry improving its cash reserves by a good 100 million dollars to almost 338 million dollars.

At the close of trading in Toronto, Blackberry shares were trading at 4.86 Canadian dollars, down 9.2 percent. Compared to the 52-week high of 8.86 dollars reached in mid-February, this represents a price drop of over 45 percent. Over the year as a whole, however, the share is still up 27%.

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.

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