Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) posted strong earnings and added its 10 millionth subscriber. According to Reuters "RIM said it earned $287.7 million, or 50 cents a share, for the three months ended September 1. That was up from a profit of $140.2 million, or 25 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier." RIM said its revenue in the quarter rose 108 percent to $1.37 billion.
The company added 1.45 new subscribers during the quarter and reached a total of 10.5 million. All of the numbers topped Wall St. expectations.
RIM's Blackberry has been the communications "side arm" of choice for business people all over the world. Its simple e-mail system allows them be online 24/7.
There are some rumors that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may try to launch a business version of its iPhone to compete with the Blackberry, but the device is probably not going to hit the market in the next few quarters. In the meantime, RIM has begun to offer models with multimedia functions to take business from high-end smartphones, and, ultimately, move against the iPhone for consumer business.
RIM cannot grow indefinitely by getting business from the corporate crowd. If it cannot crossover and sell significant numbers of units to the high-end consumer buyer, its share price, up 170% in the last year, can't stay where it is.
Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.
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