Research in Motion Pops Then Drops After Earnings

Shares of Research in Motion

jumped after the company reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Thursday. The stock traded up more than 8 percent and hit a high of $15.50 in late trading. During the conference call, however, the stock began falling from the highs. The steady low-volume drip lower in RIMM turned into a high-volume plunge at around 5:52 pm EST when the stock plummeted for several minutes with very little resistance. It is clear that investors were not impressed with the company's commentary on the conference call and as a result, the stock is now trading down sharply in the after hours. At last check, shares had lost almost 12 percent and were trading at $12.45, a better than 20 percent swing in the name on Thursday. For the third-quarter, the company reported net income of $9 million or $0.02 per share, compared to $265 million or $0.51 per share, in the year ago period. On an adjusted basis, which is comparable to analysts' consensus, Research in Motion reported a loss of $114 million or $0.22 per share. This was well ahead of Wall Street analysts' consensus earnings per share expectations of a loss of $0.35. Sales in the period were $2.7 billion, a 47 percent decline versus the $5.2 billion the company reported last year. This also beat analysts' consensus revenue estimates of $2.66 billion. Research in Motion said that it expects further pressure on operating results ahead of its launch of BlackBerry 10 in the fourth quarter. The company added that it anticipates it will report an operating loss in the fourth quarter. BlackBerry 10 is expected to launch on January 30, 2013 and will be critical to to the future of Research in Motion as a going concern.