Research in Motion Falls on Weak Q4, But Q1 Guidance Offers Hope (RIMM)

3/31/2010-Shares of Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) are trading 5.6% lower to $69.83 after hours Wednesday after the maker of Blackberry smartphones reported Q4 EPS of $1.27, missing consensus estimates by a penny.

Revenues for the quarter rose 17.9% year-over-year to $4.08 billion, falling short of consensus estimates of $4.31 billion.

For the fiscal Q1, RIM expects EPS in the range of $1.31 to $1.38 on revenues of $4.25 billion to 4.45 billion, versus consensus estimates for EPS of $1.22 on revenues of $4.3 billion.

"RIM has completed another outstanding fiscal year with record revenue, earnings and subscriber results. Our company and partnerships continued to thrive within one of the most dynamic industries in the world. We managed to significantly expand our international market share while also maintaining our longstanding leadership in North America where BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand," said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "We are off to a great start in fiscal 2011 and expect strong shipments, revenue, subscriber and earnings growth in Q1. We are also very excited about our portfolio of products and services for the coming year and we continue to see exceptional opportunity for sustained growth."

Write to Chip Brian at cbrian@tradethetrend.com

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