[Corbu]

BB - PTAB denies BlackBerry's petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of Facebook patent # 8,429,231
The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board has determined that BlackBerry has not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that the challenged claims of Facebook's 8,429,231 patent are unpatentable

The '231 patent is directed to a communication system with a graphical user interface that allows voice communications to be established between a sender and recipient after determining the voice capabilities of the recipient.

StreetAccount notes that PTAB has:
granted BlackBerry's petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of Facebook patent # 6,744,759
denied BlackBerry's petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of Facebook's patent 6,356,841
granted Facebook's petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of Blackberry patent 8,676,929
granted petitions from Snap (SNAP) and Facebook to institute inter partes review (IPR) of Blackberry's patent #8,209,634
denied Facebook's (FB) petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of BlackBerry's patent 8209634
granted Facebook's (FB) petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of BlackBerry's patent 8,301,713
denied Facebook's petition to institute inter partes review (IPR) of BlackBerry's patent 8,429,236
Case Number (AIA Review Number): IPR2019-01600

[shanhetao]

Anyone is aware of or have the source of March 5th interviews by John Chen? I saw post saying he claimed double digit growth this year. But I could not find the source.

[shanhetao]

my bad. It seems that is last year event. Someone mistakenly think it is this month.

[EchoTango]

As the pandemic emergency rolls along it would be nice to know how Blackberry and it's customer are using the various security products. I suppose after the dust has settled we'll hear some stories, but it would be nice to know what customers are using which software and how it has helped.

[FeitaInc]

CRWD is just on a rocket trajectory back to where they were. Meanwhile BB..

[EchoTango]

CRWD is just on a rocket trajectory back to where they were. Meanwhile BB..

If Blackberry could show some signs of life in the upcoming ER, they might get some positive momentum. Who can blame investors for not wanting to buy into "it's coming soon, just wait" as an official corporate strategy.

[app_Developer]

CRWD is just on a rocket trajectory back to where they were. Meanwhile BB..

CRWD is further along with their EDR product, and they are demonstrating that they know how to sell their products. Those are very good signs for them.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

As the pandemic emergency rolls along it would be nice to know how Blackberry and it's customer are using the various security products. I suppose after the dust has settled we'll hear some stories, but it would be nice to know what customers are using which software and how it has helped.

I mostly use TeamViewer, but I have tried several.... A quick and easy solution, try Chrome Remote Desktop. I doubt Goverment or Regulated Industries are deploying either of those.

But DaaS has been a big growth market for a while now. I expect most large companies have solutions in place, they just have to scale them for this situation. It will mostly be smaller business that never had a remote solution, looking for ways to keep those that could work remotely.... going.

DaaS:
Amazon, Microsoft, Citrix, VMWare are some of the bigger players.

Remote Desktop:
TeamViewer, LogMeIn, Zoho, Windows own Utilities, Chrome Remote Desktop, Splashtop, VCN Connect...

But how will small business find a solution... they'll ask around or they'll search Google. I have no idea where BlackBerry would come up in an organic search or if they'll start marketing their solution. But I can see small business leaning towards the cheaper to free solutions.

I do expect BlackBerry to see growth with existing customers using their services... but will that mean an extra hundred thousand or extra hundred million in revenue next year???

[Corbu]

BB – ML: 4Q preview – assessing potential headwinds vs COVID-19 opportunities

Cutting PO to $5 on macro risks to core businesses

We preview Blackberry’s 4Q20 earnings report, scheduled for March 31. Our 4Q revenue/EPS estimates remain unchanged and mostly in-line with consensus at $295mn/4c, given Blackberry’s fiscal year-end in February. However, we are cutting our estimates for FY21 and our PO to $5 to better capture general macro slowdown and risk to the Licensing revenues, in particular. Positively, the stock underperformance YTD down 44% vs the SP500 down 24% is exposing enhanced value, helping offset the risk of weaker results; reiterate Neutral rating.

Positives: valuation, Athoc, remote workers

We update our sum-of-parts analysis on page 4 which underscores the valuation support and highlight two areas that may prove resilient in the wake of COVID-19 risks. First, Athoc Crisis Communications should fare well, in our view, given the product’s focus on employee safety and emergency notifications. Close peer Everbridge recently reported shortening sales cycles as COVID-19 heightened market awareness. Blackberry’s core Enterprise suite may also show resilience given its focus on securing user email/app access for mobile workers, now on the rise on COVID-19.

Negatives: large perpetual deals, licensing guidance, autos

We also flag risks to the core business. First, we flag risk of $40-$60mn potential headwinds to Licensing sales guidance due to the TCL/BBM cancellations. Additionally, Blackberry’s Enterprise business is not immune to macro weakness, especially when considering a history of large perpetual deals which could be delayed on COVID-19. QNX, which has been a bright spot in FY20, is also 70-80% exposed to the auto market which increases Blackberry’s exposure to macro risks. On Cylance, we see mixed developments with remote workforce trends positive yet CrowdStrike’s dominant share gains may be negative.

[shanhetao]

Hi Corbu, would you please provide more pages if you happen to have them?

[Corbu]

Hi Corbu, would you please provide more pages if you happen to have them?

Yes, shanhetao...

Not much more there but here is the rest of it, aside from the table, which I can't post.

Company Description

BlackBerry has transitioned from a mobile hardware provider to a mobile-focused security software and services company. Its portfolio of products includes BlackBerry Secure Unified Endpoint Management, crisis communication, corporate asset tracking, cyber security services, endpoint security, and other secure collaboration software and communication technologies. The company also licenses its brand/IP for mobile devices and its QNX business provides leading embedded software systems.

Investment Rationale

In our view, BlackBerry's low organic growth profile and participation in highly competitive markets pose risks, but such concerns are now well reflected in the valuation. We believe higher growth trends in QNX and Cylance may begin to help the turnaround over time. The positives and valuation support, however, are balanced with the competitive risks, execution risks, and current share losses.

4Q20 preview

We expect investors to be most focused on in-line results for IoT Revenue and Cylance growth in the near-term, with less focus on Licensing. FY21 guidance is a risk area, with management likely providing wide or imprecise ranges. We see potential for management to simply target revenue growth and profitability for FY21 given the COVID-19 unknowns.

We are leaving our 4Q20 estimates intact and primarily cutting our FY21 estimates to account for added macro risks and Licensing headwinds due to the public cancellations of Emtek’s BBM contract and TCL’s handset contract. These two contracts combined may have represented $40mn-$60mn annual recurring revenue.

Our new PO is $5, based on roughly 2.2x EV/S on our CY21E software sales (from 2.5x)

Price objective basis & risk

Our $5 PO is based on roughly 2.2x EV/S on our CY21E software sales. This multiple is roughly in line with other low growth/challenged software/services companies and supported by our sum-of-parts valuation. Downside risks to our PO are: 1) Slowdown in the cyber security or enterprise software market due to macroeconomic weakness, 2) Margin pressure from Licensing decline and low software growth, 3) Competitive risks from Apple, Google (Android), Samsung, VMware, Microsoft, and more, 4) Increased investment required to support new products, and 5) Security breach and reputational risk. Upside risks to our price objective are: 1) Success of new customer wins and product launches, 2) Restructuring efforts, asset sales, or transformative M&A, 3) large unexpected IP deals.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Q20 preview

We expect investors to be most focused on in-line results for IoT Revenue and Cylance growth in the near-term, with less focus on Licensing. FY21 guidance is a risk area, with management likely providing wide or imprecise ranges. We see potential for management to simply target revenue growth and profitability for FY21 given the COVID-19 unknowns.

We are leaving our 4Q20 estimates intact and primarily cutting our FY21 estimates to account for added macro risks and Licensing headwinds due to the public cancellations of Emtek’s BBM contract and TCL’s handset contract. These two contracts combined may have represented $40mn-$60mn annual recurring revenue.

Our new PO is $5, based on roughly 2.2x EV/S on our CY21E software sales (from 2.5x)

Price objective basis & risk
Our $5 PO is based on roughly 2.2x EV/S on our CY21E software sales. This multiple is roughly in line with other low growth/challenged software/services companies and supported by our sum-of-parts valuation. Downside risks to our PO are: 1) Slowdown in the cyber security or enterprise software market due to macroeconomic weakness, 2) Margin pressure from Licensing decline and low software growth, 3) Competitive risks from Apple, Google (Android), Samsung, VMware, Microsoft, and more, 4) Increased investment required to support new products, and 5) Security breach and reputational risk. Upside risks to our price objective are: 1) Success of new customer wins and product launches, 2) Restructuring efforts, asset sales, or transformative M&A, 3) large unexpected IP deals.

I would not "think" that Emtek’s BBM contract and TCL’s handset contract cancellations would be much of a factor

Surprised they aren't concerned about possibility of going private or a buy out.

Otherwise I feel they have a handle on things with BB... All depend on earnings next week.

[app_Developer]

I would not "think" that Emtek’s BBM contract and TCL’s handset contract cancellations would be much of a factor

Mgmt can address this clearly in the call on Monday. They were vague about revenue expectations for these two initiatives when they started, so of course people will be unclear about the revenue impact now that they have ended.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Mgmt can address this clearly in the call on Monday. They were vague about revenue expectations for these two initiatives when they started, so of course people will be unclear about the revenue impact now that they have ended.

Emetek was laid out pretty well, TCL not so much.

Either way I don't think either were much of a factor for the last couple of quarters - unless BlackBerry was counting money due by contract that got renegotiated away.

[Corbu]

Let me follow Zenas' lead and post the lowered estimates from that same BoA report...

[_dimi_]

Today IPR was granted for one of the two patents outstanding.

https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/pt.../IPR2019-01598

[Corbu]

Thanks, _dimi_

https://seekingalpha.com/news/355517...book-challenge

[rarsen]

For those with general interest in privacy and security, amplified by the now increasing tele-working from home:

Working from home? Switch off Amazon's Alexa (say lawyers)
https://www.zdnet.com/article/workin...a-say-lawyers/
One of the byproducts of doing all your work from home is that you might be discussing confidential matters. And who might overhear them? Well, there's your smart speakers.... "It's Business. But It's Personal."

Ring's work with police lacks solid evidence of reducing crime
https://www.cnet.com/features/rings-...educing-crime/
Amazon pushes Ring as a crime-fighting tool. Data from three of Ring's earliest police partnerships doesn't back up that claim.

[rarsen]

Should be special times at March 31 presentation:

BlackBerry (BB) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?
https://old.nasdaq.com/article/black...fing-cm1304498

The Top Windows and BlackBerry Android App Development Companies, According to App Developers Rating Platform
https://www.zacks.com/research/get_n...?id=uhtiipx3qg

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Should be special times at March 31 presentation:

BlackBerry (BB) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?
https://old.nasdaq.com/article/black...fing-cm1304498

The Top Windows and BlackBerry Android App Development Companies, According to App Developers Rating Platform
https://www.zacks.com/research/get_n...?id=uhtiipx3qg

The top BlackBerry Android app developers? Was there even such thing....

At this point, not even BlackBerry seems to be developing their Android or Apps for it at this point.

[app_Developer]

The top BlackBerry Android app developers? Was there even such thing....

At this point, not even BlackBerry seems to be developing their Android or Apps for it at this point.

"Roughly 1.6 million people in the United States alone used Windows smartphones in 2019, making it an appealing market for businesses alongside other operating software."

LOL!!

A whole 1.6M people (and declining). Wow.

[Elephant_Canyon]

"Roughly 1.6 million people in the United States alone used Windows smartphones in 2019, making it an appealing market for businesses alongside other operating software."

LOL!!

A whole 1.6M people (and declining). Wow.

Maybe it's a typo? Could have meant "appalling."

[Bacon Munchers]

With all the possibilities of higher or lower guidance this ER, due to this thing; as crazy as it sounds, I am mainly interested in finding out the numbers for those trying out this free BlackBerry suite offering.
This should provide a bit of direction for possible adoption.

Back to my free A&W coffee....

[Redzinaldas]

https://www.tickerreport.com/banking...ecurities.html

BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) Receives “Buy” Rating from TD Securities and 8$ PT

[_dimi_]

PTAB denied IPR for the last patent outstanding in the case of Facebook vs. BlackBerry:

https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/p...2019-01599%2F8