BlackBerry is impossible to value right now

The news about BlackBerry possibly becoming a privately held company thrilled Wall Street on Friday the morning, but by 11:15 a.m., BlackBerry�s gains had dwindled to 4.6%. The challenge of valuing the company right now is immense. We know that Q10 and Z10 sales were disappointing in the May quarter. Considering how long BlackBerry loyalists had waited for the new OS, tepid spring sales were a major disappointment. But we don�t know how well a sub-$300 BlackBerry smartphone with the new software would sell. Since the company is rapidly becoming almost entirely dependent on sales in Africa, Middle East and South-East Asia, it is possible that a budget BlackBerry could be a substantial hit. If BlackBerry ever launches one. The company�s future is riding on that question � and we don�t know when we�ll finally have an answer.

[More from BGR: Final piece of Amazon�s tablet puzzle: Full specs for next-gen Kindle Fire]

How do you value a smartphone company that has demonstrated notable weakness in the high-end segment but has not launched a new budget device with an up-to-date OS, literally in years? Any buyer would be truly flying blind.

[More from BGR: Motorola Moto X review]

Are there any examples of a handset company that went into a deep market share decline and then recovered and became a solidly profitable company? That is debatable. Sony�s merger with Ericsson resulted in a brief renaissance in mid-2000s, but it really was an Indian summer and soon the joint venture was hemorrhaging cash again. LG�s handset unit kind of fell apart in 2011, but the company has staged a comeback in 2013.

But LG smartphones enjoy massive support of a major conglomerate with considerable R&D resources to lend to its handset division. BlackBerry has to shoulder the weight of maintaining an operating system and an application ecosystem on its own.

Based on its current model portfolio, BlackBerry has no future � but it�s possible that a nifty budget device coming out in the next couple quarters could give the platform a new lease on life in emerging markets. Building a valuation model on this hypothetical scenario cannot be done without depending on a hefty dollop of science fiction.

BlackBerry is impossible to value right now

why would you reprint a BGR 'article"? hell you might as well have printed all the negative comments as well. BGR is an absolute joke when it comes to covering BBRY, They have wanted BBRY to be dead and buried 3 years ago, so they can suck up to Apple and Android more.

LOL I don't think any news outlet really cares that much whether RIM lives or dies. Why do fanboys always blame the media when the media write unflattering things about the company they love so much? How can anyone "love" a corporation?

Originally Posted by Fuzzballz

LOL I don't think any news outlet really cares that much whether RIM lives or dies. Why do fanboys always blame the media when the media write unflattering things about the company they love so much? How can anyone "love" a corporation?

Lol you're talking about BlackBerry fan boys? There are far more passionate Apple and Android fan boys out there please don't pretend it's a one sided occurance.

Also it's a proven fact that people love brands (aka marketing is something that matters)people love the brand BlackBerry how is that hard for you to understand.

Also people complaint of media bias because it exists,



Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Fuzzballz

LOL I don't think any news outlet really cares that much whether RIM lives or dies. Why do fanboys always blame the media when the media write unflattering things about the company they love so much? How can anyone "love" a corporation?

Sorry dude, that's an ignorant statement. Sometimes they (news outlets) have a vested interest to write unflattering things about a company. On the other side of the coin, sometimes it's just news.

Posted via CB10

The stock price as of today is absolutely over-valued....
...Around $6.00 / share is where it should be until such time BBRY shores up it's holes.

They still don't get it. Emerging markets want cheap phones, but the main thing they wanted was cheap data and messaging capabilities. Bb07 provides that. BB10 does not.

Originally Posted by kevinnugent

They still don't get it. Emerging markets want cheap phones, but the main thing they wanted was cheap data and messaging capabilities. Bb07 provides that. BB10 does not.

That's what makes legacy BB so successful in countries like Indonesia, where BIS enables finely tiered data plans. The more difficult question is, BlackBerry is in no position to sell at a loss and become a prolonged loss leader the way Microsoft, Amazon, and other companies with other very deep and profitable portfolios historically has always done it just to gain market share. What can BlackBerry the company do?

Originally Posted by Fuzzballz

How can anyone "love" a corporation?

Hey now! Corporations are people too. BBRY just happens to be a person who's phones I love, ergo, I think I love the person as well.

Posted while peeking and flowing on my incredible BBQ10!

Originally Posted by pythons

The stock price as of today is absolutely over-valued....
...Around $6.00 / share is where it should be until such time BBRY shores up it's holes.

They have 6 in cash alone. You obviously have no idea of what you are talking about.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by GooberNS

Sorry dude, that's an ignorant statement. Sometimes they (news outlets) have a vested interest to write unflattering things about a company.

Cite a recent time when any major news source published a negative news story and profited from it. Just cite it.

Originally Posted by Fuzzballz

Cite a recent time when any major news source published a negative news story and profited from it. Just cite it.

To add a little levity here, you aren't going to include political stories are you? What happened during the last, or for that matter, any election year, is mostly negative news! I would bet most people think there's a bit of profit hidden in there somewhere. Just a guess though.