Black Friday, indeed; RIM's stock is surging
Black Friday gets its name from one of two places.
It either comes from Philadelphia, where the day after Thanksgiving became such a pedestrian and vehicle traffic bog that Philly cops derisively gave the day its nickname back in the 1960s.
Or, it comes from what Black Friday has become, a shopping superday so lucrative it turns a massive profit for retailers, or helps them get “in the black.”
Perhaps 2012, though, will give Black Friday a more mystical, otherworldly connotation. Because believe it or not, RIM’s stock is surging.
Indeed, for the moribund Research In Motion, perhaps a bit of black magic was what it took to stir its decrepit stock from the crypt, where it’s been buried since mid-2008.
*Bing: When to buy a stock
This morning on the NASDAQ, and yesterday on the TSX, RIM has been the story, jumping as much as 13 per cent in U.S. trading (markets were closed yesterday for American Thanksgiving) and as much as 17 per cent in Toronto.
As of noon Friday, RIM was still growing in value on the NASDAQ, while it had given back about 4.5 per cent of Thursday’s gained share value on the TSX.
What’s behind the surge?
For RIM, whose stock lost some 92 per cent in value over the past four years, all it seemed to need was a vote of confidence for its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, which has been much delayed but is set to release nonetheless on Jan. 30.
It’s been tough to generate good press for the BlackBerry 10, but analyst Kris Thompson of National Bank Financial offered some, upping his previous estimates for the phone’s sales.
Thompson changed his forecast from 31.7 million units sold next fiscal year to 35.5 million units, and presto, RIM’s stock enjoys a boost, no matter how brief it may turn to be.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Corey C | Nov 25, 2021 12:04:53 PM
RIM will be back... just wish the phone was ready for the christmas season... as i'm sure they do as well...
Posted by: Steven | Nov 25, 2021 1:33:57 PM
There is no doubt BB10 will make a mark.
It's op system is not just a catch-up but a significant leap over the competition.
Don't waste your money on other smart phones for Christmas (that would be a mistake!)
Posted by: Scott | Nov 25, 2021 7:18:38 PM
Rim stock and company will soon go the way of Nortel and disappear altogether. Samsung, Apple, Microsoft all have better products and governments worldwide are now dropping Blackberrry devices.
Posted by: Kent | Nov 25, 2021 8:59:15 PM
As much as I want to see a Canadian company stay at the top of the high-tech world I can't help but think that BlackBerry would be better off if it weren't in Ontario. If you look at the current tech and internet companies that have succeeded at the top for a long time none are based in Ontario. Microsoft is in Seattle. Boeing is in Seattle. Amazon in Seattle. Google is near San Fran.Facebook is near San Fran. Apple is near San Francisco. Oracle is near San Fran. Dell is in Texas. Samsung is in Korea. Sony is in Japan. HP in San Francisco. so is Intel. Adobe, Electronic Arts, Northrup Grumman, Gateway, Pixar, Sun Microsystems are etc are in California. etc. etc.
A friend of mine is an electronics engineer and had a slew of job offers after graduation. He could have moved to San Fran, LA, Seattle, Holland, Chicago, Israel or Toronto. Companies flew him all over for interviews. He never considered Toronto for a second which upset me a little because he is Canadian...I asked him why. He said, "If you could live in San Fran, Seattle or Toronto you wouldn't pick Toronto would you?" And he kind of has a point. None of his friends chose to move to Ontario either.
The high tech world is about good ideas and talent. Blackberry has proven that you can come up with a good idea anywhere but if you want to be at the top for a long time you need to be located where top people want to live. If Blackberry would have been more realistic it would have moved the hi-tech jobs to Seattle or San Fran. That way it could have at least kept some of the admin and marketing jobs in Canada. BUt now the whole company will probably be gone in 5 years and ALL the Canadian jobs will be lost. :-(
Posted by: CanadaFan | Nov 25, 2021 9:29:37 PM
Kent, you sound like an American-lover. You are being short-sighted. Canada is not dying btw. Have you heard of MacDonald Dettwiler? They make satelites and high tech missile systems and sell them to the US and other nations? You've probably never heard of them because they are based in BC and like to keep a low profile for obvious reasons. How about Bombardier?...they are a world leader in transportation! Ballard System is THE world leader in Fuel Cell development. Vancouver is the third biggest movie production centre in the world after LA and NY. And even though EA is based in California their best development studio is in Burnaby. These are all knowledge economy jobs. Alberta has the highest GDP per capita in North America and it's public school students are the best outside of Asia...this is the future. Lions Gate Studios is one of the biggest movie companies in the world...ever hear of the Twilight series or HUnger games...just this year?? There are a lot of reasons to be proud of knowledge companies that started and stayed in Canada...by focussing on Ontario you are selling Canada short. Canada is just fine thank you!!!
Posted by: Kent | Nov 25, 2021 11:20:17 PM
@ CanadaFan. I may sound like an American lover but you sound like an NDPer!! BTW LionsGate Studios IS a great world class studio...agreed. But they moved their headquarters from Vancouver to LA a few years ago. And therefore they will survive and keep many productions and jobs in BC. That just proves my point. All I'm saying is RIM should have done the same thing.