While to some people, like Bill Simmons, BlackBerrys are the only phones out there and started this SmartPhone revolution we now find ourselves in, Apple and Google through Android have taken the game to a new level and BlackBerry and its manufacturer Research In Motion have been left in the dust. Sure BlackBerries are far from gone but the RIMM stock has degraded substantially recently as more and more people are leaving their brand known for user difficulty for the easiness of Apple's iOS and Google's Anroid operating systems.
It has become a $30 stock after being valued at $140 three years ago. That's a pretty substantial decline even in this economy. Revenue has sunk to $4.91 billion, down from estimates easily over $5 billion. While earnings were slightly higher than expected at $1.33, that's still nothing compared to what the stock was just a few years ago. Revenue is down almost 20% from a year ago in an arguably worse economy. That's far from good in case you couldn't tell.
Just a couple of years ago, everyone out there was looking to get a BlackBerry but now nobody is. Apple and Android phones are booming in this SmartPhone revolution but what we've got now is an aging brand in BlackBerry that is going nowhere fast. They're stuck in a 2007 climate while Apple and Google continue to up the ante. Sure Research In Motion is still more popular than Windows Mobile Phones but what is that saying?
They're far from last in market share or earnings but compared to what they were, things aren't good. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see them sink into complete irrelevance. They've got to find a way to catch up to their more advanced competitors but they wouldn't be the first to fall to Apple and Google.