BlackBerry Corp. Soars After Earnings Defy Analysts' Expectations

BlackBerry Corp.’s third-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates thanks to software revenue from its recent acquisition of Good Technology Corp. Its share price soared in morning trading Friday.

Excluding certain items, quarterly losses for the Ontario-based company were 3 cents a share. Analysts had predicted per-share losses of 14 cents, according to Bloomberg. Overall, third-quarter losses for BlackBerry came out to $89 million, or 17 cents a share, down from $148 million, or 28 cents a share, during the same period last year.

Revenue of $548 million also beat expectations of $489 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

BlackBerry stock (NASDAQ:BBRY) soared by more than 10 percent in early trading, hitting $8.60. Its share price has fallen by about 20 percent over the last year.

BlackBerry completed its acquisition of Good Technology last month. The move is part of its continuing transition from reliance on handset sales to software revenue. CEO John Chen has said the company aims to reach $500 million in software revenue by next March.

“We delivered accelerating growth in enterprise software and higher revenue across all of our areas of focus,” Chen said in a statement Friday. “BlackBerry has a solid financial foundation, and we are executing well.”