Why BlackBerry Stock Surged to a New 52-Week High Today

Shares of BlackBerry (NYSE: BB) rose sharply on Friday after the software specialist's earnings topped investors' expectations.

BlackBerry is now an AI play

BlackBerry's revenue jumped 26% year over year to $152.9 million in its fiscal 2027 first quarter, which ended on May 31.

The former smartphone maker now provides a secure, real-time operating system known as QNX that's used in fast-growing markets like automotive technology, industrial automation, medical devices, and robotics.

BlackBerry's QNX revenue climbed 26% to $72.3 million. The division is also becoming more profitable as it expands, with its adjusted gross margin improving by 5 percentage points to 86%.

"In QNX, we continue to benefit from the long-term trends we have discussed for several quarters, including software-defined vehicles, centralized compute, the general embedded market, and physical AI," CEO John Giamatteo said during a conference call with analysts.

All told, BlackBerry's adjusted net income soared 135% to $25.4 million, or $0.04 per share. That bested Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $0.03.

Management sees more growth ahead

BlackBerry guided for full-year revenue of $594 million to $621 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.16 to $0.20.

"Demand across our markets remains healthy," Giamatteo said. "Customer engagement is strong, our backlog continues to expand, giving us confidence in our outlook and in the disciplined execution that gets us there."

Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends BlackBerry. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.