RIM results likely strong next week: Analysts differ on next quarter’s outlook

Research In Motion Ltd. reports fiscal first-quarter earnings on June 25 and, driven by sales of its Curve at Verizon Wireless, two analysts said the company’s results likely would be at the high end of current guidance.
“Our view is based on very strong retail checks suggesting that the Curve remains the most popular device among consumers and small and medium businesses alike, partially offset by a softer enterprise environment,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski, in a research note to investors.
Jankowski said, however, that she expected RIM’s guidance for the next quarter to fall below Wall Street consensus.
Analyst Maynard Um at UBS concurred on the current quarter and wrote that results for the first fiscal quarter should reach the high end of RIM’s prior guidance of $2.23 billion to $2.3 billion. In contrast to Goldman Sachs, however, Um said he sees various factors favoring RIM’s outlook for subsequent quarters.
RIM’s launch of its Bold handset appears on target for mid- to late-July, which should boost fiscal second-quarter results, Um wrote in a research note. Additional launches later this year – including a clamshell-style Pearl, a 3G world phone and an iDEN BlackBerry – should drive strong sales in the fiscal third quarter, according to Um.
The UBS analyst also said that the 3G iPhone’s availability worldwide would drive network operators without the Apple Inc. device to subsidize other high-end handsets, including BlackBerrys.
In the U.S. market, Avian Securities L.L.C.’s May handset survey found RIM’s BlackBerry Curve and Pearl to be the two top-selling handsets.
“RIM’s strength in our survey continues to be broad based, as the company was No. 1 or No. 2 at all four (top-tier) carriers, driven by the continued momentum of the Curve and Pearl franchises,” wrote analyst Matt Thornton. “RIM gained share at three of four carriers and the Curve and Pearl remained the top two devices, with the Curve moving to No. 1 with the recent launch of a CDMA Curve at Verizon Wireless.”