RIM Fourth Quarter $1.82-a-Share Doubts Over Tablet Mount: Tech
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Research In Motion Ltd., which disappointed investors last week for the third quarter in a row, will probably fall short of full-year forecasts too amid intensifying competition from Apple Inc. and Google Inc.
RIM said it will earn $5.25 to $6 a share, excluding some costs, for the fiscal year ending in January. To do that, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company will have to make at least $3.12 in the second half of the year, including $1.82 in the fourth quarter if it hits the mid-point of its third-quarter forecast. RIM has never made that much, and, given the new devices coming from Apple and Google’s partners, it’s unlikely to do so this time, said Cowen & Co LLC analyst Matt Hoffman.