BlackBerry (BBRY ) Information Technology - Computers & Peripherals | Reports September 27, Before Market Opens 

BlackBerry is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results tomorrow before the market opens. The Canadian smartphone market is engaged in a balancing act between its struggling handset business and relatively successful software and security market. Revenue the past few years still remains under pressure due to sluggish hardware sales. This should remain the case until operations can fully shift over to its software services.

Analysts at Estimize are calling for a 4 cents loss per share, 78% higher than the same period last year. That estimate has dropped 56% since Blackberry’s most recent report in June. Revenue for the period is anticipated to drop 18% to $393.55 million, marking another quarter of negative sales growth. To no surprise, shares are down 15% year to date and historically drop an additional 2% following an earnings report. 

Since the widespread adoption of Apple iPhone’s and Android-powered devices Blackberry’s handset business has been largely irrelevant. Its newest device, the Priv, had a short burst of success upon its debut but has since lost its steam. Apart from coming to terms with its downfall, Blackberry recently decided to discontinue its newest operating system, BB 10, and the production of the Blackberry Classic smartphone. The Priv and any potentially new devices will run on Android operating systems.

Beyond handsets, Blackberry has been successful in its ventures as a software and services provider. Many investors believe this will be the company’s main revenue driver this quarter, almost doubling its output from the same quarter a year ago. Strategic acquisitions of Good Technology and AtHoc can be credited with some of those recent gains. Investors will also be keen to hear any commentary on the company’s new trailer tracking radar software as well as its IP licensing and royalty program.

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