Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) is slated to announce its fourth-quarter financial results on March 24, 2011. The company is expected to post double-digit gains in the fourth-quarter sales and profit. However, it is unclear whether the company�s international business will offset the pressure it is facing in the U.S., where the smartphone market has become more and more competitive. The company specifically faces stiff competition from the iPhone and Android operated phones.
Ittai Kidron, analyst at Oppenheimer, says that based on checks, Oppenheimer believes that the company had a decent February quarter.
Analysts are expecting RIM to report a 30% increase in fourth-quarter net income and a 38% increase in revenue. The company is expected to post fourth quarter earnings of $1.75 per share on revenue of $5.64 billion.
However, analysts have a mixed view on whether the maker of BlackBerry smartphones can maintain a strong position in the market it once dominated. Currently 48% of the brokerages covering RIM have a Buy rating on the company, compared with 90% forApple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), the maker of iPhone.
According to BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long, RIM is expected to report another very solid quarter despite a lack of new products during the period. Long expects the company to have a better product cycle in the second half.
Analysts currently expect to report smartphone shipments of 14.7 million units in the fourth quarter with new subscriber additions of 5.2 million.
Ahead of the release of the fourth-quarter earnings, RIM shares are expected to remain in focus. Year-to-date RIM shares gained 5.14%, which is better than the performance of Apple shares in the same period. The stock is currently trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
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