Mark Evans

RIM's Stellar Q4; Cloudy Outlook

Another quarter, another strong quarter for Research in Motion. The company added a record 470,000 subscribers in the fiscal fourth-quarter - which increased its total to 2.5 million customers. Annual sales surpassed $1 billion for the first time. That said, there are clouds on the horizon as analysts were disappointed they did not hear the kind of bullish growth guidance they were expecting. Keep an eye on how Good, Visto and Seven make out this year. There are growing indications wireless carriers are looking for cheaper mobile e-mail alternatives as they look to push the service into the mainstream. Rogers Wireless, for example, has quietly signed deals with Visto and Seven, while Bell Mobility recently did a deal with Sproqit Technologies.
Garban analyst Richard Williams wasted no time in downgrading RIM to a “sell” from “neutral” today, while dropping his 12-month stock target price to US$55 from US$85. “Lower guidance only confirms our concerns about growth decelerating at a time that the stock is extremely expensive,” he said.