BlackBerry on Thursday raised its revenue guidance for full-year 2027, citing continued momentum at its QNX division following the completion of that unit's turnaround. The announcement was accompanied by a notable uptick in U.S.-listed shares, which moved up roughly 8% in premarket trading.
Once prominent in the smartphone market, BlackBerry has repositioned itself over recent years toward software for connected devices and autonomous vehicle platforms. Central to that strategy is QNX, a business that provides secure real-time operating systems for mission-critical embedded systems - most prominently in the automotive sector.
For the first quarter ending May 31, QNX revenue rose by nearly 26% to $72.3 million. The division also carries a backlog of almost $1 billion in expected future royalties, underscoring forward revenue visibility tied to existing multi-year agreements and licensing schedules.
Commenting on demand patterns, CEO John Giamatteo said, "We see more of our QNX customers are leaning into next-generation software defined vehicles. They’re working with us closely to deploy our platform across the board to help them meet those needs, so we actually see really healthy demand."
Reflecting the stronger contribution from QNX, BlackBerry adjusted its full-year 2027 revenue projection to a range of $594 million to $621 million, higher than its previous guidance of $584 million to $611 million. The company also raised its targeted annual revenue for the QNX segment to a range of $295 million to $312 million, up from an earlier forecast of $290 million to $307 million.
BlackBerry's secure communications division, which packages encrypted voice, messaging and critical event management solutions, reported a 24% increase in revenue to $73.6 million for the quarter. The company said a vast majority of that business is government-related, and that a significant portion of the sales pipeline also stems from government contracts, a point highlighted by CFO Tim Foote.
On a consolidated basis, BlackBerry posted total revenue of $152.9 million for the first quarter, a 26% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
Market reaction and context
The upward revision to both company-wide and QNX-specific revenue forecasts, combined with the sizable backlog of future royalties, were key factors cited in the premarket share move. Management attributed the demand to automakers and related customers adopting next-generation, software-defined vehicle platforms and engaging more closely with BlackBerry's QNX offerings.
What management emphasized
- QNX has completed its turnaround and is experiencing healthy demand across its customer base.
- Government customers continue to form the bulk of secure communications revenue and pipeline opportunities.
- Raised guidance reflects both current quarter performance and expected contributions from QNX going forward.