By: Benj Gallander

Published: Aug 12, 2025

Looking for a stock that is a good Canadian soap opera? Well one of the most famous, once-iconic names is Blackberry BB-T , so much so that there was even a pretty darn good film about it in 2023. We certainly enjoyed it, and that had nothing to do with us owning the stock, which Benj acquired again in 2022 at $4.33.

Both of us have danced in and out of this position, hoping for a redo of profitability. It currently trades at $5.03. What? Do you think that it might climb back to $147.55, where it traded in June, 2008? Maybe you are listening to Gary Wright’s 1975 song Dream Weaver too often. We liked that one.

Earlier this year, Blackberry soldtheCylance cybersecurity business for $120-million to Arctic Wolf, with $40-million of that to come next year. That is real money, albeit far less impressive if you recall that it bought the enterprise in 2019 for US$1.4-billion. It almost takes skill to kill that much value.

Another deal that turned out horribly was signing John Chen, who many people viewed as a potential saviour, to the CEO role in November, 2013. He left the position just less than 10 years later with salvation still beckoning. Still, he garnered a huge pay package (one of his five-year contracts was worth US$128-million).

In December 2023, Blackberry appointed current CEO John Joseph Giamatteo, who has a more reasonable salary that worked out to $8.4-million in total compensation last year.

Prior to joining Blackberry in 2021 as president of the cybersecurity business unit, Mr. Giametteo was a big cheese at McAfee where he sat in the president’s chair and was also the chief revenue officer for more than six years. Prior to that he served as chief operating officer at AVG Technologies, a leading provider of internet and mobile security. He also held leadership positions with Solera, RealNetworks and Nortel Networks. Yes, he has some experience, which Blackberry can use.

Blackberry has been undergoing a transition as it moves further into the vehicle software sector, and Mr. Giametteo is backed by what appears to be a highly skilled team.

John (JD) Dimitropoulos is Blackberry’s senior vice-president and chief strategy officer, with more than 30 years of extensive international experience in the telecommunications, media and technology sectors. What excites us about him in particular is that he has been involved in acquisitions and divestments for numerous U.S.-based tech companies in Europe, Asia and the United States.

This could be particularly handy as it would not surprise us to see Blackberry sold in the next five years and, if so, likely at a premium. No, we do not have information on this possibility, but as the operation is cleaned up and hopefully becomes regularly profitable, that could be in the cards.

Worth noting is that in January Blackberry raised its revenue guidance from $504- to $534-million for fiscal 2026, which started in March, to $508- to $538-million – though still down a long way from over $1-billion in 2020. While far less, it remains substantial. The question, then, is whether that will translate to black ink on the bottom line, which has been red for five of the past six years, including the last three. Meanwhile, the most recent quarter showed a profit for the first time in more than three years. That caused the stock price to jump, but it quickly retreated. For nimble traders, this enterprise might be one to play, but that is not Benj’s game, with an average hold time of more than three years on his positions.

On another note, might Blackberry return to meme status, which it briefly enjoyed, leading to the same upward move in the stock price like other enterprises in this category? We think that is unlikely, but recognize that it is easier for a once-meme stock to return to that standing. That’s because it is easier for people to get excited about something that they know has happened before and might reoccur, than something that never has. And if the company is a name, it is more likely to obtain support. Still, we think that the odds of that happening are rather low.

Meanwhile, some believe Blackberry has become what scads of people might call “dead money.” If one believes this, the question then becomes whether a shareholder should toss in the towel and move on. That is not Benj’s modus operandi at all. He has had numerous stocks that have done nothing for years (and years) and then suddenly sprang to life, often offering three-times-plus on the original investment. Will that happen with Blackberry? Time will tell. In the interim, Benj is hoping that once again patience will win out, as it often does.