9:00am (EST)
The bulls managed a strong comeback on Thursday and kept the major averages near resistance despite signs of the bears waking up. Yesterday’s action favored the bears for much of the session but in the last hour of trading, the bulls were able to make up ground as the market finished in positive territory for the most part.
The Dow finished with a gain of 22 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,594 while the Nasdaq added 2 points, or 0.1%, and settled at 2,303. The S&P 500 was the odd index out as it dropped less than a point and finished at 1,124.
Research In Motion (RIMM, $46.49, up $0.97) is trading higher this morning after reporting better-than-expected earnings after the bell last night.
The company reported a profit of $797 million, or $1.46 a share, versus $476 million, or $0.83 a share, in the same period last year. Revenue came in at $4.6 billion, up from $3.5 billion. Wall Street was expecting earnings of $1.35 a share with revenue pegged at $4.5 billion.
In after-hours trading last night, shares soared past $50 on those headline numbers shortly after the closing bell but ended at $48.60, up $2.11, by the time extended-traded shut off its lights.
Although RIMM said it sold 12 million units during the quarter, up 45% from a year ago, shares couldn’t hold $50 as analysts’ reacted to the fact that only 4.5 million new subscribers were added during the quarter. This was down from 4.9 million in the prior quarter and Wall Street was hoping to see at least 5 million new subscribers.
The company’s brass tried to “spin” the results by saying subscriber growth was hurt by “competing products entering the market around the same time as its new BlackBerry Torch” but we all know RIMM was late to the touch-screen smartphone party.
And how many iPhone 4’s did Apple (AAPL, $276.57, up $6.35) sell on its first day?
The talking heads and analysts will tell you how good this report is, and by the numbers, it was a great quarter for the company. But, let’s not forget the earnings bar (and expectations) for RIMM was lowered so many times that it was almost touching the ground. All RIMM really had to do was show up last night as they easily walked over expectations.
RIMM shares are up $1.86, to $48.35 in pre-market action.
As we head to press, Dow futures are up 25 points to 10,575 while the S&P 500 futures are higher by 3 points to 1,126. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing a 7 point pop to 1,957.
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