Skip to main content

A Canadian flag flies at BlackBerry's headquarters in Waterloo, Ont., Tuesday, July 9, 2013. BlackBerry says it will remain operating in Pakistan after that country's government backed off from its request to gain access to the company's BES servers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff RobinsThe Canadian Press

BlackBerry Ltd.'s stock slid to its worst day in almost a year, in line with a broader market selloff, after Chief Executive Officer John Chen said the smartphone maker would unveil at least one more Android device this year.

BlackBerry shares fell 8.5 per cent to $8 at Thursday's close in New York, its biggest decline since January 2015. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3 per cent, part of a slump in global equity markets this week.

Chen said on Wednesday he expects to make the money-losing smartphone division profitable soon, and CNET reported the company will produce a new phone running on Google's Android operating system in 2016, citing an interview with Chen. The CEO has said he will keep making smartphones if he can make the unit profitable.

Some investors want BlackBerry to ditch the device business altogether and focus on growing software revenue, said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial LP.

"For those people looking for BlackBerry to become much leaner, much less capital-intensive, the handset business might be considered a disappointment," Gillis said.

Report an editorial error

Report a technical issue

Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
BB-N
Blackberry Ltd
+0.36%2.76
BB-T
Blackberry Ltd
-0.54%3.71

Interact with The Globe