Research in Motion's Bad News May Be Very Good for Investors

Wednesday, after the market’s close, Blackberry-maker Research in Motion (RIMM) released earnings that narrowly missed guidance for both revenues and earnings per share [EPS]. Having never come up short before, and consistently out-performed, Wall Street expected more from RIM. The stock traded down heavily after hours. Thursday, the market showed no mercy. Sometimes though, bad news is actually good news. Perspective is everything.

By the numbers, RIM reported revenue of $2.24b and earnings of 84 cents a share. While that fell short of the expectations for $2.7b and 85 cents, the revenue was up 107% year over year. Profits, at $482.5m, were more than double last year’s $232.2m too.