Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) CEO Does This

Can the Q10 perform this well? Heins pointed out in his Bloomberg interview that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has a user base of more than 70 million, although many of those are located in lower-income countries, where few people could afford the price tag of the Q10. In the recently ended fiscal year, BlackBerry generated 37.4% of its revenue in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, down from 39.9% in FY12 and 57.5% in FY11. These figures suggest that 30%-40% of current BlackBerry subscribers may live in high-income countries, and could thus be considered likely Q10 upgrade candidates.

Obviously, it is not clear how many of these users will actually decide to upgrade this year. BlackBerry may also target former subscribers, but most of these people have probably committed to iOS or Android by now, making it difficult to lure them back. Nevertheless, I continue to believe that most current high-end BlackBerry users plan to upgrade this year, and this makes 20 million Q10 unit sales a plausible target for FY14. If Heins can deliver that level of sales, BlackBerry bears will be shocked yet again, while shareholders will be delighted. Any upside beyond that would just magnify the effect.

The article BlackBerry CEO Shocks the World originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Apple and BlackBerry and is long Jan 2014 $13 Calls on BlackBerry. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Google.

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