BlackBerry is having a seriously bad month – though, to be fair, the last few years haven’t been stellar either. Start things off with a dismal first quarter earnings report, then follow it up with news that retailers are slashing the price on the Z10, and now toss in a rumor that the company has allegedly slashed production orders on both of its flagship devices.
In a recent investor’s note, Jeffries & Co. analyst Peter Misek claims the Canadian company has cut its manufacturing plans for the Z10 and Q10 by 50 percent, dropping production from two million units per month to just one million. Misek notes that he’s not surprised by the move, arguing that BlackBerry never should have “raised build plans at the end of May despite the worsening sell-through in the back of the month.”
BlackBerry’s future certainly seems in peril at this point. If the company can’t turn a profit this quarter it may not last much longer. It’s still possible that the Q10 and Z10 could gain some traction – though we’re curious where at this point – and there’s also the rumored A10 phablet, which the company will likely launch this fall. But if none of these devices can save it, the only option left may be a buyout by another company looking to snatch up BlackBerry’s patents and software.
