BlackBerry Ltd. saw its shares climb in U.S. trading on Thursday, with the stock trading near $8.78 after reaching an intraday high of $9.03. The move came as traders piled into bullish bets on the company's QNX software unit. Trading volume was approximately 32.1 million shares, and the company's market capitalization hovered around $5.2 billion.
The rally was fueled by strong results from QNX, BlackBerry's embedded software division. In its fiscal fourth quarter, QNX revenue jumped 20% year-over-year to a record $78.7 million. The company also reported a QNX royalty backlog of about $950 million, representing contracted business that is expected to convert into revenue over time.
BlackBerry's transformation from a cost-cutting story to a growth play on software is gaining traction. QNX is increasingly used in vehicles, industrial machinery, robots, and medical equipment. A recent survey of 1,000 robotics developers, conducted by QNX, found that software architecture and integration now pose bigger challenges than hardware. The survey also revealed that 95% of developers consider deterministic real-time behavior — where software responds on a fixed clock — essential for their systems. Furthermore, 89% of developers see physical AI — artificial intelligence in machines that sense and act in the real world — as critical to their plans over the next three to five years.
Jim Hirsch, global vice president of sales at QNX for general embedded markets, noted that robotics teams are hitting the "very real limits" of older architectures as they pursue more advanced, autonomous systems. The company is positioning QNX alongside Nvidia and other edge-computing players in the safety-critical AI space. In April, QNX and Nvidia announced that QNX OS for Safety 8.0 would work with Nvidia IGX Thor and the Nvidia Halos Safety Stack, targeting regulated applications in robotics, medical, and industrial systems. "Safety and determinism cannot be afterthoughts," said John Wall, president of QNX.
The broader market also provided a tailwind. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hit new record highs on Thursday, while Canada's S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3%, driven by gains in technology and mining stocks.
Derivatives activity underscored the bullish sentiment. According to Cboe data cited by The Fly, BlackBerry options volume nearly tripled its daily average two days prior, reaching about 52,000 contracts. The majority of that volume was in call buying, outpacing put buying. Calls generally move in tandem with the stock price, indicating that traders are paying for upside exposure rather than simply buying shares.
BlackBerry is also investing in its own stock. In a May filing, the company announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange had approved a normal course issuer bid to buy back up to 26.8 million shares, representing about 4.58% of its public float. The buyback program runs from May 12, 2026, to no later than May 11, 2027.
Looking ahead, BlackBerry's next investor event is scheduled for June 2, when CFO Tim Foote and QNX President John Wall are set to speak at Baird's Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference in New York. The company plans to stream the event live and post a replay.
Despite the positive momentum, risks remain. BlackBerry's annual filing highlights potential headwinds such as slower customer growth, new technological hurdles, or soft demand if the economy cools. The company also notes that share price swings could be driven by news, analyst calls, options activity, and speculative trading.
For now, the market is rewarding BlackBerry for its QNX-focused strategy, even as significant revenue from robotics and physical AI has yet to materialize. The stock's fate remains tied to QNX's performance, not the company's legacy as a smartphone maker.
