Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) fell as much as 8.3 percent in extended trading yesterday after saying a new generation of BlackBerrys designed to fuel a comeback won’t be out until the “latter part” of 2012.
The smartphone maker, which originally planned to release the new devices in the first quarter of next year, also gave a sales and profit forecast that missed analysts’ estimates.
The delay adds to the challenges at RIM, which has lost market share to Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Android phones. The company also flubbed its entry into the tablet market, with a device that bombed with shoppers. After all that, investors may not trust the new target for the upgraded BlackBerrys, said Alkesh Shah, an analyst at Evercore Partners Inc.
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) rose as much as 7.6 percent in extended trading yesterday after its first- quarter sales forecast beat some estimates, boosted by demand for tools that design Web pages and create online video.
Revenue in the quarter that ends March 3 will be $1.03 billion to $1.08 billion, the company said in a statement. Analysts had projected $1.06 billion on average, with estimates ranging as low as $1.02 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Excluding certain items, profit will be 54 cents to 59 cents a share, compared with an average 58-cent estimate.
Adobe, the largest maker of graphic-design software, reduced its sales outlook last month and said it will cut 750 jobs and stop making Flash software for mobile devices. The company is retooling its product line to better support the HTML5 Web-programming language, which has backing from companies such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. It’s also aiming to get more revenue from online subscriptions.
The Zynga initial public offering priced at $10 per share on Thursday, the top of its expected range.
Analysts had expected the stock to price between $8.50 and $10 a share.
The company, which publishes games on Facebook such as “FarmVille” and “CityVille”, sold 100 million shares raising $1 billion, a source close to the process told the International Finance Review, which is owned by Thomson Reuters.
At $1 billion, Zynga’s IPO would be the largest initial offering from an Internet company since Google raised $1.7 billion in 2004.
Based on a fully diluted share count of 890 million shares, the IPO values Zynga at $8.9 billion. Zynga is selling about 11 percent of diluted shares in the offering.
Lawmakers on Thursday reached a tentative deal to fund an array of government agencies through September 30 and avert shutting down many of Washington’s operations starting this weekend.
Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye, one of the chief negotiators on the massive spending bill, told reporters the deal had been struck and the full Senate could vote on the measure as early as Friday.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday, a Republican aide said.
Current funding for agencies ranging from the Defense Department and Homeland Security to the Environmental Protection Agency expires at midnight on Friday.
Economics:
- 8:30 a.m. ET: CPI for November. Economists estimate prices were flat following a 0.1% gain in October. Core CPI is expected to rise 0.1%, same as October.
- 11:15 a.m.: Dovish Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speaks.
- 12:00 p.m.: Hawkish Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher speaks.
Earnings:
- Before the bell we get results from Darden Restaurants