Surprise, Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) is Profitable!

Last October, a report from market research firm Strategy Analytics found that smartphones passed 1 billion in global sales in 2012, and that number is expected to double by 2015. The research firm’s executive director noted in the report that while the United States is a mature market, most of the world does not yet own smartphones, and that there remains huge growth potential in emerging markets such as China and India.

This is good news for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), which already has a pronounced geographical footprint. The company generated only 26% of its revenue from North America in fiscal 2013. Almost three-quarters of its sales were derived from its international operations, including 19% from Latin America and 14% from Asia Pacific. Its biggest geographic segment, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, represented 40% of BlackBerry’s business last year.

In the end, buying shares of BlackBerry seems to be a fairly risky proposition, even for the most risk-tolerant investors. The stock has rallied considerably off its lows from late last year, meaning downside from here isn’t at all outside the realm of possibility.

In addition, even investors who like to catch falling knives need to be careful. BlackBerry is still being trounced by rival Google in terms of market share, let alone profitability. For investors who are looking for exposure into the growing global smartphone market, Google is by far a better choice than BlackBerry.

The article Surprise, BlackBerry is Profitable! originally appeared on Fool.com.

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