BlackBerry’s QNX royalty backlog topped $1.2 billion, boosting optimism around automotive software and robotics.

  • QNX’s royalty backlog increased 26% to a record $1.2 billion, driven by automotive software demand. 
  • Growing adoption of QNX’s SDP 8.0 and its first Alloy Kore design win boosted demand.
  • BlackBerry QNX’s sales increased 27% year-on-year in Q2 FY2027.  

BlackBerry (BB) stock climbed in overnight trading after its QNX unit reported a record royalty backlog above $1.2 billion, up 26% from roughly $950 million in the last fiscal year. Retail traders began calling for the next leg higher, with some targeting $20 by year-end.

BlackBerry stock traded nearly 1% higher after an over 8% gain in regular trading. 

QNX Backlog Expands On New Product Adoption

According to BlackBerry, the record QNX backlog reflects rising demand for its automotive technology and growing adoption across industrial, robotics and medical applications. Wider use of its Software Development Platform 8.0, along with the first design win for its Alloy Kore automotive operating system, contributed to the latest increase.

Automakers are moving toward more powerful computing systems that manage several vehicle functions through centralized or domain-based architectures. QNX's SDP 8.0 supports multiple software environments and instances within a single vehicle, allowing BlackBerry to supply more software and get higher royalties per vehicle.

“Customers are increasingly adopting SDP 8.0 for the high-performance compute architectures at the center of Software-Defined Vehicles, while our first Alloy Kore design win demonstrates the potential to extend QNX's position further up the software stack,” said John Wall, President, QNX.

BlackBerry generated $163.3 million in revenue in fiscal Q2 2027, up 26% from a year earlier. QNX revenue rose 27% to $80.3 million, while Secure Communications sales increased 2% to $60.9 million. 

Robotics, Alloy Kore Add Another Growth Opportunity

BlackBerry is also targeting Physical AI applications, including humanoid robots, drones and industrial equipment. Its partnership with edge-AI chipmaker Hailo combines specialized processing technology with QNX's real-time software. 

The company's new automotive operating system, Alloy Kore, extends QNX's reach beyond individual software components. Its first design award carries more than $100 million in estimated future royalties, making it the largest such win in QNX's history. 

What BB Retail Traders Are Saying 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock shifted to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’. Message volume soared 192% over the past 24 hours. 

A user noted that BlackBerry has been consolidating since June, after an April-to-June run-up, and said it was “time for the next leg up, being over $20 by the year end. Seems reasonable.” 

Another user called the stock “an easy 10 bagger+ if you can stomach it,” while conceding it is “tough to see through all the noise.”

A third user explained the importance of QNX, saying, “Agentic AI systems (robots, autonomous machines, medical devices, industrial automation) need: deterministic scheduling, low‑latency task switching, predictable execution and safety‑certified control loops. This is exactly what QNX is built for. 

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