The last time I wrote about BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) was in mid-June. At the time, I said BB stock is something I would NOT want to own.
And while BB has since lost 23% of its value, it’s still up 57% year-to-date and 119% over the past year. As a result, BlackBerry’s market capitalization is approximately $6 billion.
Looking at stocks trading within $200 million on either side of that $6 billion mark, I find there are 15 tech stocks to choose from, including BlackBerry.
So, unless you’re hellbent on riding this meme stock to infinity and beyond, I’ve got three alternatives.
BB Stock Alternative No. 1
My first option is Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL), the language-learning app that went public at the end of July at $102 per share. The company raised approximately $352 million, not including the overallotment.
As I write this, it has a market cap of $6.35 billion, $150 million over my $200 million spread on either side. However, according to Finviz.com, it’s more like $5.92 billion. I love the idea of using an app to learn a language. I could see Duolingo and BlackBerry working together in the future in some tech partnership.
But I digress. Since Duolingo’s IPO, its stock is up 66.4% to $173. Moreover, it gained more than half those returns from the first day of trading.
How does Duolingo compare to BlackBerry in terms of revenues and adjusted profits?
In Duolingo’s second quarter 2021, it posted a 47% increase in revenues to $58.8 million with adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $3.7 billion.
As for BlackBerry, it had a 15.5% decline in Q2 2021 sales, to $174 million. Further down the income statement, it had an adjusted EBITDA loss of -$6 million, a 140% increase in its loss YOY.
Duolingo definitely has an easier sale.
IGaming Second Option
Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE) currently has a market cap of around $6.18 billion as I write this. It specializes in payment processing for the iGaming industry.
InvestorPlace contributor Tom Kerr recently suggested that PSFE stock was a reasonable buy at $8. As he stated, Paysafe has a history of generating sales. They’re currently $1.5 billion, up from $1.14 billion in 2018. While it continues to lose money — 15 cents a share in the trailing 12 months (TTM) – management continues to execute well on its plan for the business.
“Paysafe can be the arms provider for such verticals as iGaming, travel, digital goods (think Fortnite), Fintech services and traditional integrated payments,” Kerr wrote on Sept. 10. “This provides a diverse set of revenue streams that can offset any lumpiness in various end markets. The company has a diverse global reach too, with 47% of revenues coming from North America, 39% from Europe, and 14% from everywhere else.”
In Q2 2021, it had revenue of $384.3 million and adjusted EBITDA of $118.8 million. Sales and adjusted EBITDA increased by 13% and 8%, respectively.
It might not be huge growth, but the business focuses on high-growth areas such as iGaming and cryptocurrencies.
I’m not quite sure what investors think BlackBerry has over Paysafe.
Bitcoin Player Offers Third Choice
An interesting thing happened to MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) recently. It got booted from the S&P Small Cap 600 index. The index maker announced that MSTR was no longer appropriate for the gauge.
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor is well known for making a big investment in Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) as part of his tech company’s strategy to grow its business. To date, MicroStrategy has acquired almost 109,000 bitcoins at an average cost of just less than $27.000.
“With more than $5 billion of bitcoin on its balance sheet, MicroStrategy (MSTR) has become inextricably tied to the cryptocurrency. It’s an amazing turn of events for a company whose primary business is (or used to be) selling business intelligence software,” wrote ETF.com contributor Sumit Roy on Aug. 27.
However, if you think MSTR stock is a proxy for Bitcoin. Think again.
According to Roy, if you back out the bitcoin investments, its software business is worth approximately $2 billion. Before the cryptocurrency investments, MicroStrategy’s enterprise value was less than $1 billion.
Despite the obvious risks, it seems that in the worst case, MicroStrategy will still have a software business. I’m not sure BlackBerry provides a better alternative.