BlackBerry's QNX Royalty Backlog Exceeds $1.2 Billion, Increasing More Than $250 Million in Two Quarters

Alloy Kore's first design win represents more than $100 million in estimated future royalties, QNX's largest award.

Rhea-AI Summary

BlackBerry (BB) announced that its QNX division exceeded $1.2 billion in estimated future royalty backlog, a record for the business. Backlog rose more than $250 million, or more than 26%, in two quarters from approximately $950 million at fiscal year-end 2026. BlackBerry attributed the increase to adoption of QNX Software Development Platform 8.0 and the first design win for Alloy Kore, its foundational automotive operating system.

The Alloy Kore award represents more than $100 million in estimated future royalties, QNX's largest design win. Design wins in robotics, industrial automation and medical devices also contributed to backlog growth. Backlog includes anticipated royalties once a design win is secured and royalties can be reasonably estimated; revenue is recognized as customer programs enter production and volumes ramp. Actual revenue depends on production volumes and potential contract terminations or modifications.

4 points · 1 major

PositiveiHow this balance works

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0 major · 1 point

Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works

Positive

• Major pointQNX royalty backlog exceeded $1.2 billion, up more than $250 million, or more than 26%, in two quarters.
• Moderate point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Alloy Kore's first design win carries more than $100 million in estimated future royalties, QNX's largest award. 2.1% of market cap
• Minor pointSDP 8.0 adoption contributed to backlog growth, BlackBerry said.
• Minor pointRobotics, industrial automation and medical-device design wins also contributed to QNX royalty backlog growth.

Negative

• Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Backlog is estimated future revenue; realization depends on production volumes and potential customer contract terminations or modifications.

Key Figures

QNX royalty backlog: More than $1.2 billion Backlog increase: More than $250 million Backlog growth: More than 26% +1 more

QNX royalty backlog

More than $1.2 billion

New record for the business

Backlog increase

More than $250 million

Increase over two quarters

Backlog growth

More than 26%

From the approximately $950 million reported at FY2026 year-end

Alloy Kore design win

More than $100 million

Estimated future royalties; largest design win in QNX history

Historical Context

1 past event · Latest: Sep 24

1 event

1. Sep 24

   Q2 earnings

   24h Move

   +4.2%

   Prior earnings disclosed Coretura's Alloy Kore selection and its addition to QNX royalty backlog.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

oems, hypervisors, middleware

3 terms

oems technical

"working with several major global automotive OEMs"

OEMs, or Original Equipment Manufacturers, are companies that produce the main components or products that other companies use to build finished goods. For investors, OEMs are important because their performance can influence the supply chain, manufacturing costs, and overall market trends in industries like technology, automotive, and electronics. Their success often reflects broader economic health and consumer demand.

hypervisors technical

"operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools"

A hypervisor is software that creates and runs multiple virtual computers on a single physical server, letting one machine behave like many separate computers. Think of it as a building manager that leases out self-contained apartments inside one large property. Investors care because hypervisors drive cloud services, data-center efficiency, software licensing, and security models—factors that affect a tech company's costs, revenue scale, and competitive position.

middleware technical

"operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools"

Middleware is software that acts like a bridge or translator between different applications and systems, allowing them to share data and work together smoothly. Investors care because middleware influences how reliably a company’s technology runs, how easily new features or partners can be added, and whether a software provider has steady, repeatable revenue from integration services—factors that affect growth, costs and long‑term value.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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OTTAWA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 20, 2026 / BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) today announced that its QNX division has exceeded $1.2 billion in royalty backlog, establishing a new record for the business and marking a significant milestone in QNX's growth.

The achievement represents an increase of more than $250 million, or more than 26%, from the approximately $950 million reported at the end of fiscal year 2026. The increase reflects strong customer adoption of QNX's trusted software, particularly QNX® Software Development Platform 8.0, together with the first design win of Alloy Kore™, QNX's foundational automotive OS.

Increasing adoption of SDP 8.0 is expanding QNX's opportunity within next-generation, high-performance compute architectures. As automakers consolidate vehicle functions onto increasingly powerful centralized and domain-based compute platforms, QNX can support multiple software domains and multiple instances within a single vehicle, creating opportunities for greater QNX software content and associated royalty value per vehicle. QNX is actively working with several major global automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers as they evaluate and develop on the platform.
Alloy Kore further expands this opportunity by moving QNX beyond individual software components towards a broader, foundational automotive OS. Its first design win, valued at more than $100 million of estimated future royalties, is the largest design win in QNX's history. The award provides significant commercial validation for Alloy Kore and demonstrates its potential to materially broaden QNX's role within each vehicle and increase the royalty opportunity per program.

Beyond automotive, General Embedded Markets and Physical AI based systems also contributed to the 26% growth in QNX royalty backlog through a number of important design wins across robotics, industrial automation and medical devices. These wins underscore the growing demand for trusted foundational software in systems that must interact safely, securely and reliably with the physical world. QNX is encouraged by the momentum in these markets and the continued expansion of its opportunity pipeline, supported by strategic relationships with leading silicon providers that further strengthen its position in the development of next-generation intelligent systems.

Next-Generation Platforms Driving Growth

"Exceeding $1.2 billion in royalty backlog is an important milestone for BlackBerry and compelling evidence of the momentum we are building at QNX," said John Giamatteo, Chief Executive Officer, BlackBerry. "In just two quarters, our backlog has grown by more than $250 million from the approximately $950 million we previously reported, reflecting strong demand for our foundational software and the impact of our next generation of products. The growing adoption of SDP 8.0 and the commercial validation of Alloy Kore demonstrate that our strategy is working, expanding our opportunity and increasing the value of QNX software content within each vehicle."

QNX's business model begins well before customer production. Once QNX secures a design win and the associated future royalties can be reasonably estimated, those anticipated royalties are included in QNX royalty backlog. Royalty revenue is subsequently recognized as customer programs enter production and volumes ramp.

"The increase in our royalty backlog reflects an important evolution in both the breadth and value of QNX's customer relationships," said John Wall, President, QNX. "Customers are increasingly adopting SDP 8.0 for the high-performance compute architectures at the centre of Software-Defined Vehicles, while our first Alloy Kore design win demonstrates the potential to extend QNX's position further up the software stack. We are also applying our proven foundational software capabilities to General Embedded Markets and emerging Physical AI applications, where safety, security and reliability are critical. We believe the momentum across these growth opportunities creates a strong foundation for QNX's continued expansion."

About QNX Royalty Backlog

The Company defines QNX royalty backlog as estimated future revenue from variable forecasted royalties. The estimation is based on QNX royalty rates and projections of anticipated volumes based on historical experience and current customer projections that management believes are reasonable over the lifetime of a design.

QNX royalty backlog may not be indicative of actual future revenue. The revenue ultimately recognized is subject to several factors, including actual production volumes and potential terminations or modifications of customer contracts.

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About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB)(TSX: BB) provides enterprises and governments the intelligent software and services that power the world around us. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company's high-performance foundational software enables major automakers and industrial giants alike to unlock transformative applications, drive new revenue streams and launch innovative business models, all without sacrificing safety, security, and reliability. With a deep heritage in Secure Communications, BlackBerry delivers operational resiliency with a comprehensive, highly secure, and extensively certified portfolio for mobile fortification, mission-critical communications, and critical events management.
Safe. Certified. Secure.

For more information visit BlackBerry.com and follow BlackBerry on LinkedIn

About QNX

QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB), provides the trusted foundation that software-defined and physical AI systems depend on to operate safely and predictably in the real world. For nearly half a century, QNX has powered safety-critical applications where failure is not an option. The business leads the way in delivering safe and secure operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools, along with the support and services delivered by trusted embedded software experts. Today, QNX technology underpins hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road and a wide range of mission-critical systems across industrial controls, robotics, medical devices, commercial transportation, rail, and aerospace and defense. QNX is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at qnx.software.

Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design, are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.

Investor Contact:
BlackBerry Investor Relations
+1 (519) 888-7465
investorrelations@blackberry.com

Media Contact:
BlackBerry Media Relations
+1 (519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com

SOURCE: QNX

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

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How much did BlackBerry's QNX royalty backlog grow?

QNX royalty backlog exceeded $1.2 billion, increasing more than $250 million, or more than 26%, in two quarters from approximately $950 million at the end of fiscal year 2026.

How large is BlackBerry QNX's first Alloy Kore design win?

The first Alloy Kore design win is valued at more than $100 million in estimated future royalties and is QNX's largest design win. Alloy Kore is QNX's foundational automotive operating system.

How does BlackBerry estimate QNX royalty backlog?

BlackBerry estimates QNX royalty backlog using royalty rates and anticipated volumes over the lifetime of a design. Volume projections draw on historical experience and current customer projections that management considers reasonable.