By David Moadel
Publication Date: 2026-05-22 16:35:00
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Shares of BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) are up 18% in midday trading Friday, leading a sharp rotation into automotive AI software names. Mobileye (NASDAQ:MBLY | MBLY Price Prediction) stock is higher by 4%, Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) stock is climbing 2%, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is down 1%.
The dispersion is striking. Year to date, BlackBerry stock has surged 107% and Aurora Innovation has climbed 90%, while Mobileye has slipped 2.5% and NVIDIA is up 16%.
For at least this session, the small-cap automotive software pure-plays are outrunning the mega-cap AI compute giant. The action centers on BlackBerry’s QNX embedded operating system, which the market is treating as the preferred way to play software-defined vehicles.
QNX Momentum Powers BlackBerry’s Breakout
BlackBerry’s Q4 FY2026 report on April 9 delivered revenue of $156 million, up 8% year-over-year (YoY). The QNX segment posted record revenue of $78.7 million, up 20% YoY.
Moreover, BlackBerry’s adjusted EPS came in at $0.06 versus the $0.04 estimate. QNX is now embedded in more than 275 million vehicles, with royalty backlog near $950 million and fresh design wins at BMW Group and Volvo Cars. BlackBerry CEO John J. Giamatteo declared, “QNX is now a Rule of 40 business, and a clear leader in automotive.”
The long view remains humbling, however. BlackBerry stock is still down 22% over five years, a reminder that today’s move is a recovery, not a return to former…
