The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that BlackBerry has been on a roll since John Giamatteo became chief executive officer in 2023 after serving as head of its cybersecurity division under his predecessor John Chen. The Globe's Sean Sicoff writes that on Thursday, BlackBerry released second-quarter financials that beat analyst expectations. The company's stock in July reached its highest level since 2021, when it was one of several faded brands that became "meme" stocks driven by speculative traders. Its shares closed up 4 per cent Thursday. On Mr. Giamatteo's watch, BlackBerry slashed costs, sold a money-sucking cybersecurity unit and achieved positive operating cash flows. He refocused BlackBerry on its QNX business, which provides operating system software that powers advanced driver assistance and safety systems in increasingly digitized vehicles. This year, Mr. Giamatteo started touting BlackBerry as a growth company, which it hasn't been since it sold smart phones. BlackBerry is hanging much of its hopes on a new full-scale automobile software platform called Alloy Kore, developed in partnership with German tech outfit Vector Informatik GmbH. BlackBerry announced its first Alloy Kore contract Tuesday.