Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq: RIMM) plummeted in after hours trading yesterday (Thursday) after the company missed Wall Street’s earnings and sales expectations.

For its second quarter ended August 29, RIM reported net income of $475.6 million, or 83 cents per share on revenue of $3.53 billion. That compares to a net income of $643.0 million, or $1.12 per share on revenue of $3.42 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

Analysts expected RIMM to earn $1 per share on revenue of $3.62 billion, according to Briefing.com.

In June, RIM held a commanding market share lead over Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone – it’s closest competitor in the United States – with a 55% share of the smartphone market versus Apple’s 20%.

Approximately 3.8 million net new BlackBerry subscriber accounts were added in the quarter, bringing the total account base to 32 million, RIM said. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), said it activated more than 2.4 million iPhone accounts, but that number is limited to the United States, where AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the smartphone.

Roughly 8.3 million BlackBerry smartphones where shipped in the quarter, versus 5.2 million iPhones in Apple’s last reported quarter, which ended June 27.

RIM shares were trading at $73.55 in after hours trading this evening, down 11.45%.

Source: Research in Motion Shares Nosedive After Missed Sales, Earnings