Blackline, Inc. (BL)

Price$28.17Cached quoteAs of 2026-10-06 20:41 UTC

AI: Undervalued

Price checkThe stock screens inexpensive on forward earnings and free cash flow, but GAAP profits remain thin.

BlackLine, Inc. trades as BL on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. At the latest quote, its market value is about $1.7 billion and enterprise value—equity value plus net debt—about $1.9 billion. Against roughly $732 million of trailing revenue, that is about 2.6 times sales. Market data also shows a free-cash-flow yield—the cash left after capital spending relative to market value—around 10%, plus roughly 11-12 times forward earnings. Those are inexpensive for profitable recurring software, although trailing GAAP earnings remain thin and stock compensation is substantial.

Big pictureRecurring subscription revenue softens cyclicality, while slower retention and longer sales cycles limit growth confidence.

Q2 revenue rose 9.2% year over year, while full-year guidance implies roughly 9-10% growth. Most subscription revenue is recognized over multi-year contracts, which cushions recessions and quarterly booking swings. Still, dollar-based net retention slipped to 102%, meaning the existing customer base grew only slightly after churn and contractions. Management also described deal timing as noisy as customers apply more rigorous AI evaluations. That makes growth more cyclical at the bookings layer than revenue alone suggests.

Business strengthCash generation is improving, liquidity is adequate, and buybacks are shrinking shares despite convertible debt.

Q2 free cash flow increased to $36.5 million, and first-half operating cash flow reached $91.3 million. June liquidity was $527.8 million of cash and marketable securities versus $675 million of 1% convertible notes due 2029, leaving modest net debt; the older 2026 notes were repaid. Buybacks have reduced the share count and authorization now totals $600 million, yet first-half stock-based compensation—equity awards that can dilute owners—exceeded $50 million, so repurchases partly offset dilution rather than creating pure per-share accretion.

What could change the storyUpside needs durable AI-led growth and margin expansion; downside appears if retention slips or dilution returns.

A bull case assumes revenue holds near 9-10% growth, platform pricing and Verity AI lift retention, and non-GAAP margins continue expanding while free cash flow stays strong; then the current cash-flow valuation looks too low. A bear case assumes net retention falls below 100%, enterprise sales cycles remain extended, and GAAP profitability fails to catch up with adjusted earnings. Aggressive buybacks could also reduce liquidity while convertible notes remain outstanding. Those outcomes would justify a lower multiple despite the depressed valuation.

AI: News

PCI validation broadens workflowsPCI validation broadens BlackLine’s reach into sensitive, high-volume payment-card reconciliation workflows.

On September 1, BlackLine said an independent PCI DSS validation was achieved for its PCI Detokenization Service. The certification lets customers use BlackLine’s high-volume matching and reconciliation in payment-card workflows while cardholder data remains inside the customer’s environment. That could widen the addressable use cases in banking, retail, travel, hospitality and other transaction-heavy industries, though the announcement provided no revenue contribution or bookings target.

Q2 cash flow strengthenedSecond-quarter growth stayed near 9%, while cash flow improved and full-year guidance remained constructive.

On August 4, BlackLine reported Q2 revenue of $187.8 million, up 9.2%, GAAP operating margin of 5.9%, and free cash flow of $36.5 million versus $25.4 million a year earlier. Remaining performance obligations rose 16.8% to $1.1 billion. Management guided full-year revenue to $765-$769 million and non-GAAP operating margin to 24.1%-24.6%, but noted deal timing was noisy and net revenue retention ended at 102%.

Buyback authorization expandedThe board expanded buyback capacity, reinforcing per-share support while using more balance-sheet liquidity.

On July 31, the board added $100 million to the repurchase authorization, bringing total authorized buybacks to $600 million. By August 3, BlackLine had repurchased 7.2 million shares for $327.8 million under the program. The move signals management sees value in the shares and can offset stock-based compensation dilution, but it also commits capital while the company still carries $675 million of convertible debt.

Verity Prepare launchedVerity Prepare launched broadly, giving BlackLine a tangible test of monetizing governed AI automation.

On July 27, BlackLine made Verity Prepare generally available after an early-adopter program. The multi-agent product automates account-reconciliation preparation while retaining audit trails, confidence scoring and human approval. BlackLine said early adopters achieved up to a 92% reduction in manual preparation time. Commercially, the important test is whether usage converts into measurable subscription expansion and higher net retention rather than remaining primarily a product-engagement benefit.

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
Revenue	$700.4M	$653.3M	$590.0M	$522.9M	$425.7M	$351.7M	$289.0M	$227.8M	$175.6M	$128.0M	$83.6M	$51.7M
Gross profit	$527.0M	$491.4M	$443.2M	$393.6M	$327.8M	$282.8M	$230.0M	$176.9M	$134.2M	$97.8M	$60.9M	$35.1M
Gross margin	75.25%	75.21%	75.12%	75.26%	77.01%	80.39%	79.59%	77.67%	76.43%	76.40%	72.81%	67.88%
Research & development	$109.2M	$101.0M	$103.2M	$108.9M	$77.3M	$56.5M	$43.0M	$30.8M	$23.9M	$21.1M	$18.2M	$9.7M
Operating expenses	$501.5M	$472.8M	$428.9M	$449.8M	$366.4M	$302.7M	$257.9M	$206.8M	$164.6M	$121.0M	$95.7M	$53.3M
Operating income	$25.6M	$18.5M	$14.3M	−$56.2M	−$38.6M	−$19.9M	−$27.9M	−$29.8M	−$30.4M	−$23.2M	−$34.8M	−$18.2M
Operating margin	3.65%	2.84%	2.43%	−10.75%	−9.07%	−5.66%	−9.65%	−13.10%	−17.32%	−18.11%	−41.64%	−35.18%
EBITDA	$72.1M	$68.9M	$64.4M	−$13.4M	−$11.5M	$1.0M	−$6.6M	−$7.5M	−$10.4M	−$5.8M	−$20.1M	−$4.7M
EBITDA margin	10.29%	10.54%	10.92%	−2.56%	−2.70%	0.28%	−2.29%	−3.29%	−5.94%	−4.50%	−24.01%	−9.14%
Net income	$24.5M	$161.2M	$52.8M	−$29.4M	−$115.2M	−$46.9M	−$32.5M	−$28.7M	−$33.4M	−$26.3M	−$24.7M	−$16.8M
Net profit margin	3.50%	24.67%	8.95%	−5.62%	−27.05%	−13.34%	−11.26%	−12.61%	−19.02%	−20.57%	−29.58%	−32.42%
Basic EPSper basic share	$0.40	$2.59	$0.87	-$0.49	-$1.97	-$0.83	-$0.59	-$0.53	-$0.64	-$0.62	-$0.61	-$0.42
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$0.39	$1.45	$0.81	-$0.49	-$1.97	-$0.83	-$0.59	-$0.53	-$0.64	-$0.62	-$0.61	-$0.42

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

14.12%of listed shares

BlackRock, Inc.8.24M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of BL
Holder	% owned
BlackRock, Inc.	14.12%8.24M shares
CLEARLAKE CAPITAL GROUP, L.P.	9.79%5.71M shares
Tucker Therese	≈7.68%4.48M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	6.51%3.8M shares
Fivespan Partners, LP	5.76%3.36M shares
FIRST MANHATTAN CO. LLC.	4.12%2.4M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	4.01%2.34M shares
STATE STREET CORP	3.70%2.16M shares
ICONIQ Capital, LLC	3.58%2.09M shares
NEUBERGER BERMAN GROUP LLC	3.09%1.81M shares
WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP INC	2.26%1.32M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	2.20%1.28M shares
HAWK RIDGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP	2.05%1.2M shares
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	2.04%1.19M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	1.94%1.14M shares
NORGES BANK	1.87%1.09M shares
Lynrock Lake LP	1.83%1.07M shares
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC	1.72%1M shares
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/	1.68%980.82K shares
Engaged Capital LLC	1.42%827.62K shares

Percentages use 58.38M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys1$486.0K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)39$15.18M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 5, 2026Form 4	Yamamoto MikaDirector	SellCommon Stock	3.0K	$28.48	$85.4K	16.7K
Jun 1, 2026Form 4	Stalick Michelle DChief Accounting Officer	SellCommon Stock	780	$30.93	$24.1K	36.4K
May 21, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	HUGHES GREGORYDirector	SellCommon Stock	1.6K	$30.25	$49.5K	7.8K
May 18, 2026Form 4	Stalick Michelle DChief Accounting Officer	SellCommon Stock	459	$30.26	$13.9K	38.0K
Oct 27, 2025Form 4 · 10b5-1	Unterman ThomasDirector	SellCommon Stock · indirect	910	$55.00	$50.0K	41.8K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Blackline, Inc. (BL)

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