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what it is
BlackLine sells cloud software that helps finance teams close the books faster and make fewer accounting mistakes.
how it gets paid
Last year Blackline made $700M in revenue. account reconciliations was the main engine at $210M, or 30% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 7.2% last year. Gross margin stayed strong at 75.2% to 75.3%.
what just happened
BlackLine's latest quarter showed $183.2M in revenue with solid profitability, but the bigger story is that annual growth is still only 7.2%.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
52.3x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
9.2% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$0.87 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 62/100 — average
What they do
BlackLine sells cloud software that helps finance teams close the books faster and make fewer accounting mistakes.
BlackLine sits inside the monthly close, which is the part where companies turn messy transactions into audited numbers. Plain English: it helps finance teams finish the books without spreadsheet chaos, so ripping it out is painful. More than 4,443 customers and 397,477 users were on the platform at December 31, 2024, and that kind of process lock-in is hard to replace once your close depends on it.
How they make money
$700M
annual revenue · their business grew +7.2% last year
account reconciliations
$210M
transaction matching
$175M
journal entry and task management
$140M
daily reconciliations and variance analysis
$105M
consolidation integrity manager and insights
$70M
The products that matter
automates the financial close
financial close platform
$574M subscription revenue · 82% gross margin
this is the core engine. It drives most of the company's $700.4M revenue base and throws off software-level gross margin.
core recurring revenue
implementation and customer support
professional services
$126M · 18% of revenue
services bring customers onto the platform and keep them there, but this is a support layer, not the main profit story.
onboarding + delivery
Key numbers
52.3x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → what you pay for each dollar of profit. So what: you are paying a premium multiple for a company that grew revenue 7.2%.
$700M
annual revenue
Revenue → total sales → the size of the machine. So what: BlackLine is no tiny startup anymore, which makes 7.2% growth look modest.
10.8%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → what is left before interest and taxes. So what: for software with 75.3% gross margin, this is decent but not elite.
$685M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → fixed obligations that do not care about your growth story. So what: debt equals 24% of capital, which is manageable but leaves less room for mistakes.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $685M (24% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for BL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
BlackLine's latest quarter showed $183.2M in revenue with solid profitability, but the bigger story is that annual growth is still only 7.2%.
Gross margin stayed strong at 75.2% to 75.3%, which is software doing software things. The awkward part is the contrast: great gross economics, but only a 10.8% operating margin and a stock priced at 52.3x trailing earnings.
$183.2M
revenue
$0.63
eps
75.3%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was 75.3% gross margin, because it tells you the product is strong even if the company still has work to do turning that into bigger operating profit.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is an activist-driven strategy reset after years of mid-single-digit growth.
med
activist pressure is not just background noise
Engaged Capital already pushed the story into public view, and the proxy fight was tied to a 17.2% stock drop. That tells you governance can move the stock on its own.
If strategy changes turn into internal distraction, a 7.2% grower can slow fast.
med
the core market already looks mature
BlackLine's three-year revenue growth rate is 6.6%. That is fine for a stable business, but it is not the growth profile investors usually pair with a 52.3x earnings multiple.
If revenue keeps compounding in the high-single digits, valuation compression can do the damage even without an operational miss.
med
buybacks can support EPS, but they cannot create demand
The company repurchased $235M of stock in FY2025. That helps per-share math. It does not solve the underlying question of how fast the business can grow from here.
If the market stops rewarding share count shrinkage and starts focusing on top-line speed, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
med
California concentration is a real continuity risk
Critical operations are concentrated in California, which exposes the business to earthquake and wildfire disruption. For a cloud software provider, uptime and continuity are part of the product.
This is not the most likely risk, but if it hits, the operational and reputational cost could land at the same time.
At 52.3x earnings, BL does not need a disaster to reset lower. It just needs growth to look more like 6.6% than premium software.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
governance
engaged capital follow-through
The March 2026 agreement lowered the temperature. Now you want to see whether it also changes board behavior, capital allocation, or growth targets.
growth
subscription growth versus the 82% margin story
The margin profile says premium software. The 6.6% three-year growth rate says mature market. That tension is the whole stock.
next report
q1 2026 revenue setup
After a $183.2M Q4, the next print matters because you need proof that the business can stay steady without leaning entirely on buybacks.
capital return
whether buybacks stay this aggressive
$235M in annual repurchases is meaningful for a ~$2B company. If that pace slows, investors may pay more attention to the underlying growth rate.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
25 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not view BlackLine's earnings path as especially clean or easy to model.
risk rank
2
That puts BL on the safer side of the market from a balance-sheet perspective. Safer does not mean cheap.
price stability
30 / 100
The stock itself is less stable than the balance sheet. You are buying a business with decent financial footing and a market that can still swing on sentiment.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for BL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$58
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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