BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The technology company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $183.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.98 million. BlackLine had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 11.07%.The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. BlackLine updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.440-0.460 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 2.370-2.480 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from BlackLine’s conference call:

• Strong bookings and contract visibility — BlackLine posted its strongest booking quarter and year with full?year bookings growth of 22%, and RPO grew 23% to $1.1B, with nearly three?quarters of Q4 bookings from existing customers, signaling longer multi?year commitments.
• Platform and AI momentum — Platform pricing adoption accelerated (platform ARR at 11% of eligible ARR vs. 4% in Q3), nearly 20% of customers use AI features, and the company is rolling out Verity agents (Prepare early access, Collect in Q2, Accruals live) to drive bigger deals and future consumption revenue.
• Solid financials and shareholder actions — Q4 revenue was $183M (+8%) with ARR of $702M (~+10%), a 25% non?GAAP operating margin, $235M of 2025 buybacks, and plans to retire 2026 notes using cash to reduce share count.
• Retention pressure from lower mid?market shift — The company said Q4 was the peak of churn tied to its strategic move upmarket; overall revenue renewal rate was 92% (enterprise cohort higher), and management expects retention to improve through 2026.
• Partner and SAP ecosystem driving large deals — Every 2025 deal over $500k involved a partner, SolEx/SAP joint pipeline produced major wins and Studio 360 received full SAP qualification, supporting global expansion initiatives (including KSA).

BlackLine Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of BL opened at $44.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.94, a P/E/G ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.67. BlackLine has a one year low of $40.82 and a one year high of $64.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackLine

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of BlackLine by 720.9% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 191,695 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,179,000 after buying an additional 168,344 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of BlackLine by 112.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 209,711 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,874,000 after purchasing an additional 111,205 shares in the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackLine in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,511,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in BlackLine by 36.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 235,263 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,321,000 after acquiring an additional 63,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,920,000. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key BlackLine News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackLine this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record bookings, revenue growth and margin expansion: Q4 revenue rose ~8.1% to $183.2M, full?year revenue was $700.4M, non?GAAP operating margin widened to 24.7% (vs. 18.1% a year ago), and non?GAAP EPS beat expectations. These signal improving unit economics and demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 growth target and product momentum: management is guiding ~9–9.6% revenue growth for FY2026 and highlighted platform adoption (Studio360, Verity AI) and the WiseLayer acquisition as drivers for continued ARR expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic wins and cloud/government credentials: expansion into Saudi Arabia, FedRAMP listing and the WiseLayer AI acquisition bolster TAM and GovCloud opportunities. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Top-line roughly in line with estimates: Q4 revenue was essentially in line with Street expectations, so the quarter itself is not a clear surprise. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction mixed: some sell?side firms note improving fundamentals but say much of that is priced in (William Blair maintained a Hold). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Weak near?term EPS guide: Q1 2026 non?GAAP EPS guidance ($0.44–$0.46) is well below consensus (~$0.55), a primary driver of the intraday decline as it implies slower early?year revenue/realization. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Activist investor / governance risk: Engaged Capital launched a proxy campaign targeting the board, increasing near?term uncertainty and downside pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability and cash flow deterioration: GAAP net income and operating/free cash flow declined materially YoY, which raises questions about cash generation despite non?GAAP improvements. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of BlackLine from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $64.00) on shares of BlackLine in a report on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BlackLine in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of BlackLine from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackLine in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackLine has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.83.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions designed to automate and modernize the finance and accounting function. The company’s flagship offering, the BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform, enables organizations to streamline critical processes such as account reconciliations, journal entry management, intercompany accounting, and transaction matching. By delivering a centralized, real-time view of financial data, BlackLine helps companies improve operational efficiency, enhance compliance and strengthen internal controls.

Key products and services within the BlackLine platform include Account Reconciliation, Task Management, Transaction Matching, Journal Entry, and Intercompany Hub.