Black checkmark with a sparkle and a curved line underneath on a white background.
Company

BLACKBAUD INC

Ticker
BLKB
Sector
Industry
Report date
April 29, 2026
Valye AI Score

100

Very high visibility
Recent developments
Recent developments summary

Recent developments include quarterly earnings reports showing revenue growth and improved operating income, expansion of AI-enabled capabilities, share repurchases, and ongoing investments in innovation and cloud infrastructure.

Recent developments:
  • Blackbaud reported Q1 2026 revenue growth of $11.2 million compared to Q1 2025, driven by increases in contractual recurring and transactional recurring revenue, partially offset by decreased consulting revenue [N2][S2].
  • Income from operations increased by $31.7 million in Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025, reflecting lower acquisition-related costs, increased revenue, and reduced contractor and security incident expenses [N2][S2][S7].
  • The company launched its first agentic AI solution, the fundraising development agent, designed to automate outreach and stewardship activities within existing workflows [S2].
  • More than 20% of renewing customers have elected four-year or longer contracts, with some requesting five-year terms, indicating strong customer engagement [S2].
  • Blackbaud repurchased approximately 1.6 million shares for $82.1 million in Q1 2026, representing about 4.5% of outstanding shares as of December 31, 2025 [S2].
  • Research and development expenses increased by 10% in Q1 2026, driven by higher compensation costs and AI innovation investments [S2].
  • General and administrative expenses decreased by 46.6% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, mainly due to nonrecurring lease release and security incident-related cost reductions [S2].
  • Gross margin improved by 180 basis points in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025 due to revenue growth and cost efficiencies [S2].
Overview

Blackbaud, Inc. provides AI-powered software solutions designed to support social impact organizations such as nonprofits, educational institutions, and companies committed to corporate social responsibility. Its product suite includes fundraising and engagement tools, financial management software, education management systems, grant and award management platforms, and social responsibility solutions. The company integrates AI and data intelligence across its offerings to enhance fundraising performance, data health, and constituent insights. Blackbaud operates globally with a direct sales force and partner network, focusing on cloud-based subscription models and payment processing services. It emphasizes product innovation, AI integration, and customer success to drive long-term growth and retention.

Executive summary

Blackbaud, Inc. is a leading provider of AI-powered software solutions for social impact organizations, including nonprofits, educational institutions, and corporate social responsibility programs. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of integrated cloud-based solutions for fundraising, financial management, education, grantmaking, and social responsibility. Revenue is primarily derived from subscription fees for cloud and hosted software and payment transaction services. Customer contracts typically have multi-year terms with high renewal rates, supporting revenue visibility. Recent financial results show revenue growth driven by contractual and transactional recurring revenue, improved gross margins, and increased operating income. The company continues to invest in AI innovation, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure while managing costs and executing share repurchases. Financial figures (if any) are summarized from the latest available SEC filings and are provided for informational purposes only — not financial advice.

Scenarios for BLKB

Bull case model:

Blackbaud's extensive AI integration across its product portfolio enhances customer outcomes and operational efficiency, positioning it as a leader in intelligent mission-driven software for social impact. The company's multi-cloud architecture and developer tools enable rapid innovation and extensibility. Strong customer retention, increasing contract lengths, and growth in recurring revenue streams support business stability. Continued investments in AI innovation, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure may improve product offerings and operational leverage. The company's share repurchase program reflects confidence in capital allocation and shareholder returns.

Bear case model:

The market for social impact software is competitive and fragmented, with low entry barriers for basic solutions and increasing competition from general business software vendors and niche providers. Changes in contract renewal cohorts and churn could impact revenue growth patterns. The company's current leverage and liquidity ratios indicate moderate financial flexibility but may pose risks if operating performance weakens. Investments in AI and innovation require ongoing capital and may not yield proportional returns. Regulatory changes, cybersecurity risks, and evolving customer needs could challenge execution and market position.

Moat:

Blackbaud's competitive moat is built on its proprietary data, comprehensive and integrated AI-driven product suite tailored specifically for social impact organizations, and deep domain expertise. Its early adoption and embedding of AI and agentic automation capabilities, combined with decades of sector credibility and a large loyal customer base, create high barriers to entry. The company's open platform and extensive partner ecosystem further reduce disruption risk from niche or vertical competitors. Its multi-year contractual customer relationships and high gross dollar retention rate contribute to revenue stability and visibility.

Risks overview
Risks summary
Competitive dynamics, customer renewal variability, and technology execution risks are key challenges, alongside financial leverage and regulatory uncertainties.
Risks details:

• Competitive Pressure: The market is highly fragmented with competitors ranging from niche providers to large general business software vendors, which may impact Blackbaud's market share and pricing power.
• Customer Renewal and Churn: Variations in contract renewal cohorts and churn rates could affect revenue visibility and growth, especially given the concentration of renewals in certain years.
• Technology and Innovation Risks: Ongoing investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity require effective execution; failure to innovate or security breaches could harm customer trust and competitive position.
• Financial Leverage and Liquidity: The company carries significant debt with a net leverage ratio of 2.67x as of March 31, 2026, which may constrain financial flexibility under adverse conditions.
• Regulatory and Tax Changes: Changes in tax laws such as the OBBBA and evolving state conformity may impact cash taxes and financial results.

FINAL FORECAST FOR BLKB

Final take one line
Blackbaud demonstrates strong business model clarity with integrated AI-driven solutions, stable customer contracts, and ongoing innovation investments amid competitive and execution risks.
Final take 12 to 24 month view

Business trends: Continued integration of AI across product portfolio, growth in recurring revenue streams, and expansion of multi-year customer contracts.
Execution milestones: Launch and commercialization of agentic AI solutions, sustained product innovation, and execution of share repurchase program.
Key risks: Competitive market fragmentation, variability in contract renewals and churn, technology execution challenges, financial leverage, and regulatory changes.

Valye AI Visibility Research Score

Very high visibility

Visibility score reflects the breadth and consistency of available disclosure across SEC filings, recent public reporting, and baseline business context (research-only; not investment advice).

100
LLM visibility overview
LLM Visibility known facts
  • Blackbaud is a leading provider of AI-powered software solutions for social impact organizations including nonprofits, educational institutions, and companies focused on corporate social responsibility [S1][S2].
  • The company offers a broad portfolio of integrated cloud-based solutions including fundraising and engagement (e.g., Raiser's Edge NXT, Enterprise Fundraising CRM, Luminate Online, TeamRaiser, JustGiving), financial management (Financial Edge NXT, Tuition Management, Billing Management), grant and award management (Grantmaking, Award Management), education solutions (Student Information System, Learning Management System, Enrollment Management System), and social responsibility platforms (YourCause GrantsConnect, CSRconnect, Impact Edge) [S1].
  • Blackbaud integrates AI and data intelligence across its product portfolio under its Intelligence for Good® strategy, providing predictive insights, data health, fundraising performance analytics, and agentic AI solutions such as the fundraising development agent that automates outreach and stewardship tasks [S1][S2].
  • The company supports customers in over 100 countries with operations in the US, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, and the UK [S1].
  • Revenue is primarily generated from subscription fees for cloud and hosted software solutions and from payment and transaction services [S1][S2].
  • Contractual recurring revenue includes subscription fees for cloud solutions, online training, and maintenance for on-premises software; transactional recurring revenue includes fees from donation processing, tuition management, and event-based usage; one-time services include consulting and training [S1][S2].
  • Customer contracts are typically three years with standard three-year renewals; over 20% of renewing customers have elected four-year or longer contracts, with some requesting five-year terms, enhancing revenue visibility [S1][S2][S17].
  • Gross dollar retention was approximately 92% for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026, consistent with prior periods, reflecting stable customer renewal and expansion [S2].
  • The company has a direct sales force of approximately 170 employees supported by sales development representatives, customer success teams, and a partner program; marketing includes multi-channel campaigns and an annual user conference (bbcon®) [S1].
  • Blackbaud invests in product innovation, AI integration, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure migration to leading public cloud providers (AWS, Azure) [S1][S2][S13].
  • The company uses a multi-cloud architecture with single and multi-tenant solutions and provides developer tools such as SKY API and SKY UX for extensibility [S6].
  • Blackbaud's customer success and support organizations focus on onboarding, lifecycle engagement, and providing AI-based self-help resources [S1].
  • Professional and managed services include implementation, optimization, data conversion, customization, and consulting services to support customers' use of Blackbaud solutions [S1].
  • The company reported revenue of $242.6 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (historical data) and net income of $31.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 [S2].
  • As of March 31, 2026, Blackbaud had cash and cash equivalents of $34.1 million, current assets of $642.2 million, current liabilities of $866.7 million, a current ratio of 0.74, and a cash ratio of 0.04 [S2].
  • Revenue increased by $11.2 million (4.2%) in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, driven by increases in contractual recurring revenue ($6.8 million) and transactional recurring revenue ($6.3 million), partially offset by a decrease in one-time consulting revenue ($2.0 million) [S2].
  • Income from operations increased by $31.7 million in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, due to decreased acquisition and disposition-related costs, increased revenue, decreased third-party contractor costs, and decreased security incident-related expenses, partially offset by increased third-party software costs and stock-based compensation [S2][S7].
  • The company repurchased approximately 1.6 million shares for $82.1 million during Q1 2026, representing about 4.5% of outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2025, with $878.5 million remaining authorized for repurchase [S2].
  • Blackbaud continues to simplify and rationalize its portfolio through product sunsets and divestitures of non-core businesses and technologies [S2][S13].
  • The company faces competition from niche products, vertical-specific solutions, general business software vendors, and traditional fundraising service providers, but believes its integrated AI-driven solutions, proprietary data, and domain-specific workflows provide a durable competitive moat [S1][S3][S6].
  • Blackbaud's AI initiatives include agentic AI solutions that operate under defined governance and user controls, leveraging customer-permissioned data [S2].
  • The company applies AI internally to improve efficiency in engineering, marketing, customer success, and back-office functions [S2].
  • Blackbaud's gross margin improved by 180 basis points in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, due to revenue growth and cost of revenue reductions [S2][S22].
  • Research and development expenses increased by 10% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, driven by increased compensation costs and investment in AI innovation [S2][S8].
  • General and administrative expenses decreased by 46.6% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, primarily due to decreased acquisition and disposition-related costs and security incident-related expenses [S2][S9].
  • Interest expense decreased in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025 due to a lower effective interest rate on relatively flat average daily borrowings [S2].
Sources
Sources - Context summary

Generated 2026-04-29

Sources - Earning calls
Sources - Other context
Sources - SEC Filings
  • S1 | 2026-02-18 | 10-K
  • S2 | 2026-04-29 | 10-Q
Sources - News headlines
  • N1 | 2026-04-29 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q1-2026-earnings-transcript
  • N2 | 2026-04-29 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q1-earnings-and-revenues-surpass-estimates
  • N3 | 2026-04-22 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q4 2024 Earnings Transcript | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q4-2024-earnings-transcript
  • N4 | 2026-04-21 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q2 2025 Earnings Transcript | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q2-2025-earnings-transcript
  • N5 | 2026-04-21 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q3 2025 Earnings Transcript | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q3-2025-earnings-transcript
  • N6 | 2026-04-21 | www.nasdaq.com | Blackbaud (BLKB) Q4 2025 Earnings Transcript | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/blackbaud-blkb-q4-2025-earnings-transcript
  • N7 | 2026-04-08 | www.nasdaq.com | NetApp & Nutanix Partner to Advance Hybrid Cloud & Virtualization | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/netapp-nutanix-partner-advance-hybrid-cloud-virtualization
  • N8 | 2026-04-08 | www.nasdaq.com | XCOM RAN by GSAT Powers Next-Gen of AI-led Industrial Connectivity | https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/xcom-ran-gsat-powers-next-gen-ai-led-industrial-connectivity
Important legal disclaimer

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal or tax advice, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. The Valye AI Score is a model-based estimate derived from public information and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information herein. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Blue logo with a stylized checkmark and star above the blue text 'VALYE' on a black background.

Generated by Valye SEC Pipeline Engine