Group 1 - Backblaze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLZE) is recognized as a small-cap tech stock with a focus on cloud storage solutions, particularly B2 object storage and Computer Backup [1][3] - On November 6, 2025, Needham maintained a Buy rating on Backblaze but reduced its 12-month price target to $8, with no additional commentary provided [1][2] - In Q3 2025, Backblaze reported a 28% increase in B2 Cloud Storage revenue, reaching $20.7 million, while Computer Backup revenue remained flat [2] Group 2 - The company's gross margin improved to 62% from 55%, and adjusted EBITDA margin approached 23%, indicating operational efficiency [2] - Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increased by 13% to $147.2 million, driven by B2 revenue of $81.8 million [2] - A cautionary note was raised as Net Revenue Retention (NRR) decreased to 106% from 118%, suggesting a slowdown in upselling compared to the previous year [2]

Core Insights - Backblaze released its Q3 2025 Drive Stats report, analyzing the performance and reliability of over 328,000 hard drives, highlighting a quarterly failure rate increase from 1.36% in Q2 to 1.55% in Q3, with an annualized failure rate (AFR) of 1.57% for 2024 [2][3] Drive Performance and Reliability - Four hard drive models achieved zero failures this quarter: Seagate HMS5C4040BLE640 (4TB), Seagate ST8000NM000A (8TB), Toshiba MG09ACA16TE (16TB), and Toshiba MG11ACA24TE (24TB) [2] - High-capacity drives (20TB+) increased by nearly 8,000 units, now representing 21% of the active drive pool, while the lifetime AFR remained steady at 1.31% [3] Failure Analysis Methodology - Backblaze employs SMART monitoring, drive monitoring tools, and automated data enrichment to differentiate between true mechanical failures and temporary removals, classifying a drive as failed if it does not re-enter the active population by the end of the quarter [4] - The outlier Toshiba MG08ACA16TE (16TB) recorded a high AFR of 16.95%, attributed to ongoing upgrades requiring temporary drive removals rather than mechanical issues, with expectations for normalization in future reports [5] Data Transparency and Community Engagement - Backblaze has built one of the largest collections of drive reliability data over more than ten years, inviting global IT and data science communities to analyze and learn from its openly available reliability metrics [2][6]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Company revenue grew 14% year over year, reaching $37.2 million, exceeding the high end of guidance of $37.1 million [13] - Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 23%, almost double the 12% from a year ago [18] - GAAP net loss improved to $3.8 million, a 70% improvement from a loss of $12.8 million in the prior year [17] - Adjusted free cash flow was negative $3.5 million, improving by roughly $500,000 year over year [18] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - B2 Cloud Storage revenue grew 28% year over year, compared to organic growth of 19% in the same period last year [13] - Computer Backup revenue was flat year over year, reflecting the final rolloff of the price increase implemented in 2023 [14] - Net revenue retention (NRR) for B2 improved to 116% in Q3 from 109% in Q2 [15] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company is seeing diversification within B2 across core use cases, including live application hot storage, backup, media, and AI-related workloads [14] - Industry-wide demand for data storage is expected to grow rapidly, positioning the company well to support expanding needs [14] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is launching phase two of its go-to-market transformation to accelerate sales velocity and improve efficiency [12] - Focus on moving upmarket with larger deals while also increasing the core base of smaller deals for consistency [26] - The company aims to achieve a rule of 40 profile, with a current score of 9 expected to triple by Q4 [20] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledges variability in data usage from large AI customers, impacting growth expectations [26][30] - The company remains confident in its ability to deliver consistent, durable growth over time despite not reaching the 30% B2 growth goal [20] - Management emphasizes the importance of AI workloads and the company's positioning to support these transformative needs [72] Other Important Information - The company ended the quarter with $50 million in cash and marketable securities, largely unchanged from the previous quarter [18] - A modest share repurchase program was initiated, with $1.2 million of shares repurchased in Q3 [19] Q&A Session Summary Question: Sales evolution in phase two - Management discussed the focus on driving execution velocity and moving upmarket while supporting larger deals [25] Question: B2 growth expectations - Management noted that variability from a large AI customer and longer execution times for larger deals impacted growth expectations [26] Question: Data variability from customers - Management explained that AI use cases are evolving rapidly, leading to fluctuations in data storage needs [30] Question: Long-term growth expectations for B2 and CBU - Management indicated that B2 is on track for mid-20s growth in 2025, while Computer Backup is expected to contract in low to mid-single digits [35] Question: Phase two initiative investments - Management clarified that sales and marketing expenses should remain stable as a percentage of revenue, with restructuring costs being one-time charges [52] Question: Larger deals in the pipeline - Management noted that larger deals are more complex and can take longer to close due to various internal factors [57] Question: Improvements in self-serve motion - Management highlighted efforts to enhance the self-serve experience for data-heavy AI use cases [59] Question: Powered By white-label solution - Management expressed excitement about the Powered By initiative and its potential in the Neo Cloud market [67] Question: Uptick in AI video companies - Management confirmed an increase in customers from the AI video sector, reflecting the growing data needs associated with video generation [72]

Financial Performance - B2 Cloud Storage revenue grew by 29% year-over-year in Q2 2025[11, 19, 33], accelerating from 23% growth in Q1 2025[11] - Total company revenue reached $36.3 million in Q2 2025, representing a 16% year-over-year increase[42] - The company's adjusted EBITDA margin doubled year-over-year[33, 61], reaching 18% in 1H 2025[44] - The company is targeting 30%+ B2 growth in Q4 2025[34, 35, 40] Customer Growth and Value - The number of customers with ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) above $50,000 increased by 30% year-over-year[19, 20] - AI customers' data stored grew by 40x year-over-year[28] - The AI customer count increased by 70% year-over-year[28] - 3 of the top 10 customers are AI companies[28] Financial Strategy - The company secured a new $20 million line of credit[32, 33] - A stock buyback program of up to $10 million was approved[32, 33, 49, 50] - The company aims to reduce equity dilution by 15% to 25%[34]

Industry Overview - The Internet Software industry is expected to report modest-to-solid revenue growth for Q3 2025, driven by technological innovations in AI, cloud computing, and automation [1][4][10] - Steady demand for AI-powered software solutions, sustained cloud migration, and expanding enterprise IT budgets are anticipated to support this growth [2][3] Key Players and Performance Expectations - Leading companies such as Backblaze (BLZE), Datadog, Inc. (DDOG), JFrog (FROG), Affirm Holdings (AFRM), and Block (XYZ) are expected to benefit from increased adoption and subscription renewals [2][10] - Backblaze's revenues are projected at $36.95 million, reflecting a 13.37% year-over-year increase, driven by strong demand in its B2 Cloud Storage business [9] - Datadog's revenues are estimated at $849.77 million, indicating a 23.15% year-over-year growth, supported by strong momentum in its security and AI-focused offerings [14] - JFrog's revenues are expected to be between $127 million and $129 million, with a year-over-year increase of 17.73% anticipated [17] - Affirm Holdings is projected to report revenues of $885.01 million, representing a 26.7% year-over-year rise [19] - Block's revenues are estimated at $6.34 billion, indicating a 6.12% year-over-year increase [22] Growth Catalysts - AI and generative AI are major growth catalysts, enhancing productivity and customer engagement across various sectors [3] - The expansion of cloud and edge computing capabilities, along with increased data-center investments, is expected to further support revenue growth [3] Challenges - The industry's performance may be affected by macroeconomic factors such as high interest rates and market volatility, which could dampen investor sentiment [4][10] - Companies with strong AI features, solid cloud platforms, and flexible SaaS models are likely to outperform their peers despite these challenges [4]

Core Insights - BackBlaze (BLZE) is expected to report third-quarter 2025 results on November 6, with revenues estimated at $36.95 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 13.37% [1] - The consensus estimate for loss is projected at one cent per share, indicating a 90% improvement from the previous year's loss of ten cents [1] - The company has shown a strong earnings surprise history, with an average positive surprise of 51.02% over the last four quarters [2] Revenue Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2025 B2 Cloud Storage revenues is $20.9 million, representing a growth of 29.17% year over year [9] - The estimate for Computer Backup revenues is $16.05 million, indicating a decline of 2.2% from the previous year [9] Operational Momentum - Backblaze has entered the third quarter with solid operational momentum, particularly in its B2 Cloud Storage business, which saw a 29% year-over-year revenue increase [4] - The company aims for third-quarter revenue between $36.7 million and $37.1 million, with adjusted EBITDA margins of 17-19% [4] Growth Drivers - The company's sales pipeline has doubled year over year, contributing to growth [5] - Backblaze added its first six-figure B2 Overdrive customer, indicating strong product fit for high-throughput AI workloads [5][6] Competitive Landscape - Challenges persist in the Computer Backup segment, which has been experiencing low-to-mid single-digit declines [8] - Competition from established players like Dropbox, Datadog, and Snowflake has intensified, impacting market share [8] Stock Performance - Backblaze has seen a 72.9% surge year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Internet-Software industry and the Computer and Technology sector [10] - The stock is currently trading at 3.58X forward 12-month price-to-sales, below the industry average of 5.34X, indicating attractive valuation [13] Investment Considerations - The company is positioned for growth in its B2 Cloud Storage business and AI workloads, supported by new enterprise security features [15] - However, the stock's sharp year-to-date rally may have priced in much of the optimism, and competition could temper near-term gains [15][16]

Core Insights - The explosive growth of enterprise data presents significant opportunities for cloud infrastructure providers, specifically Backblaze (BLZE) and Snowflake (SNOW), which cater to different segments of the market [1][2] Market Overview - The global cloud analytics market was valued at $35.39 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $130.63 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 25.5%, benefiting both BLZE and SNOW as organizations modernize their data architecture [2] Backblaze (BLZE) Analysis - Backblaze has transitioned from a consumer backup provider to an enterprise-focused cloud storage company, with its B2 Cloud Storage business targeting developers and mid-sized enterprises [3] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLZE's Q3 2025 revenues is $36.9 million, indicating a 17% year-over-year growth, while the loss per share is expected to improve by 90% year-over-year [4] - Backblaze faces competitive pressure from major players like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, while balancing its legacy Computer Backup business with its growing enterprise cloud segment [5] Snowflake (SNOW) Analysis - Snowflake has become integral to enterprise data strategy, enabling organizations to analyze large datasets through its AI-native cloud platform [6] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Snowflake's Q3 2025 revenues is $1.18 billion, reflecting a 25.39% year-over-year growth, with EPS projected to increase by 55% year-over-year [8] - Snowflake's AI-driven innovations, such as Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex AI, enhance customer engagement and platform adoption [7] Performance Comparison - Year-to-date, BLZE shares have risen 78% due to optimism around its cloud storage turnaround, while SNOW shares have increased 73% supported by consistent revenue growth and AI integration [9][12] - Snowflake's forward price-to-sales ratio is 16.89x, significantly higher than Backblaze's 3.7x, indicating stronger investor confidence in Snowflake's scale and profitability [10] Conclusion - Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from the growing demand for cloud data infrastructure and AI analytics, but Snowflake's scale, profitability, and consistent execution provide a competitive advantage over Backblaze [15]

Core Insights - Backblaze (BLZE) is experiencing growth driven by increasing demand for artificial intelligence and data-heavy workloads, necessitating scalable and cost-efficient storage solutions [1][3] - The B2 Cloud Storage platform is pivotal to this growth, with a significant rise in data stored by AI customers and an increase in AI-focused clients [2][7] - Backblaze's competitive positioning is challenged by companies like Dropbox and Datadog, which are enhancing their AI-enabled cloud infrastructure offerings [4] Company Performance - In Q2 2025, data stored by AI customers increased 40 times year over year, and the number of AI-focused clients grew by 70% [2] - Backblaze anticipates Q3 2025 revenues between $36.7 million and $37.1 million, reflecting approximately 29% year-over-year growth [2] - Year-to-date, Backblaze shares have risen by 51.7%, outperforming the Zacks Internet-Software industry and the Computer and Technology sector [5] Valuation Metrics - Backblaze's forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio stands at 3.16, which is lower than the industry average of 5.45 [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Q3 2025 indicates a loss of one cent per share, representing a 90% improvement year over year [11]

Core Insights - Backblaze (BLZE) has seen a significant year-to-date (YTD) increase of 56.8%, outperforming the Zacks Internet-Software industry and Zacks Computer and Technology sector, which returned 16.7% and 19.6% respectively [1] - The company is capitalizing on the AI revolution and executing its growth strategy effectively, leading to a critical decision for investors regarding holding positions or seeking better entry points [1] B2 Cloud Storage Growth - Backblaze's B2 Cloud Storage business is the main driver of its expansion, benefiting from increased enterprise adoption and demand for scalable, cost-efficient infrastructure for AI, media, and cybersecurity workloads [4][6] - The company anticipates B2 Cloud Storage revenue growth of 28% to 30% for Q3 2025, with a Zacks Consensus Estimate of $20.88 million, indicating a 29% year-over-year increase [5][8] - The focus on enterprise scale, predictable pricing, and AI-aligned product innovation strengthens B2 Cloud Storage as a durable and profitable growth engine [6] AI and Cybersecurity Integration - Backblaze is enhancing its market position by integrating AI and cybersecurity features into its cloud storage platform, capitalizing on the rising demand for scalable and secure infrastructure [7][9] - AI-related customers are increasingly contributing to enterprise revenues, diversifying growth and improving visibility across data-intensive use cases [9] - New cybersecurity features such as Anomaly Alerts and Enterprise Web Console enhance threat detection and compliance capabilities for enterprises [9] Competitive Landscape - Backblaze faces competition from Dropbox, Datadog, and Amazon, which are targeting overlapping enterprise workloads and expanding their service offerings [12] - Despite its transparent pricing and open-cloud design, competition from larger rivals may limit near-term market share gains [13] Valuation and Market Position - Backblaze's forward price-to-sales ratio stands at 3.27X, compared to 3.12X for Dropbox and 3.06X for Amazon, indicating a relatively high valuation [14] - The company holds a Zacks Value Score of F, suggesting that the stock may be overvalued following its substantial rally [14] - Continued growth in B2 Cloud Storage and strong demand for AI-related services could justify the current valuation, but investors may prefer to hold existing positions while waiting for more attractive entry points [14][16]

Core Insights - Backblaze's strategic shift towards cybersecurity innovations positions the company for sustained growth, capitalizing on the increasing demand for data protection and artificial intelligence solutions [1][4] - The company has reported a 16% year-over-year revenue increase in Q2 2025, with B2 Cloud Storage revenue rising by 29%, and expects Q3 revenue to be between $36.7 million and $37.1 million, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 28-30% [3][4] Company Developments - Backblaze is enhancing its enterprise security architecture with tools like AI-powered Anomaly Alerts and the Enterprise Web Console, which improve threat detection and data visibility [2][8] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Q3 2025 B2 Cloud Storage revenues is projected at $20.88 million, indicating a 29.05% year-over-year increase, showcasing confidence in the company's growth trajectory [4][8] Competitive Landscape - Backblaze faces competition from Dropbox and Datadog, both of which are intensifying their focus on cybersecurity innovations, integrating AI-based analytics for enhanced data visibility [5] - The competitive environment is becoming increasingly challenging as these companies enhance their threat detection and security monitoring capabilities [5] Financial Performance - Backblaze's shares have increased by 66% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Internet-Software industry and the Computer and Technology sector, which returned 19.7% and 24.4% respectively [6] - The company is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 3.47X, which is lower than the industry's 5.57X, indicating a potentially favorable valuation [10] Earnings Outlook - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Backblaze's Q3 2025 loss is projected at a penny per share, reflecting a 90% improvement year-over-year [12]