Backblaze(US:BLZE)2025-11-06 14:00Financial 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]