BlackLine Lowers Full-Year 2026 Revenue Outlook

The Tip Desk · November 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter GAAP revenue was $193.4 million, up 8.5%, as remaining performance obligation reached $1.1 billion.

BlackLine, Inc. (BL) reported third-quarter GAAP revenue of $193.4 million, up 8.5% from a year earlier, a slower year-over-year pace than 9.2% growth in the second quarter and 9.7% growth in the first quarter.

GAAP operating margin expanded to 8.6% from 5.9% in the second quarter and 3.4% in the first quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin was 25.9%. GAAP net income attributable to BlackLine was $10.6 million, or $0.18 a share. Non-GAAP net income attributable to BlackLine was $44.7 million, or $0.64 a share.

Billings were $170.9 million. Remaining performance obligation was $1.1 billion, up 14.3% from the third quarter of 2025, after 16.8% growth in the second quarter and 17.9% growth in the first quarter.

Chief executive Owen Ryan said the timing of customer decisions had shaped the company’s updated outlook and that strategy and long-term opportunity remained unchanged. He said customers were moving to the platform, making larger and longer commitments, and that the company was planning prudently and continuing to invest in innovation.

Subscription and support revenue was $183.1 million. Professional services revenue was $10.3 million. Gross profit was $146.5 million, or a 75.7% gross margin. Non-GAAP gross margin was 79.7%. Sales and marketing expense was $64.9 million, research and development $30.6 million, and general and administrative $29.3 million. Restructuring costs were $5.0 million.

Operating cash flow was $67.1 million. Free cash flow was $57.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $211.5 million and marketable securities $320.4 million at September 30, 2026.

The company had 4,316 customers at September 30, 2026, versus 4,260 at June 30. Platform pricing annual recurring revenue as a percentage of eligible ARR, which excludes SolEx and public-sector ARR, was 23%. Dollar-based net revenue retention was 103%.

BlackLine acquired NetNow to expand Invoice-to-Cash with intelligent customer onboarding and credit risk management. It also announced a $100 million increase to its stock buyback program. It repurchased about 1.3 million shares for $39.1 million, leaving $240.6 million of buyback capacity at September 30, 2026.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, BlackLine expects total GAAP revenue of $195 million to $197 million, non-GAAP operating margin of 25.8% to 26.9%, and non-GAAP net income attributable to BlackLine of $47 million to $48 million, or $0.67 to $0.68 a share on 72.4 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding. Those ranges sit at or above the third-quarter outlook of $193 million to $195 million of revenue, 24.5% to 25.5% non-GAAP operating margin, and $45 million to $47 million, or $0.62 to $0.65 a share, of non-GAAP net income.

For the full year 2026, the company expects total GAAP revenue of $759.5 million to $761.5 million, non-GAAP operating margin of 24.2% to 24.5%, and non-GAAP net income attributable to BlackLine of $174 million to $175 million, or $2.48 to $2.49 a share on 72.9 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding. That revenue range is below the first-quarter full-year outlook of $765 million to $769 million.

Ryan said the company is giving accounting and finance teams a governed path to AI through Agentic Financial Operations and the Finance Control Console and is confident in BlackLine’s leadership position as adoption builds.