Backblaze Reports Strong Q1 2026 Earnings with AI Growth
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy BLZE?
Source: seekingalpha
Backblaze Inc. shares surged by 54.96% in pre-market trading, reaching a 20-day high, following the announcement of their Q1 2026 earnings report.
The company reported a revenue of $38.7 million for Q1 2026, exceeding guidance and reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase. Additionally, Backblaze noted a significant 76% increase in AI customers, with a third of new bookings coming from the AI sector. Management also raised the full-year revenue guidance to between $161.5 million and $163.5 million, indicating strong market demand and growth potential.
This strong performance highlights Backblaze's effective strategy in leveraging AI demand and positions the company favorably in the competitive cloud storage market.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy BLZE?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on BLZE
Wall Street analysts forecast BLZE stock price to rise
6 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 7.400
Low
8.00
Averages
9.50
High
11.00
Current: 7.400
Low
8.00
Averages
9.50
High
11.00
About BLZE
Backblaze, Inc. is a cloud storage company. The Company's two cloud services that it offers on its Storage Cloud are: Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage and Backblaze Computer Backup. Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage enables customers to store data, developers to build applications, and partners to expand their use cases. The amount of data stored in this cloud service can scale up and down as needed on a pay-as-you-go basis, or can be paid for on a capacity basis or committed contract for greater predictability. This Infrastructure-as-a-Service enables use cases including backups, multi-cloud, application storage, ransomware protection, and storage for artificial intelligence/machine learning workflows. Backblaze Computer Backup automatically backs up data from laptops and desktops for businesses and individuals. This service is offered as a subscription-based Software-as-a-Service and serves use cases including computer backup, ransomware protection, theft and loss protection, and remote access.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Backblaze Reports Impressive Q1 2026 Earnings Surge
- Earnings Beat: Backblaze reported adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share for Q1 2026, a significant improvement from a loss of $0.03 per share a year ago, with sales reaching $38.7 million, exceeding Wall Street's expectations of $37.8 million, indicating strong performance in the cloud storage market.
- AI Demand Driving Growth: Management highlighted that robust demand from AI customers was the primary driver of growth, as the shift of AI models from text to multimodal formats significantly increases data volume requirements, positioning Backblaze's high-speed cloud storage as a key solution to meet this demand.
- Stock Price Volatility: Despite a 63.58% surge in stock price on Thursday, reaching $7.59, it has not returned to the previous high of $9.66 from November, reflecting market caution regarding the company's future performance, especially after a significant drop following the Q3 2025 report.
- Cautious Market Outlook: While the earnings report is encouraging, analysts remain skeptical about the company's premium pricing strategy, and insider selling since fall 2023 raises concerns; investors should approach future financial updates with caution to avoid speculative decisions.
See More
Backblaze Sees Significant Growth in AI Customers
- Contract Wins: Backblaze secured multiple contracts with an AI training data firm and a generative AI video creation company, contributing approximately $1.5 million in annual contract value, indicating a growing market appeal in the AI sector.
- Earnings Beat Expectations: The company reported Q1 earnings per share of $0.04 on revenue of $38.7 million, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of nil earnings and $37.8 million in revenue, leading to a 68% surge in stock price at opening, reflecting strong market confidence in its performance.
- Significant Customer Growth: Backblaze achieved a 24% year-on-year increase in its B2 Cloud storage segment, with annual recurring revenue from large customers growing by 72%, and the number of customers generating over $50,000 in ARR soaring by 51% year-over-year, showcasing robust performance in the cloud storage market.
- Analysts' Bullish Outlook: Analysts at Lake Street and Needham raised their price targets for Backblaze to $11 and $8.5 respectively, maintaining a 'Buy' rating, primarily due to the upward revision of the 2026 revenue forecast, suggesting a return to double-digit revenue growth in the future.
See More
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator Rises Significantly
- Market Indicator Surge: The NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator rises by 205.3 points to 27,857.12, indicating a positive shift in market sentiment that may attract more investor interest in tech stocks.
- Active Stock Performance: GraniteShares 2x Long COIN Daily ETF (CONL) increases by 0.7 to $9.72 with a trading volume of 5,185,460 shares, representing a 93.63% rise from its 52-week low, reflecting sustained investor interest in cryptocurrencies.
- Intel Earnings Forecast Revisions: Intel Corporation (INTC) sees its stock price rise by 3.73 to $99.51 with 4,203,982 shares traded, as it has had 10 upward revisions in earnings forecasts over the past four weeks, showcasing market confidence in its future financial performance.
- Circle Internet Earnings Report Preview: Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) shares rise by 5.55 to $125.08 with a trading volume of 2,278,329 shares, scheduled to report earnings on May 11, 2026, with a consensus EPS forecast indicating a staggering 99,900% increase, highlighting strong growth potential.
See More
Backblaze Reports Strong Q1 2026 Earnings with AI Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Backblaze reported $38.7 million in revenue for Q1 2026, representing a 12% year-over-year increase and exceeding the guidance of $38 million, indicating strong market performance and growth potential.
- Surge in AI Customers: The company noted a 76% year-over-year increase in AI customers, with over one-third of new bookings coming from the AI sector, demonstrating Backblaze's effective leverage of AI demand to drive business growth.
- Upward Guidance Revision: Management raised the full-year revenue guidance to $161.5 million to $163.5 million, reflecting optimistic expectations for future market demand, while projecting a 20% growth in B2 for Q2, showcasing robust market momentum.
- Strategic Personnel Appointment: To accelerate growth, Backblaze appointed Anuj Kumar as Chief Revenue Officer, aiming to enhance market expansion and sales efficiency, thereby strengthening its competitive position in the rapidly evolving cloud storage market.
See More
Backblaze Q1 Earnings Exceed Expectations
- Earnings Beat: Backblaze reported a Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $0.04, beating expectations by $0.04, indicating solid profitability despite slowing growth.
- Revenue Growth: The company achieved Q1 revenue of $38.7 million, an 11.8% year-over-year increase, surpassing market expectations by $0.9 million, reflecting sustained demand in the cloud storage market.
- Strong Cash Reserves: As of March 31, 2026, Backblaze's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $45.5 million, providing ample funding for future investments and operations.
- Upgraded 2026 Outlook: The company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to between $161.5 million and $163.5 million, with adjusted EBITDA margins increased to 23% to 25%, demonstrating management's confidence in future growth.
See More
Backblaze Recognized in CRN Storage 100 List
- Industry Recognition: Backblaze has been included in CRN's 2026 Storage 100 list in the Data Recovery/Observability/Resiliency category, highlighting its innovative capabilities and market impact in the high-performance cloud storage sector.
- Technical Advantage: The platform's S3-compatible design allows enterprises to distribute storage across multiple providers, mitigating the concentration risk associated with a single hyperscaler, thereby enhancing the reliability of data-intensive workloads.
- Partner Support: Through the 'Powered by Backblaze' program, Backblaze provides partners with performance and economics that enable them to deliver competitive and reliable storage solutions to customers, reducing the complexity of building storage solutions themselves.
- Market Demand: As the scale of AI infrastructure and media operations continues to grow, the demand for storage solutions is increasing, with Backblaze's flexible platform providing a solid foundation for MSPs and AI infrastructure companies, driving business growth.
See More
Backblaze Reports Impressive Q1 2026 Earnings Surge
- Earnings Beat: Backblaze reported adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share for Q1 2026, a significant improvement from a loss of $0.03 per share a year ago, with sales reaching $38.7 million, exceeding Wall Street's expectations of $37.8 million, indicating strong performance in the cloud storage market.
- AI Demand Driving Growth: Management highlighted that robust demand from AI customers was the primary driver of growth, as the shift of AI models from text to multimodal formats significantly increases data volume requirements, positioning Backblaze's high-speed cloud storage as a key solution to meet this demand.
- Stock Price Volatility: Despite a 63.58% surge in stock price on Thursday, reaching $7.59, it has not returned to the previous high of $9.66 from November, reflecting market caution regarding the company's future performance, especially after a significant drop following the Q3 2025 report.
- Cautious Market Outlook: While the earnings report is encouraging, analysts remain skeptical about the company's premium pricing strategy, and insider selling since fall 2023 raises concerns; investors should approach future financial updates with caution to avoid speculative decisions.
See More
Backblaze Sees Significant Growth in AI Customers
- Contract Wins: Backblaze secured multiple contracts with an AI training data firm and a generative AI video creation company, contributing approximately $1.5 million in annual contract value, indicating a growing market appeal in the AI sector.
- Earnings Beat Expectations: The company reported Q1 earnings per share of $0.04 on revenue of $38.7 million, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of nil earnings and $37.8 million in revenue, leading to a 68% surge in stock price at opening, reflecting strong market confidence in its performance.
- Significant Customer Growth: Backblaze achieved a 24% year-on-year increase in its B2 Cloud storage segment, with annual recurring revenue from large customers growing by 72%, and the number of customers generating over $50,000 in ARR soaring by 51% year-over-year, showcasing robust performance in the cloud storage market.
- Analysts' Bullish Outlook: Analysts at Lake Street and Needham raised their price targets for Backblaze to $11 and $8.5 respectively, maintaining a 'Buy' rating, primarily due to the upward revision of the 2026 revenue forecast, suggesting a return to double-digit revenue growth in the future.
See More
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator Rises Significantly
- Market Indicator Surge: The NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator rises by 205.3 points to 27,857.12, indicating a positive shift in market sentiment that may attract more investor interest in tech stocks.
- Active Stock Performance: GraniteShares 2x Long COIN Daily ETF (CONL) increases by 0.7 to $9.72 with a trading volume of 5,185,460 shares, representing a 93.63% rise from its 52-week low, reflecting sustained investor interest in cryptocurrencies.
- Intel Earnings Forecast Revisions: Intel Corporation (INTC) sees its stock price rise by 3.73 to $99.51 with 4,203,982 shares traded, as it has had 10 upward revisions in earnings forecasts over the past four weeks, showcasing market confidence in its future financial performance.
- Circle Internet Earnings Report Preview: Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) shares rise by 5.55 to $125.08 with a trading volume of 2,278,329 shares, scheduled to report earnings on May 11, 2026, with a consensus EPS forecast indicating a staggering 99,900% increase, highlighting strong growth potential.
See More
Backblaze Reports Strong Q1 2026 Earnings with AI Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Backblaze reported $38.7 million in revenue for Q1 2026, representing a 12% year-over-year increase and exceeding the guidance of $38 million, indicating strong market performance and growth potential.
- Surge in AI Customers: The company noted a 76% year-over-year increase in AI customers, with over one-third of new bookings coming from the AI sector, demonstrating Backblaze's effective leverage of AI demand to drive business growth.
- Upward Guidance Revision: Management raised the full-year revenue guidance to $161.5 million to $163.5 million, reflecting optimistic expectations for future market demand, while projecting a 20% growth in B2 for Q2, showcasing robust market momentum.
- Strategic Personnel Appointment: To accelerate growth, Backblaze appointed Anuj Kumar as Chief Revenue Officer, aiming to enhance market expansion and sales efficiency, thereby strengthening its competitive position in the rapidly evolving cloud storage market.
See More
Backblaze Q1 Earnings Exceed Expectations
- Earnings Beat: Backblaze reported a Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $0.04, beating expectations by $0.04, indicating solid profitability despite slowing growth.
- Revenue Growth: The company achieved Q1 revenue of $38.7 million, an 11.8% year-over-year increase, surpassing market expectations by $0.9 million, reflecting sustained demand in the cloud storage market.
- Strong Cash Reserves: As of March 31, 2026, Backblaze's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $45.5 million, providing ample funding for future investments and operations.
- Upgraded 2026 Outlook: The company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to between $161.5 million and $163.5 million, with adjusted EBITDA margins increased to 23% to 25%, demonstrating management's confidence in future growth.
See More
Backblaze Recognized in CRN Storage 100 List
- Industry Recognition: Backblaze has been included in CRN's 2026 Storage 100 list in the Data Recovery/Observability/Resiliency category, highlighting its innovative capabilities and market impact in the high-performance cloud storage sector.
- Technical Advantage: The platform's S3-compatible design allows enterprises to distribute storage across multiple providers, mitigating the concentration risk associated with a single hyperscaler, thereby enhancing the reliability of data-intensive workloads.
- Partner Support: Through the 'Powered by Backblaze' program, Backblaze provides partners with performance and economics that enable them to deliver competitive and reliable storage solutions to customers, reducing the complexity of building storage solutions themselves.
- Market Demand: As the scale of AI infrastructure and media operations continues to grow, the demand for storage solutions is increasing, with Backblaze's flexible platform providing a solid foundation for MSPs and AI infrastructure companies, driving business growth.
See More
