BLBlackLine, Inc.
Is the business good?
The checks split: earnings fully cash-backed (9.8×) and margins widening, but returns that lean on debt.
Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is improving vs a year ago.
Positive operating leverage, operating profit is growing faster than sales, so margins widen as the business scales.
Leverage-amplified, a high assets-to-equity ratio does much of the work. ROE 13% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is BL?
BlackLine, Inc. keeps 4.3% of every revenue dollar as operating profit, against 6.4% for the median Software - Application name.
Operating margin · Software - Application median 6.4% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- 9.78×
Cash conversion · 8.81× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- +7.1%
Share count, year on year · shareholders own a smaller slice than a year ago
- R&D as % of revenue
- 16%
R&D as % of revenue
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | −5.7% |
| FY2021 | −9.1% |
| FY2022 | −11% |
| FY2023 | 2.4% |
| FY2024 | 2.8% |
| FY2025 | 3.6% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 76%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 4.3%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 4.8%
- Free cash flow margin
- 24%
- R&D as % of revenue
- 16%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $732M
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $177M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $35M
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Software, Application
Ranks #49 of 96 by RyuScore