Shares of Backblaze (BLZE 45.15%) roared 45.2% higher on Friday after the cloud storage platform announced stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
Backblaze ends 2023 on a high note, led by B2 Cloud Storage growth
For its fourth-quarter 2023, Backblaze’s revenue grew 25% year over year to $28.7 million, including a 47% increase to $14 million in B2 Cloud Storage revenue and a 10% bump to $14.7 million in Computer Backup segment sales. On the bottom line, that translated to an adjusted (non-GAAP) net loss of $5.6 million, or $0.15 per share, narrowed from a loss of $0.27 per share in last year’s fourth quarter. Analysts, on average, were modeling a wider net loss of $0.18 per share on revenue of $28.2 million.
Backblaze also drove a healthy 28% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to $117.6 million at year-end, and its net revenue retention rate stood at a solid 109%. Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman called it a “strong finish to the year,” noting the company also achieved its first-ever quarter of positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) at $1.6 million (or 6% of revenue).
What’s next for Backblaze investors?
For full-year 2024, Backblaze issued guidance for revenue to be between $126 million and $128 million — well above consensus estimates for $123.8 million — with a positive adjusted EBITDA margin of between 8% and 10%.
In the end, this was a straightforward quarterly beat punctuated by an inflection toward adjusted EBITDA profitability and better-than-expected guidance for the coming year. Shares of Backblaze are simply responding in kind today.
Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
