Forensic Analysis · Technology / Software · as of Jun 27, 2026
Backblaze, Inc. (BLZE)
A forensic read on Backblaze, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
D · Weak — demands caution
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-3.6
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
-27.2%
ROE
$874M
Market cap
Backblaze, Inc. earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -3.6, placing it in the Distress zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio.
What the filings flag
+51.7%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +51.7% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building sharply — a large slice of profit sits in operating assets, not cash; Richardson/Sloan link high accruals to weaker future returns as they reverse. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -114% of net operating assets.
-18%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -18% and rising from -42% — well below its ~10% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+25.8%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +78% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+25.8%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~25.8% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~78%.
18% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 18% of revenue and 140% of free cash flow in FY2025 — about $0.47 per diluted share. Heavy — a large slice of 'free cash flow' is really being paid out in stock, so the true owner cash per share is well below the headline.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-17.6%
Debt / Equity0.00x
Free Cash Flow$18.9M
Latest Revenue$145.8M
Return on Equity-30.8%
Revenue Growth YoY+14.3%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on Backblaze, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about BLZE's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown