Forensic Analysis · Technology / Software · as of Jun 27, 2026
Braze, Inc. (BRZE)
A forensic read on Braze, 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
-0.8
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
-20.3%
ROE
$2.6B
Market cap
Braze, Inc. earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -0.8, placing it in the Distress zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio.
What the filings flag
+24.3%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +24.3% relative to their average in FY2026 — 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 -45% of net operating assets.
-20%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -20% and rising from -28% — well below its ~10% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+4.7%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +14% over the last 3 years to FY2026 (+4.7%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~4.7% 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 FY2023 has been diluted ~14%.
19% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 19% of revenue and 232% of free cash flow in FY2026 — about $1.33 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-17.8%
Free Cash Flow$61.9M
Latest Revenue$738.2M
Return on Equity-21.0%
Revenue Growth YoY+24.4%
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 Braze, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about BRZE'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