Blackbaud Reaffirms 2026 Outlook After Recurring Growth Recovers

The Tip Desk · November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

GAAP revenue was $292.6 million, up 4.1%, as non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA reached $111.1 million and the company kept full-year ranges intact.

Blackbaud (BLKB), the provider of AI-powered software for social impact, reported GAAP revenue of $292.6 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 4.1% from a year earlier, and non-GAAP organic revenue rose 4.1%.

That year-over-year pace picked up from 3.0% in the second quarter, after 4.2% in the first quarter. GAAP recurring revenue was $287.0 million, up 4.1% and 98.1% of total revenue; non-GAAP organic recurring revenue also increased 4.1%. Recurring growth had been 3.3% in the second quarter and 5.0% in the first.

GAAP income from operations was $60.0 million, with GAAP operating margin of 20.5%, up 110 basis points. Non-GAAP income from operations was $94.6 million, with non-GAAP operating margin of 32.3%, up 240 basis points. GAAP net income was $46.1 million, or $1.02 a share. Non-GAAP net income was $61.2 million, or $1.36 a share, up $0.26.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $111.1 million, up $11.4 million, with a 38.0% margin, an increase of 260 basis points. The Rule of 40 score was 42.1%.

GAAP net cash provided by operating activities was $141.7 million, with an operating cash flow margin of 48.4%. Non-GAAP free cash flow was $126.0 million, with a 43.1% margin.

Chief executive Mike Gianoni said innovation continues to drive market leadership and a widening competitive moat, and that the company is making significant investments in AI. At bbcon in September, Blackbaud introduced Platform for Good, a unified operating system for social impact, and Lantern, a domain-specific language model built with Databricks to optimize fundraising intelligence. The company said Lantern will be embedded in Platform for Good starting in 2027 and will power select Raiser’s Edge NXT and Agents for Good capabilities. It also shared updates on the Development Agent and a new Data Health Agent, and previewed agentic experiences for finance and education.

Blackbaud said it expanded Expedited Giving and Expedited Giving+ in YourCause, announced a partnership with BILL to embed payments in Financial Edge NXT Payment Assistant, and added integrations with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Intuit Mailchimp.

Chief financial officer Chad Anderson said year-to-date the company had repurchased more than 7% of common stock outstanding since the end of 2025 and reduced its leverage ratio from 2.7 times in the first quarter to 2.3 times in the third. As of September 30, 2026, about $832 million remained under the repurchase program. Based on current plans and repurchases to date, Blackbaud expects total 2026 repurchases to represent between 7% and 10% of outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2025.

The company reaffirmed 2026 full-year guidance and said it expects to finish in the upper half of the range across all four key metrics: GAAP revenue of $1.173 billion to $1.179 billion, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $430 million to $438 million, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $5.15 to $5.25, and non-GAAP free cash flow of $280 million to $290 million. Updated assumptions include a non-GAAP annualized effective tax rate of about 24.5%, interest expense of about $62 million to $66 million, diluted weighted average shares of about 45.0 million to 46.0 million, and capital expenditures of about $60 million to $70 million, including about $52 million to $62 million of capitalized software development costs.