Backblaze (BLZE) Citizens JMP Technology Conference 2026 summary

Reflections and business transformation

• IPO in 2021 led to a growth-focused, capital-burning phase, with B2 Cloud Storage becoming the main business driver.

• Revenue growth for B2 decelerated to 21% in Q4 2024, with free cash flow margin at -13%.

• Over the past year, revenue growth improved to 24% and free cash flow margin to +11%.

• Rule of 40 score increased from 9% to 35% in a year, with further improvement targeted.

• Ongoing efforts to enhance sales productivity and go-to-market execution.

Product innovation and market positioning

• Advanced Installer and Command Line Interface launched to attract managed service providers (MSPs) for computer backup.

• Computer backup business aims to stabilize customer count, with current churn at 10% and net customer loss at 3%.

• B2 Neo enables white-labeling for Neocloud providers, leading to the largest TCV deal to date.

• Overdrive product repositions the brand as a high-performance storage provider, supporting AI/ML use cases.

• Flamethrower startup credit program launched to drive platform adoption with low acquisition costs.

Neocloud opportunity and customer dynamics

• Neocloud market expected to grow 46% annually to $230B in 5 years, with $14B TAM for relevant storage.

• Many Neoclouds use less reliable open-source storage, creating opportunity for differentiated offerings.

• Largest TCV deal expected to add 300 basis points of growth by FY2027, with development work benefiting future deals.

• Expansion within existing Neocloud customers seen as a key growth lever, with sales enablement critical for momentum.

• Business model diversity maintained, with B2 serving backup, hot storage, and AI/ML aggregation needs.