BL
BlackLine, Inc.
BL offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over BL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
BL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
BL's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
BL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 11x | $28.48 | — |
| Cheap | 41x | $26.87 | -5.7% |
| Current | 44x | $28.48 | — |
| Fair | 68x | $44.36 | +56% |
| Expensive | 95x | $61.45 | +116% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BL has the edge over MSFT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MSFT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $523 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $525 | +0.4% |
| Current | 27x | $523 | — |
| Fair | 34x | $652 | +25% |
| Expensive | 37x | $711 | +36% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSFT's PE is in its cheap range at 27x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings.
BL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
BL has the edge over MSFT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MSFT, with profitability holding steady.
BL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.66 | +310% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.65 | -41% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.56 | -57% |
| Q1 2024 | $1.18 | +$1.70 |
| Q4 2023 | $0.81 | +$1.30 |
| Q3 2023 | $0.64 | +$1.96 |
| Q2 2023 | $0.11 | +$1.32 |
| Q1 2023 | -$0.52 | +$0.95 |
| Q4 2022 | -$0.49 | +$1.48 |
BL's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.65 over the past year, against $1.29 in mid-2025.
MSFT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $20.79 | +8.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.15 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.95 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.80 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.99 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.06 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.64 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.93 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.41 | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over BL on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $193.4M | +8.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $187.8M | +9.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $183.2M | +9.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $183.2M | +8.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $178.3M | +7.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $172M | +7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $166.9M | +6% |
| Q4 2024 | $169.5M | +8.8% |
BL's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $193M last quarter, up 8.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.7% | +4.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.8% | +1.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.7% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.3% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.4% | +3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 3.7% | -4.6 points |
BL's operating margin was 8.7% last quarter, up 4.4 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
MSFT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.3B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $90B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $82.9B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $77.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $76.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $70.1B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6B | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over BL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 47% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 49% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.9 points |
MSFT has the edge over BL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.5M | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $43.1M | +37% |
| Q1 2026 | $44.2M | +8.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $26.1M | -39% |
| Q3 2025 | $63.3M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $31.4M | -22% |
| Q1 2025 | $40.8M | -19% |
| Q4 2024 | $43M | +7.2% |
BL has the edge over MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSFT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.6B | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.6B | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.8B | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.9B | -9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.7B | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3B | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.5B | -29% |
MSFT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% from the year before.
BL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.1% | -741K shares |
| 1 year | +7.3% | +4.6M shares |
| 3 years | -5.5% | -4M shares |
| 5 years | +16% | +9.6M shares |
| Available history | +23% | +12.5M shares |
BL has 68M diluted shares, up 7.3% from a year ago, despite $158M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $38.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $46M |
| Q4 2025 | $34.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $111.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $43.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $45.5M |
BL spent $158M buying back its own shares over the past year.
MSFT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -121M shares |
| Available history | -3.2% | -245M shares |
MSFT has the edge over BL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
MSFT spent $21B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.2% from the year before.
BL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -3.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -5.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -5.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -6.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -6.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -12.9x | Net Cash |
BL has the edge over MSFT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
BL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.7 | Neutral |
BL's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
MSFT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
MSFT's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
BL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | BL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 44x | 28x | 57% above |
| PE % | 22 | 35 | 13 pts below |
BL is trading at 44x earnings, a 57% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT has the edge over BL on valuation relative to its sector.
BL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $29.7 | 4.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $30.1 | 5.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $35.8 | 20% below |
| 100 week MA | $44.8 | 36% below |
| 200 week MA | $51.0 | 44% below |
BL is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 44% below its 200-week average.
MSFT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $524.7 | 0.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $484.8 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $446.9 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $453.8 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $411.5 | 27% above |
MSFT has the edge over BL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $52.4 | $137.8 | +163% |
| 2021 | $137.8 | $103.9 | -25% |
| 2022 | $103.9 | $65.8 | -37% |
| 2023 | $65.8 | $62.4 | -5.1% |
| 2024 | $62.4 | $61.2 | -2% |
| 2025 | $61.2 | $57.8 | -5.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $57.8 | $28.5 | -51% |
BL has finished five years in a row lower, and it's down 51% so far in 2026.
MSFT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $159.0 | $222.8 | +40% |
| 2021 | $222.8 | $334.7 | +50% |
| 2022 | $334.7 | $238.7 | -29% |
| 2023 | $238.7 | $376.0 | +58% |
| 2024 | $376.0 | $430.5 | +14% |
| 2025 | $430.5 | $487.7 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $487.7 | $523.0 | +7.2% |
MSFT has the edge over BL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.