Why Blackbaud Stock Soared by Almost 30% Last Month

Under-the-radar tech stock Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) had an October to remember. Aided by the announcement of a new, highly specialized artificial intelligence (AI) platform and accompanying model near the start of the month, and by encouraging quarterly results published at the end of the month, the company's stock was popular with investors. Over the course of October, it rose by just under 29%.

Say hello to the new products

Blackbaud barreled into the month by announcing a pair of new products at its annual bbcon tech and user conference. These were an operating system called Platform for Good and Lantern, a fundraising AI model targeting the company's key customer base of non-profit organizations.

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Blackbaud described Platform for Good as "a connected foundation designed to bring together data, intelligence, workflows, AI and partners across the Blackbaud ecosystem."

It added that the service is "designed to help customers identify opportunities faster, make more informed decisions and act with greater confidence."

If performance at least matches its promise, this unified AI architecture will not only be a highly useful, cutting-edge suite; it will also stand a good chance of becoming a go-to system for nonprofits and related institutions. And a strong niche product can be hard to beat.

Fast-forwarding several weeks to Oct. 28, Blackbaud took the wraps off its third-quarter earnings. For the three-month stretch, the company earned revenue of slightly more than $292.6 million, up 4% from the same quarter of 2025. More impressively, net income not under generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP, or adjusted) cruised 15% higher to $61.2 million, or $1.36 per share.

Those numbers were high enough to top the average analyst estimates, albeit not by much. The pundit consensus for revenue was a bit under $292.6 million, while that for adjusted net profit was $1.33 per share.

As is often the case with reporting companies, Blackbaud's guidance was more encouraging than its trailing results. Although the company maintained its outlook for the full year -- revenue of just over $1.17 billion to almost $1.18 billion, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.15 to $5.25 -- it said that the mentioned line items would likely end up near the top of their ranges. The collective analyst estimates for the pair stood at under $1.18 billion and $5.25, respectively.

Future forward

Unlike other AI stocks, Blackbaud is a veteran software company with significant and reliable recurring revenue. With that strong foundation, it stands to gain significantly if Platform for Good and Lantern are as high-quality and useful as company literature suggests. Given the company's track record and its solid position in the large niche of non-profits, Blackbaud is a company to watch -- particularly for those hunting for a cash-generating, under-the-radar AI stock.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.