Patrick Seuss

Patrick Seuss inquired about the spending uplift realized from customers who have already transitioned to BlackLine's new platform pricing model. He also asked about the insights gained from customers who paused their buying decisions in previous quarters to engage in more strategic conversations about platform pricing and AI.

Answer

Patrick Villanova, CFO, explained that customers transitioning to platform pricing experience a twofold benefit: an immediate uplift on day one from platform adoption and future revenue growth through consumption as they utilize more agents. He noted that the slight pause in buying decisions observed last quarter was due to customers evaluating traditional per-seat versus platform pricing, but the value proposition of the platform has become increasingly clear to them.

Patrick Seuss asked about the spending uplift realized from customers transitioning to the new platform pricing model and how the previously noted pause in buying decisions by larger customers played out during the quarter. He also sought clarification on the assumptions for both growth and net retention rates embedded in the 2026 guidance, given the reported peak of attrition in the lower middle market and strong enterprise net retention.

Answer

CFO Patrick Villanova confirmed a slight pause in Q3 2025 as customers evaluated platform pricing, but noted that customers are now seeing the value, leading to an immediate uplift in revenue upon platform adoption, with future monetization from agent consumption. Regarding retention, he clarified that the Q4 revenue renewal rate was 92% (95% for enterprise, 97%+ excluding M&A impact), and the 2026 guide assumes an improving trend throughout the year, returning to mid-90s overall retention.