Blackbaud and Fortune Brands Innovations have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 27, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Blackbaud BLKB as the Bull of the Day and Fortune Brands Innovations FBIN as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on The Trade Desk, Inc. TTD and Meta Platforms, Inc. META.

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Amid the immense correction in software stocks, investors scoping out buy-the-dip targets may want to consider Blackbaud, which currently lands a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is the Bull of the Day.

Trading near a 52-week low of $45 a share, Blackbaud stock looks oversold and due for a sharp rebound largely because the broad software selloff has been driven by AI-disruption fears, not by company-specific deterioration.

Furthermore, investors seeking mission-aligned opportunities may be drawn to Blackbaud, whose ESG (environmental, social, and governance) focused approach and leading software cloud solutions directly support social-impact initiatives.

Company Overview

Blackbaud offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software solutions and related services to organizations of all sizes for fundraising, marketing, advocacy, customer relationship management (CRM), corporate social responsibility (CSR), peer-to-peer fundraising, financial management, payment processing, and analytics.

Why Blackbaud Stock Looks Oversold

1. Its niche is less exposed to AI displacement

Blackbaud serves nonprofits, education institutions, and social-impact organizations, segments where relationships, compliance, donor management, and mission-driven workflows are not easily replaced by generic AI agents. Thus, the market's broad fear doesn't map cleanly onto Blackbaud's business model.

2. Recurring revenue and sticky customers

Blackbaud's customer base tends to be long-term and mission-critical. These organizations rarely switch platforms quickly, even during tech transitions. That stability is often undervalued during sector-wide selloffs. (Blackbaud is expected to post 4% sales growth in FY26 and FY27, with projections heading toward $1.22 billion)

3. Fundamentals haven't deteriorated

Nothing in the recent sector news indicates a Blackbaud-specific problem. The stock is falling because the entire software cohort is being repriced, not because Blackbaud's earnings, margins, or competitive position have suddenly weakened.

4. Mispricing created by indiscriminate selling

When investors dump software stocks broadly — described by traders as "get me out" behavior — quality names get caught in the downdraft. This kind of capitulation selling often creates oversold conditions for companies with stable fundamentals.

EPS Revisions Are Going Up For BLKB

Making the rebound argument hold merit is that full-year EPS revisions are going up for Blackbaud after the company exceeded its Q4 expectations earlier in the month. In the last 30 days, FY26 and FY27 EPS revisions are up over 4%.

Blackbaud's annual earnings are now expected to spike 16% this year, with FY27 EPS projected to rise another 11% to $5.76.

Blackbaud's Enticing Valuation

When a stock declines due to sector sentiment rather than company performance, it often becomes cheaper relative to its cash flows and growth profile, more attractive to long-term investors who understand its niche, and a potential rebound candidate once panic selling subsides.

Blackbaud fits this pattern: a stable, mission-driven software provider being priced as if it faces the same existential AI risks as generic SaaS (Software as a Service) vendors.

Making the trend or rising EPS revisions more attractive and providing an ideal time to invest in Blackbaud is that BLKB is trading at just 9X forward earnings.

Blackbaud stock offers a distinct discount to the benchmark S&P 500 along with its Zacks Computer-Software Industry average of 22X forward earnings, while trading at an 80% discount to its decade-long median of 45X.

Bottom Line

When the market sells entire sectors indiscriminately, high-quality niche players like Blackbaud can get dragged down even if their fundamentals don't match the panic. As the smoke clears, Blackbaud stock is becoming one of the best buy-the-dip targets, especially considering it's an ESG-oriented investment.

Bear of the Day:

Landing a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day, Fortune Brands Innovations is a stock to avoid among the construction sector as a provider of home, security, and building-related products.

The combination of weakening fundamentals, soft guidance, leadership uncertainty, and long-term underperformance paints a picture of a company still searching for stability.

In the last five years, FBIN has vastly underperformed the broader market and the impressive returns of its Zacks Building Products-Air Conditioner and Heating Industry peers.

Unfortunately, FBIN hasn't offered an attractive setup for investors seeking growth, margin expansion, or clear strategic momentum.

Fortune Brands Subpar Q4 Results

Facing several headwinds, Fortune Brands reported Q4 EPS of $0.86 earlier in the month, missing expectations of $1.00 by 14% and dropping from $0.98 per share in the prior year quarter.

Soft market demand — Q4 revenue declined 2% year over year to $1.07 billion, and was 5% short of estimates of $1.13 billion.

Analysts have noted that the revenue shortfall reflects weak market demand and increased competition, suggesting that rivals in home, security, and building products are capturing share or forcing more aggressive pricing.

Volume deleverage — Lower sales volumes reduced operating leverage, which management specifically cited as a drag on profitability.

Higher input costs — Persistent cost pressures, including materials and tariffs, weighed on margins.

Operational adjustments — Notably, Fortune Brands cut 10% of its workforce and initiated cost-saving measures, signaling that current profitability levels were not meeting internal expectations.

Cautious Outlook & Leadership Uncertainty

More concerning, Fortune Brand's guidance pointed to lower-than-expected earnings and slower revenue growth for fiscal 2026.

Full-year EPS guidance of $3.35-$3.65 came in well below analyst expectations of $4.06, with the company expecting annual sales to be flat or to increase by up to 2%. Correlating with such, FY26 and FY27 EPS revisions have dropped 10% and 16% in the last 30 days, respectively, as shown below.

Competition appears to be intensifying across categories such as cabinets, plumbing, and outdoor products — segments where Fortune Brands historically relied on brand strength and distribution scale.

It's also noteworthy that Fortune Brands is undergoing a CEO transition following a difficult 2025, and activist investor Ed Garden is pushing to replace the incoming CEO. Of course, leadership turnover during a period of operational weakness can create strategic drift and uncertainty about long-term direction.

Bottom Line

Although FBIN trades at a reasonable 14X forward earnings multiple, avoiding Fortune Brands stock may still be best considering its weakening fundamentals, leadership uncertainty, and a deteriorating risk-reward profile. For now, Fortune Brands looks like a company under pressure rather than one whose stock is poised for a rebound.

Additional content:

TTD Stock Plunges 15% Despite Q4 Earnings Beat -- Time to Buy the Dip?

The Trade Desk, Inc. stock plummeted 15% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, even after reporting strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results. Investors focused on its weaker first-quarter guidance, leading to the sharp selloff and extending the stock's rough stretch over the past year. From an investment perspective, however, does this drop present a buying opportunity? Let's examine in detail –

TTD Delivers Strong Quarter as Profitability and Retention Shine

The Trade Desk reported solid fourth-quarter 2025 results, with adjusted earnings per share at $0.59, ahead of the $0.58 estimate. Net income increased to $187 million from $182 million a year earlier. Revenues came in at $847 million, up 14% year over year, surpassing Wall Street's $841 million estimate.

For full-year 2025, the ad tech company posted net income of $443 million, up from $393 million in 2024. Annual revenues were $2.9 billion, up 18% year over year, according to the company's investor relations website.

Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk, confirmed that the company generated revenue growth along with "significant profitability and cash flow." Management further confirmed that the ad tech company retained 95% of its customers in 2025, as it had in the previous 12 consecutive years, indicating strong customer satisfaction. Additionally, the company repurchased $1.4 billion worth of shares in 2025, showcasing management's confidence in the business.

The Trade Desk Faces Margin Pressure and Near-Term Uncertainty

Not everything in The Trade Desk's fourth-quarter report was encouraging. Net income margin declined to 22% from 25% a year earlier. The full-year net income margin fell to 15% from 16% in 2024, indicating modest pressure on profitability.

Looking forward, the ad tech company expects first-quarter 2026 revenues of $678 million, highlighting decelerating revenue growth compared with the prior quarter. Also, the projected adjusted EBITDA of $195 million suggests that margins will be lower than in the fourth quarter. Anyhow, the ongoing stock-based compensation may reduce margins over time.

The Trade Desk, meanwhile, is also navigating leadership issues. While this may not have a lasting impact on the company's long-term performance, in the short run, it is denting investors' sentiment. The company is currently operating with an interim CFO as it continues its search for a permanent replacement.

Here's How to Trade TTD Stock Now

Despite The Trade Desk's strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings and revenue growth, its margin pressure, slower near-term growth outlook, stock-based compensation impact, and leadership uncertainty make the stock less compelling to buy at the moment, even after the stock has plunged. Moreover, with management citing macro uncertainty, peers like Meta Platforms, Inc. have offered a more upbeat outlook.

Of course, if the company manages to reaccelerate revenue growth and ease margin pressure, the dip can turn out to be a smart entry point over time. For now, The Trade Desk has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.

Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

https://www.zacks.com

Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"

Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.

This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research