BLKB vs NNI: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: BLKB is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. BLKB and NNI share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined BLKB and NNI exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Blackbaud has spent more than four decades building software for what it calls the social impact sector. Its products run the back office of the organizations that use them: Raiser's Edge NXT for fundraising and donor management, Financial Edge NXT for nonprofit fund accounting, Blackbaud Tuition Management and school administration systems for K-12 and higher education, JustGiving for consumer-facing online giving, and YourCause for corporate grantmaking and employee giving. Sitting alongside the subscriptions is Blackbaud Integrated Payments, which takes a cut of donation and tuition volume flowing through the platform. Roughly ~98% of second-quarter 2026 revenue was recurring, split between ~$186 million of contractual subscription revenue and ~$99 million of transactional revenue tied to payment volume. About ~18% of first-half revenue came from outside the United States, mainly the United Kingdom, and the company employs around 2,800 people from its Charleston, South Carolina headquarters.

Full BLKB guide

Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE: NNI) started life as a student loan company and has spent the last decade turning itself into something closer to a diversified holding company. Four reportable segments carry the business. Loan Servicing and Systems, run through Nelnet Diversified Services, services roughly ~$519.2 billion of Department of Education, Canadian, FFELP, private education and consumer loans for about ~15.2 million borrowers, and holds one of the U.S. Department of Education's Unified Servicing and Data Solution (USDS) contracts awarded in April 2023 (a five-year base with extension options out to ten). Education Technology Services and Payments, better known by its FACTS and Nelnet Campus Commerce brands, handles tuition management, financial aid assessment, student information systems and payment processing for more than ~1,300 higher education institutions and ~11,500 K-12 schools. Asset Generation and Management holds the loan book, and Nelnet Bank is a Utah-chartered internet industrial bank taking deposits and originating private education, consumer and other loans.

Full NNI guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• BLKB drivers: Contract repricing on a three-year renewal cycle; Payments and tuition volume.
• NNI drivers: Redeploying FFELP run-off cash into higher-yield assets; Nelnet Bank reaching scale.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Growth is the central problem: organic revenue rose only ~3.0% in the second quarter of 2026, and 2025 gross dollar retention was approximately ~92%, meaning the base loses value each year before price increases and cross-sell are added back. For NNI, concentration is the headline risk: the USDS servicing contract with the U.S.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick BLKB if you believe its drivers more; NNI if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the BLKB and NNI guides.

BLKB. At roughly ~$46 per share and about ~45 million diluted shares, the market cap sits near ~$2.1 billion, or close to ~9 times the midpoint of 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance. Adding net debt of roughly ~$1.1 billion puts enterprise value near ~$3.2 billion, around ~7.4 times the midpoint of guided adjusted EBITDA of ~$430 million to ~$438 million. Trailing GAAP earnings look cheaper than they read at first glance because 2024 carried a large impairment, so the year-over-year GAAP comparisons flatter the recovery.

NNI. The trailing P/E is distorted by 2025's one-time ALLO gain and by solar tax equity losses that hit reported income before the tax credits and cash arrive, so price to book is the metric most Nelnet followers use. At roughly ~1.2x stated book the market is assigning modest premium to a balance sheet where the ALLO stake carries at ~$0 and the servicing and payments franchises carry no goodwill reflecting their fee streams. Q2 2026 revenue of about ~$410 million fell roughly ~20.5% year over year and adjusted EPS of ~$1.77 came in below consensus, mostly on the higher credit provision and the absent prior-year gain.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): BLKB shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.15 billion, with 2026 guidance of ~$1.173 billion to ~$1.179 billion, recurring revenue mix ~98.2% of Q2 2026 revenue, split ~$186.4 million contractual and ~$98.9 million transactional, free cash flow ~$329 million trailing; 2026 guidance of ~$280 million to ~$290 million, gross dollar retention (2025) ~92%; Blackbaud reports gross dollar retention and does not disclose a net revenue retention figure; NNI shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.5 billion, net income (ttm) ~$302 million (~$8.36 per share), q2 2026 gaap eps ~$1.85, vs ~$4.97 a year earlier (prior year included a ~$175.0M ALLO gain), shareholders' equity ~$3.77 billion, roughly ~$105 per share on ~35.9 million shares.

BLKB and NNI are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined BLKB and NNI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.