Blackbaud & Flywire Transform K-12 School Payments, BLKB Stock Gains

Blackbaud BLKB recently partnered with Flywire Corporation FLYW, a global payments enablement and software organization, to improve the payment experience for international students paying tuition fees at K-12 private and independent schools in the United States. By integrating Flywire’s global payment platform into Blackbaud’s Tuition Management system, schools and families can benefit from a unified and streamlined payment experience, providing real-time, secure and user-friendly payment processing for families across the globe.

K-12 boarding and independent schools are working to attract more international students by improving recruitment strategies, offering better student support and reaching out to diverse audiences. Simplifying payment processes, including currency conversion and cross-border transactions, helps remove enrollment barriers. Flexible payment plans and secure options make schools more appealing and accessible, encouraging higher enrollment, especially among international and non-local families.

Tuition payments for secondary schools in the United States can range from $4,200 to more than $29,000 annually. Traditionally, families have relied on international wire transfers or credit cards to handle these payments—methods often accompanied by high fees, limited visibility into transactions and processing delays. To address these challenges, the partnership between Flywire and Blackbaud offers a robust solution, transforming the payment experience for both parties involved.

Schools using Blackbaud gain from Flywire's out-of-the-box integration and 24/7 multilingual support. This integration ensures smooth payment processing within Blackbaud, providing real-time balances and payment status updates for front-end and back-end users. The Flywire-Blackbaud collaboration not only improves payments but also addresses the broader challenges that international families and schools face. By simplifying international tuition payments, the integration empowers schools to attract and retain diverse student populations while enhancing operational efficiency.

Blackbaud, Inc. Price and Consensus

Blackbaud, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Blackbaud, Inc. Quote

Blackbaud is a leading software provider focused on supporting social impact. Its software is designed to enhance impact in areas such as fundraising, financial management for nonprofits, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education management.

Strong momentum in the core social sector, along with strategic partnerships, is aiding BLKB’s stock movement. In September 2024, BLKB expanded its long-standing partnership with Microsoft to incorporate Microsoft AI and analytics into software designed for the distinct operational needs of social impact organizations, eliminating the necessity for expensive customizations.

The social sector contributed 89% to the company’s third-quarter revenues, with a 6.6% year-over-year rise. Within this sector, contractual recurring revenues grew 6.8%, while transactional recurring revenues rose 6.6%. Management is optimistic about the sector’s long-term performance, highlighting its resilience even during economic downturns like the pandemic. A revised strategy for renewal contract pricing is also expected to drive growth. The company plans to transition 65% of eligible customers to updated contract terms and pricing by the end of 2024, with an additional 25% shifting in 2025 and the final 10% completing the process by 2026. Healthy financial performance is likely to propel the stock.

BLKB’s Zacks Rank & Stock Price Performance

BLKB currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Following the announcement, BLKB’s shares gained 2.8% and closed the trading session at $85.37 on Nov. 21. Shares of the company have soared 13% in the past year compared with the sub-industry's growth of 17%.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader technology space are Workday Inc. WDAY and InterDigital, Inc. IDCC. IDCC presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas WDAY carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

IDCC is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and capabilities. The company engages in designing and developing a wide range of advanced technology solutions, which are used in digital cellular as well as wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It has a long-term growth expectation of 17.44%.

WDAY is a leading provider of enterprise-level software solutions for financial management and human resource domains. The company’s cloud-based platform combines finance and HR in a single system, making it easier for organizations to provide analytical insights and decision support. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 7.36%.

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