Sifting through countless of stocks in the Software industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc.

BlackLine, Inc. provides cloud-based solutions to automate and streamline accounting and finance operations in the United States and internationally. It offers financial close and consolidation solutions, such as account reconciliations that provides a centralized workspace for users to collaborate on account reconciliations; transaction matching, which analyzes and reconciles individual transactions; task management to create and manage processes and task lists; and financial reporting analytics that enables analysis and validation of financial data. The company also provides journal entry, which allows users to generate, review, and post manual journal entries; variance analysis that offers anomalous fluctuations in balance sheet and income statement account balances; compliance, an integrated solution that facilitates compliance-related initiatives, consolidates project management, and provides visibility over control self-assessments and testing; and smart close for SAP solution. In addition, it offers credit and risk, collection, dispute and deduction, and team and task management, as well as AR intelligence, electronic invoicing and payment, and cash application solutions. Further, the company provides intercompany create functionality that stores permissions and business logic exceptions by entity, service, and transaction type; intercompany balance and resolve, which records an organization’s intercompany transactions; and netting and settlement that enables open intercompany transactions, which integrate with treasury systems. Additionally, it offers implementation, optimization, live and web-based training, and support services. The company sells its solutions primarily through direct sales force to multinational corporations, large domestic enterprises, and mid-market companies across various industries. The company was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.

Vertex, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise tax technology solutions for retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing industries in the United States and internationally. The company offers transaction determination; compliance and reporting, including workflow management tools; tax data management and document management solutions; analytics and insights; pre-built integration that includes mapping data fields, and business logic and configurations; industry-specific solutions support certain industries for indirect tax needs, such as retail, communications, and leasing; and technology specific solutions, such as chain flow accelerator and SAP-specific tools. It provides implementation services, such as configuration, data migration and implementation, and support and training; E-invoicing, an end-to-end e-invoicing process; and managed services, including indirect tax return preparation, filing and tax payment, and notice management. The company sells its software products through software licenses and software as a service subscription. Vertex, Inc. has a strategic collaboration with xSuite Group GmbH to support SAP customers. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Latest Software and BlackLine, Inc., Vertex, Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, BlackLine, Inc. had a $1.9 billion market capitalization, compared to the Software median of $1.0 million. BlackLine, Inc.’s stock is down 40.1% in 2026, down 1.8% in the previous five trading days and down 40.35% in the past year.

Currently, BlackLine, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 57.4. BlackLine, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $732.4 million with a 4.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.485 per share for the current fiscal year. BlackLine, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

Currently, Vertex, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 612.7. Vertex, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $787.4 million with a 0.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.822 per share for the current fiscal year. Vertex, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
BlackLine, Inc.	BL	D
Vertex, Inc.	VERX	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

BlackLine, Inc. has a Value Score of 31, which is Expensive. Vertex, Inc. has a Value Score of 9, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
BlackLine, Inc.	BL	A
Vertex, Inc.	VERX	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

BlackLine, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong. Vertex, Inc. has a Growth Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
BlackLine, Inc.	BL	D
Vertex, Inc.	VERX	F

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

BlackLine, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 26, which is Weak. Vertex, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 18, which is Very Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, BlackLine, Inc., Vertex or Inc. Stock?

Overall, BlackLine, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 31, Growth Score of 89 and Momentum Score of 26.

Vertex, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 9, Growth Score of 89 and Momentum Score of 18.

Comparing BlackLine, Inc., Vertex and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.