Backblaze vs. Snowflake: Which Cloud Data Stock Is the Better Buy?

The explosive growth of enterprise data has created substantial opportunities for cloud infrastructure providers, with Backblaze BLZE and Snowflake SNOW addressing distinct but interconnected segments of this market. Backblaze focuses on cost-efficient cloud storage, while Snowflake powers analytics and AI workloads for global enterprises.

Per Grand View Research, the global cloud analytics market was valued at $35.39 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $130.63 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 25.5%.Both BLZE and SNOW stand to benefit from these structural tailwinds as organisations modernise their data architecture and intensify investment in cloud-based intelligence platforms.

Backblaze or Snowflake, which of these cloud data stocks holds the stronger upside potential? Let’s find out.

The Case for BLZE

Backblaze has evolved from a consumer backup provider to an enterprise-focused cloud storage company. Its B2 Cloud Storage business drives growth, targeting developers, startups and mid-sized enterprises that value open architecture and transparent pricing. B2 Overdrive, optimized for AI and high-throughput workloads, demonstrates the platform's adaptability to emerging infrastructure demands.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLZE’s third-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $36.9 million, indicating 17% year-over-year growth, while the consensus mark for the quarter’s loss is pegged at a penny per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, suggesting a 90% year-over-year improvement. These estimates reflect sustained operational progress, improving unit economics and disciplined execution on cost controls.

However, Backblaze is balancing its legacy Computer Backup business, which continues to face modest declines, with the scaling of its enterprise cloud segment. Competitive pressure from AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure remains significant. While its developer-centric approach and AI-aligned product roadmap strengthen positioning, near-term results depend on accelerating enterprise adoption while maintaining margin discipline.

Backblaze, Inc. Price and Consensus

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

The Case for SNOW

Snowflake has established itself as a cornerstone of enterprise data strategy, enabling organizations to unify and analyze massive datasets through its AI-native cloud platform. The architecture supports analytics, machine learning and application development within a single environment, giving customers agility to turn data into actionable intelligence.

AI remains the central growth catalyst. Innovations such as Snowflake Intelligence, Cortex AI SQL and Gen2 Warehouses embed generative capabilities directly into the platform, enabling enterprises to build and deploy AI-powered solutions without data silos. This integration is deepening customer engagement and expanding platform adoption globally.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Snowflake’s third-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $1.18 billion, indicating 25.39% year-over-year growth, while the consensus mark for EPS is pegged at 31 cents, unchanged over the past 30 days and suggesting a 55% increase year over year. These projections reflect steady execution and improving operational leverage as enterprise consumption expands. The AI-led platform strategy continues to strengthen its data cloud moat, supporting durable growth in analytics and infrastructure demand.

Snowflake Inc. Price and Consensus

Snowflake Inc. price-consensus-chart | Snowflake Inc. Quote

Valuation and Price Performance Comparison

Snowflake’s forward price-to-sales ratio of 16.89x is considerably higher than Backblaze’s 3.7x, reflecting investor confidence in its scale, profitability and enterprise demand. The premium is supported by Snowflake’s 30%-plus revenue growth, 76% product gross margins and 125% net revenue retention rate, highlighting a proven and high-visibility growth model. These projections reflect steady execution and improving operational leverage as enterprise consumption expands. The AI-led platform strategy continues to strengthen its data cloud moat, supporting durable growth in analytics and infrastructure demand.

BLZE vs. SNOW: P/S F12M Ratio

Backblaze shares have risen 78.1% year to date, reflecting optimism around its cloud storage turnaround and early traction in AI-related workloads. However, the rebound has been partly sentiment-driven as profitability remains in early stages. Snowflake shares have increased 73% over the same period, supported by consistent revenue growth, expanding enterprise adoption and AI-led product integration. While Backblaze's surge highlights recovery potential from a low base, Snowflake's steadier performance reflects fundamentals-driven momentum and stronger investor conviction.

BLZE vs. SNOW: YTD Performance

Conclusion

Both companies are positioned to benefit from accelerating demand for cloud data infrastructure and AI-enabled analytics, but Snowflake's scale and profitability provide a clear edge. Its unified data platform, deep enterprise integration and consistent margin expansion make it structurally stronger than Backblaze, which is still navigating its consumer-to-enterprise transition. While Backblaze offers an improving growth story, Snowflake's execution, financial visibility and expanding role in AI-driven data processing make it the more compelling choice.

Given its valuation strength, steadier share performance and superior fundamentals, investors should consider buying SNOW over BLZE. Snowflake currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), making it a more preferred pick over Backblaze, which carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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

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

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