Backblaze CEO's 12,855-share sale is tax-driven

Backblaze, Inc. (BLZE) reported insider activity by CEO and Chairperson Gleb Budman involving Class A Common Stock.

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Backblaze, Inc. (BLZE) reported insider activity by CEO and Chairperson Gleb Budman involving Class A Common Stock. On August 21, 2026, he executed a mandated "sell to cover" transaction, selling 12,855 shares at a weighted average price of $15.82 per share to fund tax withholding obligations related to vesting and settlement of restricted stock units; these were not discretionary trades. On August 20, 2026, 11,083 previously issued restricted stock units were retired by Backblaze for cash upon vesting, and were settled at the closing price of $16.24 per share in lieu of issuing new shares, representing a disposition of shares to the issuer.

Insider Trade Summary

Net Seller: 12,855 shares

Net Sell 2 txns

Insider Budman Gleb

Role CEO and Chairperson

Sold 12,855 shs ($203K)

Type	Security	Shares	Price	Value
Sale	Class A Common Stock F3, F4	12,855	$15.82	$203K
Disposition	Class A Common Stock F1, F2	11,083	$16.24	$180K

Holdings After Transaction: Class A Common Stock — 2,192,103 shares (Direct)

Footnotes (4)

1. F1. Represents previously issued restricted stock units that the Issuer retired for cash upon vesting in lieu of issuing shares of common stock.
2. F2. These restricted stock units were settled by the Issuer at the closing price per share of the Issuer's common stock on the vesting date.
3. F3. The sales reported on this Form 4 represent shares required to be sold by the Reporting Person to cover tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units. These sales are mandated by the Issuer's election under its equity incentive plans to require the satisfaction of tax withholding obligations to be funded by a "sell to cover" transaction and do not represent discretionary trades by the Reporting Person.
4. F4. The price reported is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $15.82 to $15.83, inclusive. The Reporting Person undertakes to provide to the Issuer, any security holder of the Issuer, or the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within the ranges set forth herein.

Key Figures

Shares sold to cover taxes: 12,855 shares Weighted average sale price: $15.82 per share Restricted stock units retired: 11,083 units +2 more

5 metrics

Shares sold to cover taxes 12,855 shares Mandated sell-to-cover sale by Gleb Budman on August 21, 2026

Weighted average sale price $15.82 per share Sale of 12,855 shares on August 21, 2026, with trades from $15.82 to $15.83

Restricted stock units retired 11,083 units Previously issued RSUs retired for cash upon vesting on August 20, 2026

Settlement price for RSUs $16.24 per share RSUs settled by the issuer at the closing price on the August 20, 2026 vesting date

Net shares sold 12,855 shares Net-sell direction across all reported non-derivative transactions

Key Terms

sell to cover, restricted stock units, Disposition to issuer, weighted average price

4 terms

sell to cover financial

"require the satisfaction of tax withholding obligations to be funded by a "sell to cover""

Sell to cover is when a person who receives company stock through options or awards sells just enough shares immediately to pay required taxes, exercise costs, or fees, keeping the rest. Think of it like cashing part of a bonus to cover the tax bill so you can keep the remainder. For investors, it can create predictable small selling pressure and slightly change the number of shares actually held by insiders without increasing long‑term dilution.

restricted stock units financial

"Represents previously issued restricted stock units that the Issuer retired for cash"

Restricted stock units are a type of company reward where employees are promised shares of stock, but they only fully own these shares after meeting certain conditions, like staying with the company for a set time. They matter because they can become valuable assets and are often used to motivate employees to help the company succeed.

Disposition to issuer financial

"transaction_code_description": "Disposition to issuer""

weighted average price financial

"The price reported is a weighted average price. These shares were sold"

Weighted average price is the average price of a security where each trade or component is counted according to its size, so bigger trades pull the average more than smaller ones. Think of it like calculating the average cost of a grocery haul where items you bought more of have greater influence on the final per-item cost. Investors use it to understand the true average price paid or received, judge execution quality, and compare trading performance against market movement.

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What insider transactions did BLZE CEO Gleb Budman report on this Form 4?

The Form 4 reports two transactions: a 12,855-share sale on August 21, 2026 to cover tax withholding on vesting restricted stock units, and the retirement of 11,083 restricted stock units on August 20, 2026, which the issuer settled for cash instead of issuing shares.

Was the August 21, 2026 BLZE share sale by Gleb Budman discretionary?

No. The filing states the 12,855-share sale was required to cover tax withholding obligations upon vesting and settlement of restricted stock units under Backblaze’s equity incentive plans, as a mandated "sell to cover" transaction, and did not represent discretionary trades by Gleb Budman.

At what price were Gleb Budman’s BLZE shares sold on August 21, 2026?

The Form 4 reports a weighted average sale price of $15.82 per share for the 12,855 shares sold on August 21, 2026, with individual trades executed in a range from $15.82 to $15.83 per share.

What happened to the 11,083 restricted stock units reported for BLZE on August 20, 2026?

The 11,083 restricted stock units were retired for cash by Backblaze upon vesting instead of being settled in shares. They were settled at the closing price of $16.24 per share on the vesting date and reported as a disposition of shares to the issuer.

Does this BLZE Form 4 indicate any Rule 10b5-1 trading plan for Gleb Budman?

No. The filing’s Rule 10b5-1 checkbox is not marked as affirming the use of a trading plan, and the footnotes describe the August 21, 2026 sale as a required sell to cover transaction for tax withholding, not a discretionary plan-based trade.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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Available on EDGAR 08/24/2026 - 05:40 PM Accepted by SEC EDGAR 08/24/2026 - 05:39 PM Learn about SEC filing dates

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Budman Gleb

(Last) (First) (Middle)

2261 MARKET STREET

STE 81006

(Street)

SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA 94114

(City) (State) (Zip)

UNITED STATES

(Country)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Backblaze, Inc. [ BLZE ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director		10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)
	CEO and Chairperson

2a. Foreign Trading Symbol

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
08/20/2026

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Class A Common Stock(1)	08/20/2026	08/20/2026	D		11,083	D	$16.24(2)	2,204,958	D
Class A Common Stock	08/21/2026	08/21/2026	S(3)		12,855	D	$15.82(4)	2,192,103	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

1. Represents previously issued restricted stock units that the Issuer retired for cash upon vesting in lieu of issuing shares of common stock.

2. These restricted stock units were settled by the Issuer at the closing price per share of the Issuer's common stock on the vesting date.

3. The sales reported on this Form 4 represent shares required to be sold by the Reporting Person to cover tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units. These sales are mandated by the Issuer's election under its equity incentive plans to require the satisfaction of tax withholding obligations to be funded by a "sell to cover" transaction and do not represent discretionary trades by the Reporting Person.

4. The price reported is a weighted average price. These shares were sold in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $15.82 to $15.83, inclusive. The Reporting Person undertakes to provide to the Issuer, any security holder of the Issuer, or the Securities and Exchange Commission, upon request, full information regarding the number of shares sold at each separate price within the ranges set forth herein.

Remarks:

	/s/ Evangeline Cheung, Attorney-in-Fact	08/24/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.
* Form 4: SEC 1474 (03-26)