ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Issues Earnings Results

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $426.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.91 million. ACI Worldwide had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from ACI Worldwide’s conference call:

• ACI reaffirmed 2026 revenue guidance of $1.895 billion–$1.925 billion and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $550 million–$565 million. Management expects a strong Q4 rebound as license renewals shift into the quarter, and said more than 95% of the revenue outlook is contracted or tied to renewals scheduled by year-end.
• Q3 revenue fell 12% year over year to $427 million and adjusted EBITDA declined 43% to $98 million, with margin down to 35% from 49%. Management attributed the declines primarily to the timing of high-margin Payment Software renewals, but the results make delivery of the heavily weighted Q4 more important.
• New ARR bookings rose 86% year over year to about $24 million in Q3, while trailing-12-month ARR bookings declined 3% and license and services bookings fell 21% in the quarter. ACI said more customers are choosing hosted, consumption-based contracts, which produce less upfront revenue but can build recurring revenue as customers go live.
• ACI reported its first live ACI Connetic customer, additional signings, and expanded platform capabilities; it expects several signed customers to go live next year. Connetic revenue is currently small and expected to ramp over time, so its strategic progress has yet to translate into a material near-term contribution.
• The Biller segment grew Q3 revenue 6% to $210 million, and management said its sales team exceeded its full-year target before the end of Q3, citing Speedpay ONE adoption and improved sales execution. Operating cash flow rose 63% to $119 million, while year-to-date share repurchases reached $157 million.

ACI Worldwide Stock Performance

ACIW traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.52. 2,188,757 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 833,886. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.00. ACI Worldwide has a 1-year low of $38.05 and a 1-year high of $63.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on ACI Worldwide in a report on Friday, October 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of ACI Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ACI Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Key ACI Worldwide News

Here are the key news stories impacting ACI Worldwide this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ACI reported Q3 revenue of $426.8 million, ahead of the roughly $421.9 million analyst forecast. It also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook, a positive signal for profitability expectations. ACI Worldwide reports lower Q3 revenue but raises full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.54 topped the $0.37 consensus estimate cited by MarketBeat, though estimates differed across sources. ACI Worldwide quarterly earnings data
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a strategic acquisition. Its potential impact on growth and results depends on the deal’s details and execution. ACI Worldwide Reports Third-Quarter Results and Strategic Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell 11.5% year over year, and EPS declined from $1.09 a year earlier. Zacks said the $0.54 EPS result missed its $0.67 consensus estimate, underscoring the mixed read-through from earnings. ACI Worldwide Q3 Earnings Lag Estimates

ACI Worldwide Company Profile

ACI Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: ACIW) develops and provides electronic payment software and services for merchants, banks, financial institutions, billers and other organizations. Its technology is designed to support payment acceptance, transaction processing, fraud prevention and the movement of money across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s offerings include payment orchestration and acquiring solutions, real-time payments, bill payment and electronic bill presentment, fraud management, and software for retail and enterprise payment operations.