NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Issues Earnings Results

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. NiCE had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The company had revenue of $786.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. NiCE updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.850-11.050 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 2.450-2.550 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from NiCE’s conference call:

• NICE closed 2025 on a strong note, meeting guidance with total revenue of $2.945B (+8%), cloud revenue up 13%, and AI ARR up 66% to $328 million, alongside record AI logo wins and seven-figure cloud ACV bookings that grew cloud backlog ~25%.
• The cash-funded acquisition of Cognigy makes NICE the only vendor claiming a fully AI-native CX platform; management plans full integration into CXone, new features (Cognigy Simulator, Copilot task assist), and expects Cognigy to be accretive within ~18 months.
• Financial flexibility improved—NICE fully repaid $460M of debt, ended the year debt-free, repurchased $489M of shares in 2025, and authorized a new $600M buyback (≈$1B of remaining repurchase capacity), supporting capital returns.
• Management will make deliberate, front-loaded investments in 2026 (COGS, R&D, and S&M) that will weigh on near-term margins and cash generation; FY 2026 non-GAAP EPS guide of $10.85–$11.05 is below 2025’s $12.30, signaling near-term earnings pressure.
• International momentum accelerated (international revenue +16% FY, +29% Q4) aided by partner channels and an earlier-than-expected large go‑live, offering a sizable growth runway that depends on continued execution and conversions.

NiCE Stock Up 13.4%

NICE stock traded up $13.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $111.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,420,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,664. NiCE has a fifty-two week low of $94.65 and a fifty-two week high of $180.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.08.

Key NiCE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NiCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY 2026 EPS guidance to $10.85–$11.05, above street estimates (~$10.32), signaling confidence in full‑year profitability. BusinessWire: NiCE Reports Q4 & Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue of $786.5M (up 9% YoY) and cloud revenue of $608.3M (up 14% YoY) show continued cloud growth and scale—key drivers for valuation and recurring revenue stability. The quarter also delivered a slight EPS beat. BusinessWire: NiCE Reports Q4 & Full Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was $3.24, a $0.01 beat of consensus; revenue topped estimates modestly. The beat is minimal, so investors should weigh it with guidance and forward metrics. MarketBeat: NiCE Q4 Results & Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and metric-level writeups (profitability, margins, cloud mix) are being published; these add color but don’t change the core message of modest beats plus mixed guidance. Zacks: Compared to Estimates, Nice Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Near term guidance disappointed: Q1 2026 EPS was guided to $2.45–$2.55 (vs. ~ $2.76 consensus) and revenue guided to $755M–$765M (below ~$779M consensus), signaling a slower start to the year that could pressure near‑term multiple and sentiment. BusinessWire: NiCE Reports Q4 & Full Year 2025 Results

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NICE shares. Wedbush cut NiCE from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $170.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of NiCE from $152.00 to $136.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of NiCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Citizens Jmp set a $200.00 price target on NiCE in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on NiCE from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of NiCE by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 845 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of NiCE by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 11,276 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in NiCE in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in NiCE by 16.3% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in NiCE by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,179 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.