ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $425.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.08 million. ACI Worldwide had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 16.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share.

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

• ACI posted a strong Q1 with ~6% organic revenue growth (6% CC), $426M total revenue, and a 12% year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA to $105M, and has raised full?year guidance to $1.89B–$1.92B revenue and $540M–$555M adjusted EBITDA.
• Connetic momentum is building—ACI expanded the platform (multi?rail, embedded fraud/verification), is seeing interest from large and mid?tier banks, has early SaaS wins, and a healthy pipeline though Connetic revenue is not yet material to 2026 guidance.
• Biller/Speedpay One traction drove a 39% increase in new ARR bookings ($12M) and 10% Biller revenue growth, with new logos and meaningful expansions in utilities, insurance and consumer finance supporting recurring revenue strength.
• Capital allocation and balance sheet remain supportive of shareholder returns: ACI repurchased ~1.5M shares (~$65M) in Q1, plans to direct 50%–60% of operating cash flow to buybacks in 2026, and finished the quarter with net leverage ~1.3x and ~$560M total liquidity.
• Near?term cash flow was weaker due to working capital timing (Q1 operating cash flow $64M vs $78M Y/Y) and management flagged macro/geopolitical uncertainty (Middle East/energy) as potential downside risks.

ACI Worldwide Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ACIW traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.88. 81,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 799,650. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. ACI Worldwide has a twelve month low of $38.05 and a twelve month high of $54.28.

Key Stories Impacting ACI Worldwide

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — ACIW reported $0.61 EPS (vs. $0.45 est.) and revenue of $425.8M, with revenue up ~7.9% year-over-year; strong top- and bottom-line results underpin the share strength. ACI Worldwide (ACIW) Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 outlook — Management raised full-year guidance after Q1, signaling confidence in revenue trajectory and margins for FY 2026. This upgrade is the primary driver of the positive market reaction. ACI Worldwide Raises 2026 Outlook After Strong Q1
• Positive Sentiment: Confident management commentary — The Q1 earnings call emphasized growth drivers and execution on product/merchant momentum, reinforcing the guidance raise and investor confidence. ACI Worldwide Signals Confident Growth in Earnings Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call transcript and investor materials available — The conference call transcript, slide deck and press release are posted for deeper review of margin bridges, product trends and FY assumptions. Useful for investors wanting to validate the outlook details. ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance detail — Company gave Q2 revenue range (~$420M–$440M) and reiterated FY revenue around ~$1.9B; EPS ranges in some bulletins were unclear, so investors should parse filings/call for modeled EPS and margin cadence. ACI Worldwide earnings report and materials

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACIW shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ACI Worldwide from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juan Benitez II purchased 2,400 shares of ACI Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.90 per share, with a total value of $100,560.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 16,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,313.90. The trade was a 16.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Adalio T. Sanchez purchased 3,000 shares of ACI Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.98 per share, for a total transaction of $122,940.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 64,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,210.44. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACI Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Shelton Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of ACI Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACI Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ACI Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,096 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 94.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ACI Worldwide Company Profile

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) is a global software company that provides electronic payment and banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants and billers. The company’s platforms enable real-time processing of credit, debit, ACH, bill payments, faster payments and money transfers, as well as integrated fraud prevention services. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, ACI serves clients across banking, payments and commerce sectors worldwide.

ACI’s modular suite of applications can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud or in hybrid environments to meet diverse operational needs.