ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Nov 5th, 2026

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW – Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. ACI Worldwide had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $426.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis.

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 Price Performance

NASDAQ:ACIW traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,188,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,550. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. ACI Worldwide has a 52-week low of $38.05 and a 52-week high of $63.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.44.

Key ACI Worldwide News

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

Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue was $426.8 million, ahead of the roughly $421.9 million forecast. ACI also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook, a favorable signal for profitability. ACI Worldwide reports lower Q3 revenue but raises full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook
Neutral Sentiment: ACI reported Q3 EPS of $0.54, but earnings comparisons with analyst expectations were mixed: one report showed a beat, while Zacks reported a miss versus its consensus estimate. The company also announced a strategic acquisition, though the provided reports do not detail its expected financial impact. ACI Worldwide Reports Third-Quarter Results and Strategic Acquisition
Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell about 12% year over year, and EPS declined from $1.09 in the same quarter last year to $0.54. That year-over-year weakness may limit the impact of the forecast beat and higher EBITDA outlook. ACI Worldwide Q3 Earnings Lag Estimates

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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About ACI Worldwide

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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.