ACI Worldwide, Inc. Reports Double-Digit Revenue Growth for Full Year Ended December 31, 2025

About this update from Aci Worldwide, Inc.

2025 HIGHLIGHTS Total revenue of $1.76 billion grew 10%, and recurring revenue of $1.21 billion grew 11% versus prior year Net income increased 12%, and total Adjusted EBITDA increased 9% versus prior year In Q4, signed a major UK bank for Connetic, expanding the geographic reach of ACI's cloud‑native payments hub platform Generated $323 million in cash flow from operating activities and returned $203 million to shareholders Expect revenue growth of 7% to 9% in 2026 OMAHA, Neb. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a leading provider of global payments technology, today reported strong financial results for fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025 . The company also provided its full-year 2026 outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA which reflects continuing momentum. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226452626/en/ “ACI delivered another year of double‑digit organic revenue growth, reflecting focused execution against our multi‑year growth initiatives and value creation strategy,” said Thomas Warsop , President and CEO of ACI. “Our results continue to be driven by mission‑critical payment and billing software that is deeply embedded in our customers’ complex and highly regulated workflows, creating durable, long‑term relationships. In 2025, revenue in our Payment Software segment increased 9%, while our Biller segment grew 13%. During the fourth quarter, we signed an additional ACI Connetic customer and continue to see growing demand for our cloud‑native payments platform. As we enter 2026, we remain focused on executing our strategy, advancing innovation across our payments portfolio, and driving long‑term shareholder value.” “2025 reflected consistent execution and disciplined financial performance for ACI,” said Robert Leibrock , Chief Financial Officer of ACI. “We delivered 10% revenue growth, generated $323 million in operating cash flow, returned $203 million to shareholders, and reduced net leverage to 1.2x. Our 2026 guidance is consistent with our long‑term framework and reflects the durability of our recurring revenue base, continued margin discipline, and increased flexibility to return 50% to 60% of operating cash flow to shareholders, while continuing to invest in high‑return organic initiatives and preserving capacity for disciplined, strategic M&A within our targeted leverage range.” FINANCIAL SUMMARY In 2025, total revenue was $1.76 billion , up 10% from 2024 and recurring revenue was $1.21 billion , up 11% from 2024. Net income was $227 million in 2025, which includes a $22 million after-tax gain on the sale of ACI's minority interest in India -based Mindgate, up 12% from 2024. Total adjusted EBITDA in 2025 was $506 million , up 9% from 2024. Cash flow from operating activities in 2025 was $323 million , versus $359 million for 2024, reflecting normal timing differences in working capital, including receivables and deferred revenue. In 2025, Payment Software segment revenue increased 9%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 10% versus 2024. In 2025, Biller segment revenue increased 13%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 7% versus 2024. ACI ended 2025 with $196 million in cash on hand and a debt balance of $823 million , representing a net debt leverage ratio of 1.2x adjusted EBITDA. In 2025, the Company repurchased approximately 4.2 million shares for $203 million in capital. At year-end 2025, the Company had $456 million remaining available on the share repurchase authorization. BOARD OF DIRECTORS REFRESHMENT ACI Worldwide’s Board of Directors remains committed to thoughtful refreshment and the continued expansion of relevant and complementary expertise. The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberly deBeers, whose extensive professional and advisory experience in corporate governance, strategic transactions, and risk oversight will further strengthen the Board’s capabilities. This appointment follows the previously announced additions of Didier Lamouche and Todd Ford in the fourth quarter of 2025. As part of a planned and orderly succession process, Janet Estep and Charles Peters have transitioned off the Board, effective February 23, 2026 . Q1 AND FULL YEAR 2026 GUIDANCE For the full year of 2026, we expect revenue growth to be in the 7% to 9% range on a constant currency basis, or in the range of $1.88 billion to $1.91 billion . We expect adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $530 million to $550 million . For Q1 2026, we expect revenue to be between $405 million and $415 million and adjusted EBITDA of $88 million to $93 million . In 2026, ACI expects to allocate 50% to 60% of cash flow from operating activities toward share repurchases under its existing repurchase authorization, subject to market conditions. CONFERENCE CALL TO DISCUSS FINANCIAL RESULTS Today, management will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss these results. Interested persons may access a real-time teleconference webcast at http://investor.aciworldwide.com/ . To join the live audio call, please dial +1 (800) 715-9871, provide your name, the conference name of ACI Worldwide, Inc. and conference ID 88945; alternatively, to reduce operator assisted delays joining the call, we invite you to register in advance by visiting https://registrations.events/direct/Q4I8894556676 . This process will provide you with a unique passcode allowing you to join the call without operator assistance. About ACI Worldwide ACI Worldwide , an original innovator in global payments technology, delivers transformative software solutions that power intelligent payments orchestration in real time so banks, billers, and merchants can drive growth, while continuously modernizing their payment infrastructures, simply and securely. With nearly 50 years of trusted payments expertise, we combine our global footprint with a local presence to offer enhanced payment experiences to stay ahead of constantly changing payment challenges and opportunities. © Copyright ACI Worldwide, Inc. 2026. ACI, ACI Worldwide , ACI Payments, Inc. , ACI Pay, Speedpay and all ACI product/solution names are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACI Worldwide, Inc. , or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States , other countries or both. Other parties' trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. To supplement our financial results presented on a GAAP basis, we use the non-GAAP measures indicated in the tables, which exclude significant transaction-related expenses, as well as other significant non-cash expenses such as depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, that we believe are helpful in understanding our past financial performance and our future results. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to our GAAP results and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Management generally compensates for limitations in the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying on comparable GAAP financial measures and providing investors with a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures only in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way to view aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. Certain non-GAAP measures include: Adjusted EBITDA: net income (loss) plus income tax expense (benefit), net interest income (expense), net other income (expense), depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation, as well as significant transaction-related expenses. Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, net income (loss). Net Adjusted EBITDA Margin: Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue net of pass-through interchange revenue. Net Adjusted EBITDA Margin should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, net income (loss). Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction related items: diluted EPS plus tax effected significant transaction related items, amortization of acquired intangibles and software, and non-cash stock-based compensation. Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction related items should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, diluted EPS. Recurring Revenue: revenue from software as a service and platform as a service fees and maintenance fees. Recurring revenue should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, total revenue. ARR: New annual recurring revenue expected to be generated from new accounts, new applications, and add-on sales bookings contracts signed in the period. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking statements do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and may include words or phrases such as “believes,” “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” and words and phrases of similar impact. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) our results continue to be driven by mission‑critical payment and billing software that is deeply embedded in our customers’ complex and highly regulated workflows, creating durable, long‑term relationships, (ii) we signed an additional ACI Connetic customer and continue to see growing demand for our cloud-native payments platform, (iii) as we enter 2026, we remain focused on executing our strategy, advancing innovation across our payments portfolio, and driving long term shareholder value, (iv) our 2026 guidance is consistent with our long term framework and reflects the durability of our recurring revenue base, continued margin discipline, and increased flexibility to return 50% to 60% of operating cash flow to shareholders, while continuing to invest in high return organic initiatives and preserving capacity for disciplined, strategic M&A within our targeted leverage range, and (v) Q1 2026 and full-year 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA financial guidance. All of the foregoing forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the risk factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such factors include, but are not limited to, increased competition, business interruptions, cybersecurity incidents or failure of our information technology and communication systems, security breaches, reliance on third-party cloud infrastructure and related services, reliance on third-parties, our ability to attract and retain senior management personnel and skilled technical employees, future acquisitions, strategic partnerships and investments, divestitures and other restructuring activities, implementation and success of our strategy, anti-takeover provisions, exposure to credit or operating risks arising from certain payment funding methods, loss caused by theft or fraud, customer reluctance to switch to a new vendor, our ability to adequately defend our intellectual property, litigation, consent orders and other compliance agreements, our offshore software development activities, risks from operating internationally, including fluctuations in currency exchange rates, adoption of ACI Connetic, adverse changes in the global economy, compliance of our products with applicable legislation, governmental regulations and industry standards, the complexity of our products and services and the risk that they may contain hidden defects, legal and business risks from artificial intelligence technology incorporated into our products, risks to our business from the use of artificial intelligence by our workforce, complex regulations applicable to our payments business, our compliance with privacy and cybersecurity regulations, compliance with requirements of the payment card networks and Nacha, exposure to unknown tax liabilities, changes in tax laws and regulations, consolidations and failures in the financial services industry, volatility in our stock price, demand for our products, failure to obtain renewals of customer contracts or to obtain such renewals on favorable terms, delay or cancellation of customer projects or inaccurate project completion estimates, changes in card association and debit network fees or products, impairment of our goodwill or intangible assets, the accuracy of management’s backlog estimates, the cyclical nature of our revenue and earnings and the accuracy of forecasts due to the concentration of revenue-generating activity during the final weeks of each quarter, restrictions and other financial covenants in our debt agreements, our existing levels of debt, incurring additional debt, events outside of our control including natural disasters, wars, and outbreaks of disease, and revenues or revenue mix below expectations. For a detailed discussion of these risk factors, parties that are relying on the forward-looking statements should review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited and in thousands) December 31 , 2025 2024 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 196,462 $ 216,394 Receivables, net of allowances 445,866 414,399 Settlement assets 397,346 318,871 Prepaid expenses 29,876 29,218 Other current assets 19,564 11,940 Total current assets 1,089,114 990,822 Noncurrent assets Accrued receivables, net 391,719 360,079 Property and equipment, net 37,363 35,069 Operating lease right-of-use assets 28,733 28,864 Software, net 77,523 92,893 Goodwill 1,231,128 1,226,026 Intangible assets, net 147,062 165,377 Deferred income taxes, net 73,124 72,713 Other noncurrent assets 29,141 53,450 TOTAL ASSETS $ 3,104,907 $ 3,025,293 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 64,931 $ 45,422 Settlement liabilities 396,034 317,484 Employee compensation 56,142 55,567 Current portion of long-term debt 40,941 34,928 Deferred revenue 73,637 75,419 Other current liabilities 73,958 73,808 Total current liabilities 705,643 602,628 Noncurrent liabilities Deferred revenue 13,620 19,304 Long-term debt 776,667 889,649 Deferred income taxes, net 38,514 39,920 Operating lease liabilities 22,609 22,592 Other noncurrent liabilities 28,776 26,873 Total liabilities 1,585,829 1,600,966 Stockholders’ equity Preferred stock — — Common stock 702 702 Additional paid-in capital 761,523 731,927 Retained earnings 1,824,743 1,598,085 Treasury stock (964,752 ) (784,914 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (103,138 ) (121,473 ) Total stockholders’ equity 1,519,078 1,424,327 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 3,104,907 $ 3,025,293 ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Revenues Software as a service and platform as a service $ 253,191 $ 223,481 $ 1,008,448 $ 897,979 License 158,344 159,322 461,505 412,306 Maintenance 50,797 46,717 201,280 190,763 Services 19,268 23,518 88,549 93,240 Total revenues 481,600 453,038 1,759,782 1,594,288 Operating expenses Cost of revenue (1) 226,335 200,087 897,651 791,783 Research and development 44,959 38,614 167,541 146,677 Selling and marketing 33,437 34,360 125,074 118,352 General and administrative 43,365 33,437 142,706 118,379 Depreciation and amortization 24,670 24,252 96,896 110,962 Total operating expenses 372,766 330,750 1,429,868 1,286,153 Operating income 108,834 122,288 329,914 308,135 Other income (expense) Interest expense (13,826 ) (16,634 ) (57,847 ) (72,471 ) Interest income 3,200 4,093 14,874 15,926 Other, net 831 511 19,729 (1,181 ) Total other income (expense) (9,795 ) (12,030 ) (23,244 ) (57,726 ) Income before income taxes 99,039 110,258 306,670 250,409 Income tax expense 34,703 11,703 80,012 47,291 Net income $ 64,336 $ 98,555 $ 226,658 $ 203,118 Income per common share Basic $ 0.63 $ 0.94 $ 2.18 $ 1.93 Diluted $ 0.62 $ 0.93 $ 2.16 $ 1.91 Weighted average common shares outstanding Basic 102,889 105,104 103,956 105,491 Diluted 103,442 106,318 104,805 106,493 (1) The cost of revenue excludes charges for depreciation but includes amortization of purchased and developed software for resale. ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited and in thousands) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 64,336 $ 98,555 $ 226,658 $ 203,118 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities: Depreciation 3,308 3,162 12,836 18,161 Amortization 21,414 21,090 84,112 92,801 Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets 2,453 2,369 9,698 9,706 Amortization of deferred debt issuance costs 416 655 2,107 2,912 Deferred income taxes (190 ) (10,901 ) 943 (13,130 ) Stock-based compensation expense 25,214 11,116 70,633 41,281 Gain on sale of equity investment — — (25,927 ) — Other 125 1,740 2,117 1,920 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of impact of divestiture: Receivables (11,844 ) (27,282 ) (46,160 ) (23,583 ) Accounts payable 1,320 (1,026 ) 11,318 (268 ) Accrued employee compensation 8,728 14,012 (726 ) 2,887 Deferred revenue 7,280 10,002 (10,345 ) 11,886 Other current and noncurrent assets and liabilities (785 ) 2,990 (14,433 ) 11,057 Net cash flows from operating activities 121,775 126,482 322,831 358,748 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (5,177 ) (6,939 ) (12,907 ) (15,402 ) Purchases of software and distribution rights (1,802 ) (6,471 ) (20,445 ) (29,649 ) Proceeds from sale of equity investment — — 46,021 — Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired (5,447 ) — (5,447 ) — Net cash flows from investing activities (12,426 ) (13,410 ) 7,222 (45,051 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from issuance of common stock 914 789 3,417 2,918 Proceeds from exercises of stock options 6,636 4,375 7,898 6,329 Repurchase of stock-based compensation awards for tax withholdings (4,395 ) (3,812 ) (28,249 ) (13,111 ) Repurchases of common stock (52,615 ) — (202,638 ) (127,670 ) Redemption of 2026 Notes — — (400,000 ) — Proceeds from revolving credit facility — — 290,000 184,000 Repayment of revolving credit facility (40,000 ) (61,000 ) (160,000 ) (238,000 ) Proceeds from term portion of credit agreement — — 200,000 500,000 Repayment of term portion of credit agreement (10,625 ) (9,375 ) (40,000 ) (557,198 ) Payments on other debt, net (8,961 ) (5,555 ) (20,926 ) (14,854 ) Payments for debt issuance costs — — (134 ) (5,141 ) Net increase (decrease) in settlement assets and liabilities 7,646 (43,174 ) 13,985 (25,470 ) Net cash flows from financing activities (101,400 ) (117,752 ) (336,647 ) (288,197 ) Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash (2,364 ) 1,028 572 697 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 5,585 (3,652 ) (6,022 ) 26,197 Cash and cash equivalents, including settlement deposits, beginning of period 253,411 268,670 265,018 238,821 Cash and cash equivalents, including settlement deposits, end of period $ 258,996 $ 265,018 $ 258,996 $ 265,018 Reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents to the Consolidated Balance Sheets Cash and cash equivalents $ 196,462 $ 216,394 $ 196,462 $ 216,394 Settlement deposits 62,534 48,624 62,534 48,624 Total cash and cash equivalents $ 258,996 $ 265,018 $ 258,996 $ 265,018 Adjusted EBITDA (millions) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Net income $ 64.3 $ 98.6 $ 226.7 $ 203.1 Plus: Income tax expense 34.7 11.7 80.0 47.3 Net interest expense 10.6 12.5 43.0 56.5 Net other (income) expense (0.8 ) (0.5 ) (19.7 ) 1.2 Depreciation expense 3.3 3.2 12.8 18.2 Amortization expense 21.4 21.1 84.1 92.8 Non-cash stock-based compensation expense 25.2 11.1 70.6 41.3 Adjusted EBITDA before significant transaction-related expenses $ 158.7 $ 157.7 $ 497.5 $ 460.4 Significant transaction-related expenses: Cost reduction strategies 1.5 — 7.7 4.3 Other 0.7 — 1.2 1.0 Adjusted EBITDA $ 160.9 $ 157.7 $ 506.4 $ 465.7 Revenue, net of interchange: Revenue $ 481.6 $ 453.0 $ 1,759.8 $ 1,594.3 Interchange 137.4 115.7 554.6 469.4 Revenue, net of interchange $ 344.2 $ 337.3 $ 1,205.2 $ 1,124.9 Net adjusted EBITDA Margin 47 % 47 % 42 % 41 % Segment Information (millions) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Revenue Payment Software $ 278.0 $ 272.8 $ 942.1 $ 867.8 Biller 203.6 180.2 817.7 726.5 Total $ 481.6 $ 453.0 $ 1,759.8 $ 1,594.3 Recurring revenue Payment Software $ 100.4 $ 90.0 $ 392.0 $ 362.2 Biller 203.6 180.2 817.7 726.5 Total $ 304.0 $ 270.2 $ 1,209.7 $ 1,088.7 Segment adjusted EBITDA Payment Software $ 172.2 $ 167.6 $ 543.7 $ 495.1 Biller 37.9 32.1 140.7 131.2 Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding. EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant Transaction-related Items (millions) Three Months Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) GAAP net income $ 0.62 $ 64.3 $ 0.93 $ 98.6 Adjusted for: Significant transaction-related expenses 0.02 1.7 — — Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 0.04 4.2 0.04 4.5 Amortization of acquisition-related software 0.03 3.3 0.03 3.3 Non-cash stock-based compensation 0.19 19.9 0.08 8.8 Total adjustments $ 0.28 $ 29.1 $ 0.15 $ 16.6 Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction-related items $ 0.90 $ 93.4 $ 1.08 $ 115.2 EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant Transaction-related Items (millions) Years Ended Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) GAAP net income $ 2.16 $ 226.7 $ 1.91 $ 203.1 Adjusted for: Gain on divestiture (0.21 ) (21.7 ) — — Significant transaction-related expenses 0.07 6.9 0.07 7.4 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 0.16 16.7 0.22 23.3 Amortization of acquisition-related software 0.12 12.9 0.13 13.8 Non-cash stock-based compensation 0.53 55.8 0.31 32.6 Total adjustments $ 0.67 $ 70.6 $ 0.73 $ 77.1 Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction-related items $ 2.83 $ 297.3 $ 2.64 $ 280.2 Recurring Revenue (millions) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 SaaS and PaaS fees $ 253.2 $ 223.5 $ 1,008.4 $ 898.0 Maintenance fees 50.8 46.7 201.3 190.8 Recurring revenue $ 304.0 $ 270.2 $ 1,209.7 $ 1,088.7 New Bookings (millions) Three Months Ended December 31 , Years Ended December 31 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Annual recurring revenue (ARR) bookings $ 24.4 $ 35.2 $ 70.3 $ 65.7 License and services bookings 65.1 115.1 254.6 290.0 Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226452626/en/ For more information contact: Investor Relations John Kraft SVP, Head of Strategy and Finance 305-894-2223 / [email protected] Source: ACI Worldwide

View stock analysis, news, and events for Aci Worldwide, Inc.