ACI Worldwide, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2025

About this update from Aci Worldwide, Inc.

HIGHLIGHTS Q3 revenue up 7% and recurring revenue up 10% versus prior year YTD revenue up 12%, across both Payment Software and Biller segments YTD net income up 55% versus prior year, adjusted EBITDA up 12% Signed first customer for ACI Connetic, ACI’s new cloud-native payments hub Announced $500 million share repurchase authorization Raising full-year 2025 guidance range for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA OMAHA, Neb. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a leading provider of global payments technology, reported strong third-quarter and year-to-date results, reflecting continued growth across its Payment Software and Biller segments. The company also raised its full-year 2025 outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA and announced an updated share repurchase authorization. “Q3 continued our positive momentum, with strong revenue, adjusted EBITDA and bookings growth,” said Thomas Warsop , president and CEO of ACI. “Year-to-date, both Payment Software and Biller segment revenues have grown 12%. In Q3, we signed our first ACI Connetic customer and are encouraged by the early interest and demand for this industry-leading, cloud-native payments platform. Just recently, we hosted Payments Unleashed, ACI’s premier summit, bringing together thought leaders, innovators and visionaries to discuss the future of the payments industry, with hot topics such as stablecoin, real time payments and many others. We remain optimistic about the outlook for our industry and will continue to focus on increasing shareholder value through operational excellence.” “With 12% year-to-date growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA, we are delivering strong results and are once again raising our 2025 guidance,” said Robert Leibrock , Chief Financial Officer of ACI. "Our commitment to innovation, demonstrated by the progress of ACI Connetic and Speedpay, together with disciplined operational execution, continues to drive high-value growth and strong underlying cash generation. This performance has enabled us to expand our share repurchase authorization to $500 million , reflecting our balanced approach to capital allocation and our focus on creating long-term value for investors. As we approach the end of 2025, we are confident in our ability to achieve our updated full-year outlook and enter 2026 on track to deliver growth consistent with our longer-term model.” Q3 AND YEAR-TO-DATE 2025 FINANCIAL SUMMARY In Q3 2025, revenue was $482 million , up 7% from Q3 2024. Recurring revenue in Q3 2025 of $298 million was up 10% from Q3 2024 and represented 62% of total revenue. Q3 2025 net income of $91 million compares to a net income of $81 million in Q3 2024. Q3 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $171 million , up 2% from Q3 2024. Q3 cash flow from operating activities was $73 million , versus $54 million in Q3 2024. Net new ARR bookings in Q3 increased 14% to $13 million and new license and services bookings in Q3 increased 21% to $81 million . In Q3 2025, Payment Software segment revenue increased 4% and segment adjusted EBITDA increased 1%, versus Q3 2024. In Q3 2025, Biller segment revenue increased 10% and segment adjusted EBITDA increased 4%, versus Q3 2024. Year-to-date 2025 revenue was $1.28 billion , up 12% from year-to-date 2024. Recurring revenue in year-to-date 2025 of $906 million was up 11% from year-to-date 2024 and represented 71% of total revenue. Year-to-date 2025 net income of $162 million , which includes a $22 million after-tax gain on the sale of ACI's minority interest in India -based Mindgate, compares to net income of $105 million for year-to-date 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for year-to-date 2025 was $346 million , up 12% from year-to-date 2024. Cash flow from operating activities for year-to-date 2025 was $201 million , versus $232 million for year-to-date 2024. Net new ARR bookings year-to-date 2025 increased 50% to $46 million and new license and services bookings year-to-date 2025 increased 8% to $189 million . Year-to-date 2025, Payment Software segment revenue increased 12% and adjusted EBITDA increased 13%, versus year-to-date 2024. Year-to-date 2025, Biller segment revenue increased 12% and adjusted EBITDA increased 4%, versus year-to-date 2024. ACI ended Q3 2025 with $199 million in cash on hand and a debt balance of $873 million , representing a net debt leverage ratio of 1.3x adjusted EBITDA. During Q3 2025, ACI repurchased approximately 0.4 million shares for $16 million in capital. Year-to-date 2025, repurchases totaled approximately 3.1 million shares for $150 million in capital. INCREASED SHARE REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION Today ACI announced that its Board of Directors approved $500 million for the stock repurchase program in place of the remaining purchase amounts previously authorized. RAISING FULL-YEAR 2025 OUTLOOK ACI is raising guidance for the full-year 2025. ACI now expects that total revenue for the full-year 2025 will be in the range of $1.730 billion to $1.754 billion , ahead of the previously issued guidance of $1.710 billion to $1.740 billion . ACI currently expects adjusted EBITDA for the full-year 2025 will be in the range of $495 million to $510 million , ahead of the previously issued guidance of $490 million to $505 million . 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/Q4I889455 . 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 over 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. 2025. 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) we signed our first ACI Connetic customer and are encouraged by the early interest and demand for this industry-leading, cloud-native payments platform, (ii) we remain optimistic about the outlook for our industry and will continue to focus on increasing shareholder value through operational excellence, (iii) we are delivering strong results and are once again raising our 2025 guidance (iv) as we approach the end of 2025, we are confident in our ability to achieve our updated full-year outlook and enter 2026 on track to deliver growth consistent with our longer-term model, and (v) and full-year 2025 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, 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, impact if we convert some or all on-premise licenses from fixed-term to subscription model, 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, events in eastern Europe and the Middle East , 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 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited and in thousands) September 30 , 2025 December 31 , 2024 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 199,268 $ 216,394 Receivables, net of allowances 460,526 414,399 Settlement assets 446,494 318,871 Prepaid expenses 33,336 29,218 Other current assets 23,915 11,940 Total current assets 1,163,539 990,822 Noncurrent assets Accrued receivables, net 363,064 360,079 Property and equipment, net 33,323 35,069 Operating lease right-of-use assets 28,947 28,864 Software, net 79,716 92,893 Goodwill 1,226,026 1,226,026 Intangible assets, net 151,192 165,377 Deferred income taxes, net 84,316 72,713 Other noncurrent assets 30,780 53,450 TOTAL ASSETS $ 3,160,903 $ 3,025,293 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 55,279 $ 45,422 Settlement liabilities 445,927 317,484 Employee compensation 47,347 55,567 Current portion of long-term debt 40,925 34,928 Deferred revenue 65,081 75,419 Other current liabilities 82,541 73,808 Total current liabilities 737,100 602,628 Noncurrent liabilities Deferred revenue 14,580 19,304 Long-term debt 826,892 889,649 Deferred income taxes, net 50,111 39,920 Operating lease liabilities 23,213 22,592 Other noncurrent liabilities 29,825 26,873 Total liabilities 1,681,721 1,600,966 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity Preferred stock — — Common stock 702 702 Additional paid-in capital 745,347 731,927 Retained earnings 1,760,407 1,598,085 Treasury stock (924,013 ) (784,914 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (103,261 ) (121,473 ) Total stockholders’ equity 1,479,182 1,424,327 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 3,160,903 $ 3,025,293 ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended September 30 , Nine Months Ended September 30 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Revenues Software as a service and platform as a service $ 246,916 $ 223,367 $ 755,257 $ 674,498 License 161,957 157,429 303,161 252,984 Maintenance 51,420 47,559 150,483 144,046 Services 22,066 23,397 69,281 69,722 Total revenues 482,359 451,752 1,278,182 1,141,250 Operating expenses Cost of revenue (1) 223,138 197,351 671,316 591,696 Research and development 42,567 37,660 122,582 108,063 Selling and marketing 30,710 28,691 91,637 83,992 General and administrative 34,098 33,949 99,341 84,942 Depreciation and amortization 24,140 31,515 72,226 86,710 Total operating expenses 354,653 329,166 1,057,102 955,403 Operating income 127,706 122,586 221,080 185,847 Other income (expense) Interest expense (14,811 ) (18,356 ) (44,021 ) (55,837 ) Interest income 3,676 3,871 11,674 11,833 Other, net 1,551 (823 ) 18,898 (1,692 ) Total other income (expense) (9,584 ) (15,308 ) (13,449 ) (45,696 ) Income before income taxes 118,122 107,278 207,631 140,151 Income tax expense 26,872 25,851 45,309 35,588 Net income $ 91,250 $ 81,427 $ 162,322 $ 104,563 Income per common share Basic $ 0.88 $ 0.78 $ 1.56 $ 0.99 Diluted $ 0.88 $ 0.77 $ 1.54 $ 0.98 Weighted average common shares outstanding Basic 103,245 104,770 104,316 105,651 Diluted 103,895 106,018 105,264 106,552 (1) The cost of revenue excludes charges for depreciation and amortization. ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited and in thousands) Three Months Ended September 30 , Nine months Ended September 30 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 91,250 $ 81,427 $ 162,322 $ 104,563 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities: Depreciation 3,183 7,804 9,528 14,999 Amortization 20,957 23,711 62,698 71,711 Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets 2,403 2,338 7,245 7,337 Amortization of deferred debt issuance costs 421 659 1,691 2,257 Deferred income taxes 5,341 (3,745 ) 1,133 (2,229 ) Stock-based compensation expense 17,381 11,346 45,419 30,165 Gain on sale of equity investment — — (25,927 ) — Other 1,119 2,247 1,992 180 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Receivables (83,007 ) (95,899 ) (34,316 ) 3,699 Accounts payable (2,413 ) (4,091 ) 9,998 758 Accrued employee compensation 6,748 8,759 (9,454 ) (11,125 ) Deferred revenue (9,784 ) (6,433 ) (17,625 ) 1,884 Other current and noncurrent assets and liabilities 19,439 25,885 (13,648 ) 8,067 Net cash flows from operating activities 73,038 54,008 201,056 232,266 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property and equipment (3,404 ) (3,509 ) (7,730 ) (8,463 ) Purchases of software and distribution rights (6,501 ) (4,154 ) (18,643 ) (23,178 ) Proceeds from sale of equity investment — — 46,021 — Net cash flows from investing activities (9,905 ) (7,663 ) 19,648 (31,641 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from issuance of common stock 871 732 2,503 2,129 Proceeds from exercises of stock options 466 1,202 1,262 1,954 Repurchase of stock-based compensation awards for tax withholdings (3,628 ) (2,960 ) (23,854 ) (9,299 ) Repurchases of common stock (16,253 ) (7,996 ) (150,023 ) (127,670 ) Redemption of 2026 Notes — — (400,000 ) — Proceeds from revolving credit facility — 20,000 290,000 184,000 Repayment of revolving credit facility (20,000 ) (25,000 ) (120,000 ) (177,000 ) Proceeds from term portion of credit agreement — — 200,000 500,000 Repayment of term portion of credit agreement (10,625 ) (9,375 ) (29,375 ) (547,823 ) Payments on or proceeds from other debt, net (1,301 ) (630 ) (11,965 ) (9,299 ) Payments for debt issuance costs — — (134 ) (5,141 ) Net increase (decrease) in settlement assets and liabilities (55,234 ) 23,855 6,339 17,704 Net cash flows from financing activities (105,704 ) (172 ) (235,247 ) (170,445 ) Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash (2,973 ) (1,621 ) 2,936 (331 ) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (45,544 ) 44,552 (11,607 ) 29,849 Cash and cash equivalents, including settlement deposits, beginning of period 298,955 224,118 265,018 238,821 Cash and cash equivalents, including settlement deposits, end of period $ 253,411 $ 268,670 $ 253,411 $ 268,670 Reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents to the Consolidated Balance Sheets Cash and cash equivalents $ 199,268 $ 177,860 $ 199,268 $ 177,860 Settlement deposits 54,143 90,810 54,143 90,810 Total cash and cash equivalents $ 253,411 $ 268,670 $ 253,411 $ 268,670 Three Months Ended September 30 , Nine Months Ended September 30 , Adjusted EBITDA (millions) 2025 2024 2025 2024 Net income $ 91.3 $ 81.4 $ 162.3 $ 104.6 Plus: Income tax expense 26.9 25.9 45.3 35.6 Net interest expense 11.1 14.5 32.3 44.0 Net other (income) expense (1.6 ) 0.8 (18.9 ) 1.7 Depreciation expense 3.2 7.8 9.6 15.0 Amortization expense 21.0 23.7 62.7 71.7 Non-cash stock-based compensation expense 17.4 11.3 45.4 30.2 Adjusted EBITDA before significant transaction-related expenses $ 169.3 $ 165.4 $ 338.7 $ 302.8 Significant transaction-related expenses: Cost reduction strategies 1.2 1.2 6.3 4.3 Other 0.1 0.3 0.5 1.0 Adjusted EBITDA $ 170.6 $ 166.9 $ 345.5 $ 308.1 Revenue, net of interchange: Revenue $ 482.4 $ 451.8 $ 1,278.2 $ 1,141.3 Interchange 135.3 117.1 417.1 353.6 Revenue, net of interchange $ 347.1 $ 334.7 $ 861.1 $ 787.7 Net Adjusted EBITDA Margin 49 % 50 % 40 % 39 % Three Months Ended September 30 , Nine Months Ended September 30 , Segment Information (millions) 2025 2024 2025 2024 Revenue Payment Software $ 284.0 $ 272.2 $ 664.1 $ 595.0 Biller 198.3 179.6 614.1 546.3 Total $ 482.4 $ 451.8 $ 1,278.2 $ 1,141.3 Recurring Revenue Payment Software $ 100.0 $ 91.3 $ 291.6 $ 272.2 Biller 198.3 179.6 614.1 546.3 Total $ 298.3 $ 270.9 $ 905.7 $ 818.5 Segment Adjusted EBITDA Payment Software $ 181.7 $ 180.6 $ 371.5 $ 327.5 Biller 32.1 30.9 102.8 99.1 Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding. Three Months Ended September 30 , 2025 2024 EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant Transaction-related Items (millions) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) GAAP net income $ 0.88 $ 91.3 $ 0.77 $ 81.4 Adjusted for: Significant transaction-related expenses 0.01 0.9 0.04 4.5 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 0.04 4.2 0.05 5.4 Amortization of acquisition-related software 0.03 3.2 0.03 3.4 Non-cash stock-based compensation 0.13 13.7 0.08 8.6 Total adjustments $ 0.21 $ 22.0 $ 0.20 $ 21.9 Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction-related items $ 1.09 $ 113.3 $ 0.97 $ 103.3 Nine Months Ended September 30 , 2025 2024 EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant Transaction-related Items (millions) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) EPS Impact $ in Millions (Net of Tax) GAAP net income $ 1.54 $ 162.3 $ 0.98 $ 104.6 Adjusted for: Gain on sale of equity investment (0.21 ) (21.7 ) — — Significant transaction-related expenses 0.05 5.0 0.07 7.4 Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 0.12 12.5 0.17 18.1 Amortization of acquisition-related software 0.09 9.7 0.09 10.1 Non-cash stock-based compensation 0.34 35.9 0.21 22.9 Total adjustments $ 0.39 $ 41.4 $ 0.54 $ 58.5 Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and significant transaction-related items $ 1.93 $ 203.7 $ 1.52 $ 163.1 Three Months Ended September 30 , Nine Months Ended September 30 , Recurring Revenue (millions) 2025 2024 2025 2024 SaaS and PaaS fees $ 246.9 $ 223.4 $ 755.3 $ 674.5 Maintenance fees 51.4 47.5 150.5 144.0 Recurring Revenue $ 298.3 $ 270.9 $ 905.7 $ 818.5 New Bookings (millions) Three Months Ended September 30 , TTM Ended September 30 , 2025 2024 2025 2024 Annual recurring revenue (ARR) bookings $ 12.6 $ 11.1 $ 81.1 $ 59.3 License and services bookings 81.4 67.0 304.5 281.5 Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251105197262/en/ 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.