ACI Worldwide

ACIW · Nasdaq · Information Technology · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

ACIW · Last close · November 6, 2026

$60.02

ACI Worldwide's revenue rose 10.4% to $1.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 18.8%, down from 19.3% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $310 million, down 9.7%. It paid out $203 million in dividends and buybacks, 65% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.6%.

ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 26, 2026 · 0000935036-26-000011 Updated November 5, 2026

Revenue

$1.8B

10.4%

Operating margin

18.8%

0.6 pts

Net income

$227M

11.6%

Free cash flow

$310M

9.7%

Return on capital

11.4%

0.1 pts

Market cap

$6.1B

Nov 6 close

P/E

37.0x

On $1.62 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What ACI Worldwide does

ACI Worldwide develops, sells, installs and supports software that handles electronic payments. Its customers are banks, merchants and billers, along with intermediaries such as payment processors, payment associations and central banks. Its software helps process, route, check for fraud, settle and reconcile payments from sources such as ATMs, store card terminals, bank branches, mobile phones and websites.

It serves three target markets: banks, intermediaries and merchants. It sells to large and mid-sized banks around the world for retail banking, digital and other payment services. It makes money by licensing software and by selling services, support and hosted (cloud) use of its products to these customers.

The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1993 and has used the ACI Worldwide name since 2007. It says it has grown partly by buying and combining other businesses. It sells globally and runs payments work that must operate around the clock, every day.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Fast-changing, competitive markets where it may fail to keep up.
A security breach or cyberattack on its systems or its customers' payments.
Reliance on third-party cloud services and other outside providers.
Acquisitions or sales of businesses that may not go as planned.
Exposure to customers' credit risk and to theft or fraud losses in payment funding.

From ACI Worldwide's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 7.9% a year and net income 6.4% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 12%.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	122	125	164	216	196
Debt incl. finance leases	1,066	1,090	1,038	925	818
Net debt (negative means net cash)	944	965	874	708	621
Net debt to EBITDA	2.8x	2.9x	2.5x	1.7x	1.5x
Debt to equity	0.9x	0.9x	0.8x	0.7x	0.5x
Interest coverage	4.7x	3.8x	2.8x	4.2x	5.7x
Current ratio	1.2x	1.3x	1.4x	1.6x	1.5x
Quick ratio	1.2x	1.3x	1.4x	1.6x	1.5x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project ACI Worldwide's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open ACI Worldwide's projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, 2 insiders bought $223,500 of ACI Worldwide shares on the open market, and 1 insider sold $200,775.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Mar 3, 2026	Juan Benitez IIDirector	Bought	2,400	$41.90	$100,560	Form 4
Mar 2, 2026	Adalio T SanchezDirector	Bought	3,000	$40.98	$122,940	Form 4
Nov 10, 2025	Abraham KuruvillaChief Technology Officer	Sold	4,210	$47.69	$200,775	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	7 of 9	8 of 9	7 of 9
Rule of 40	13.1%	31.3%	28.0%
Altman Z''	3.11	4.18	4.45
Accruals ratio	−1.4%	−4.8%	−3.1%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	7 of 9	8 of 9	7 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put ACI Worldwide side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
ACI Worldwide	FY25	10.4%	18.8%	17.6%	11.4%	1.5x	7
Pegasystems	FY25	16.6%	15.1%	28.1%	—	−1.5x	6	Compare
Unity Software	FY25	2.0%	−25.9%	21.8%	−10.3%	—	5	Compare
Bill	FY26	13.0%	−4.4%	24.9%	−1.7%	—	4	Compare
Samsara	FY26	29.6%	−3.2%	12.8%	—	—	—	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	1,006	1,024	1,010	1,258	1,294	1,371	1,422	1,453	1,594	1,760
Revenue growth	−3.9%	1.8%	−1.4%	24.6%	2.9%	5.9%	3.7%	2.2%	9.8%	10.4%
Gross profit	561	572	579	641	672	732	726	733	802	862
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	221	85	126	124	145	210	204	220	308	330
Net income	130	5	69	67	73	128	142	122	203	227
Diluted EPS (US$)	1.09	0.04	0.59	0.57	0.62	1.08	1.24	1.12	1.91	2.16
Diluted shares (millions)	119	119	118	119	118	119	114	109	106	105
Cash flow
Cash from operations	100	146	184	133	315	220	143	168	359	323
Capital expenditure	41	26	18	23	18	21	13	9	15	13
Free cash flow	59	120	166	110	297	200	130	160	343	310
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	60	37	54	36	29	107	206	28	128	203
Acquisitions	0	0	0	757	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	44	14	20	37	30	27	30	24	41	71
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	76	70	148	121	165	122	125	164	216	196
Debt incl. finance leases	744	686	672	1,373	1,155	1,066	1,090	1,038	925	818
Total assets	1,902	1,862	2,122	3,258	3,387	3,159	3,210	3,445	3,025	3,105
Total liabilities	1,147	1,097	1,074	2,128	2,180	1,914	2,017	2,120	1,601	1,586
Shareholders' equity	755	765	1,048	1,130	1,207	1,245	1,193	1,324	1,424	1,519
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	55.8%	55.8%	57.4%	50.9%	51.9%	53.4%	51.0%	50.5%	50.3%	49.0%
Operating margin	22.0%	8.3%	12.5%	9.8%	11.2%	15.3%	14.3%	15.2%	19.3%	18.8%
Net margin	12.9%	0.5%	6.8%	5.3%	5.6%	9.3%	10.0%	8.4%	12.7%	12.9%
Free cash flow margin	5.9%	11.8%	16.4%	8.7%	22.9%	14.6%	9.2%	11.0%	21.5%	17.6%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	2.0%	13.6%	15.0%	33.3%	25.8%	20.5%	12.9%	13.1%	31.3%	28.0%
Return on capital	10.7%	3.0%	6.4%	5.8%	4.7%	7.0%	6.5%	8.3%	11.5%	11.4%
Return on equity	18.4%	0.7%	7.6%	6.2%	6.2%	10.4%	11.7%	9.7%	14.8%	15.4%
Return on assets	6.7%	0.3%	3.5%	2.5%	2.2%	3.9%	4.5%	3.6%	6.3%	7.4%
Net debt to EBITDA	2.1x	3.3x	2.3x	5.1x	3.5x	2.8x	2.9x	2.5x	1.7x	1.5x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: ACI Worldwide's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with ACI Worldwide.