The raised guidance and strong ARR bookings growth signal accelerating momentum in ACI's cloud-native payments platform. Traders should watch for continued execution on the Connetic pipeline and potential margin expansion as the Biller segment scales. The 39% ARR bookings growth is a leading indicator of future recurring revenue acceleration.
Price Chart
Executive Summary
ACI Worldwide reported strong Q1 2026 results with revenue of $426M (+8% YoY) and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.61 (+20% YoY), beating consensus estimates of $0.50 EPS on $410.1M revenue. The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for both revenue ($1.89B-$1.92B, up from $1.88B-$1.91B) and adjusted EBITDA ($540M-$555M, up from $530M-$550M), driven by 39% growth in new ARR bookings and margin expansion.
Key Financial Metrics
Key Facts
- Q1 2026 revenue of $426M, up 8% YoY (6% constant currency), vs consensus $410.1M
- Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.61, up 20% YoY (15% constant currency), vs consensus $0.50 (22.8% beat)
- Recurring revenue of $313M, up 10% YoY (8% constant currency)
- Net new ARR bookings of $12.4M, up 39% YoY
- Net adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 38% from 36% YoY
- Full-year 2026 guidance raised: revenue $1.89B-$1.92B (prior $1.88B-$1.91B), adjusted EBITDA $540M-$555M (prior $530M-$550M)
- Repurchased 1.5M shares for $65M in Q1; $391M remaining on authorization
- Operating cash flow of $64M vs $78M in Q1 2025 due to timing of contract signings
- Net debt leverage ratio of 1.3x adjusted EBITDA
Financial Impact
Revenue beat consensus by ~$16M (3.9%); EPS beat by $0.11 (22.8%); guidance raised by ~$10M at midpoint for revenue and ~$7.5M for adjusted EBITDA
Risk Factors
- Issuing & Acquiring revenue declined 6% constant currency against a tough comp; further deceleration could weigh on Payment Software segment growth
- Operating cash flow declined 18% YoY due to contract timing; if this persists, it could constrain the 50-60% buyback commitment
- Payments Intelligence revenue declined 3% constant currency, suggesting competitive pressure in that sub-segment
Market Snapshot
Investment Themes
Documents Analyzed
This report is based on 7 SEC documents filed with EDGAR.
| Document | Accession Number |
|---|---|
| 8-K Filing (Primary) | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| Document: aciw-20260507.htm | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| Document: aciw-20260507_ex992.htm | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| Document: 0000935036-26-000019-index-headers.html | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| Document: 0000935036-26-000019-index.html | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| Document: 0000935036-26-000019.txt | 0000935036-26-000019 |
| 8-K Data (Synthetic) | 0000935036-26-000019 |
Filters
| Type | Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 12, 2026 7w ago | Institutional Cluster | $52.75 $51.97 | ▼ −1.48% | ▲ +0.42% | $50.24 (−4.76%) |
Aug 6, 2026 8w ago | 8-K | $55.22 $52.91 | ▼ −4.18% | ▼ −4.78% | $50.24 (−9.02%) |
May 7, 2026 21w ago | 8-K | $46.65 $41.56 | ▼ −10.91% | ▼ −14.05% | $50.24 (+7.70%) |
Mar 2, 2026 30w ago | Insider Cluster | $40.35 $40.31 | ▼ −0.10% | ▲ +7.84% | $50.24 (+24.51%) |
Mar 2, 2026 30w ago | Insider Cluster | $40.35 $40.31 | ▼ −0.10% | ▲ +7.84% | $50.24 (+24.51%) |
Feb 26, 2026 31w ago | 8-K | $39.80 $40.86 | ▲ +2.66% | ▲ +9.07% | $50.24 (+26.23%) |
US Market Status
Subscribe to SecBot
Get Real-Time SEC Filing Intelligence
Comprehensive SEC filing analysis delivered the moment filings hit EDGAR. Sentiment scoring, impact analysis, and actionable insights for every material event.
Try SecBot Free Coming soon: SecBot Pro with alerts, watchlists, and API access