Revenue growth remains highly sensitive to lumpy license renewals, contributing to significant margin volatility that saw operating margins peak at 36.2% in 2023Q4 before compressing to 14.8% in 2026Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Sep'07 | Sep'06 | Sep'05 | Sep'04 | Sep'03 | Sep'02 | Sep'01 | Sep'00 | Sep'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 | Sep'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 1.79B | 1.76B | 1.59B | 1.45B | 1.42B | 1.37B | 1.29B | 1.26B | 1.01B | 1.02B | 1.01B | 1.05B | 1.02B | 864.93M | 666.58M | 465.1M | 418.42M | 405.75M | 417.65M | 366.22M | 347.9M | 313.24M | 292.78M | 277.29M | 282.83M | 299.8M | 303.56M | 354.8M | 289.8M | 215.5M | 159.8M |
| Revenue Growth % | 7.06% | 10.38% | 9.76% | 2.16% | 3.74% | 5.89% | 2.86% | 24.61% | -1.41% | 1.84% | -3.85% | 2.94% | 17.48% | 29.76% | 43.32% | 11.15% | 3.12% | -2.85% | 14.04% | 5.26% | 11.07% | 6.99% | 5.59% | -1.96% | -5.66% | -1.24% | -14.44% | 22.43% | 34.48% | 34.86% | 39.08% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 937.99M | 897.65M | 791.78M | 719.21M | 696.07M | 638.87M | 622.46M | 617.45M | 430.35M | 452.29M | 444.91M | 472.3M | 454.76M | 343.84M | 225.64M | 134.28M | 129.72M | 127.65M | 129.93M | 140.84M | 110.75M | 85M | 82.38M | 86.85M | 91.69M | 116.8M | 129.36M | 99.6M | 96.1M | 78.4M | 62.2M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 51.01% | 49.66% | 49.51% | 48.95% | 46.61% | 48.09% | 49.07% | 42.62% | 44.16% | 44.24% | 45.15% | 44.75% | 39.75% | 33.85% | 28.87% | 31% | 31.46% | 31.11% | 38.46% | 31.83% | 27.14% | 28.14% | 31.32% | 32.42% | 38.96% | 42.61% | 28.07% | 33.16% | 36.38% | 38.92% |
| Gross Profit | 852.98M | 862.13M | 802.5M | 733.37M | 725.83M | 731.73M | 671.86M | 640.84M | 579.43M | 571.9M | 560.79M | 573.68M | 561.39M | 521.09M | 440.94M | 330.81M | 288.7M | 278.11M | 287.72M | 225.38M | 237.16M | 228.23M | 210.41M | 190.44M | 191.13M | 178.8M | 125.37M | 255.2M | 203.1M | 165.7M | 121M |
| Gross Margin % | 47.63% | 48.99% | 50.34% | 50.49% | 51.05% | 53.39% | 51.91% | 50.93% | 57.38% | 55.84% | 55.76% | 54.85% | 55.25% | 60.25% | 66.15% | 71.13% | 69% | 68.54% | 68.89% | 61.54% | 68.17% | 72.86% | 71.86% | 68.68% | 67.58% | 59.64% | 41.3% | 71.93% | 70.08% | 76.89% | 75.72% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 7.43% | 9.43% | 1.04% | -0.81% | 8.91% | 4.84% | 10.6% | 1.32% | 1.98% | -2.25% | 2.19% | 7.73% | 18.18% | 33.29% | 14.59% | 3.81% | -3.34% | 27.66% | -4.97% | 3.91% | 8.47% | 10.48% | -0.36% | 6.9% | 42.62% | -50.87% | 25.65% | 22.57% | 36.94% | 55.33% |
| Operating Expenses | 518.69M | 532.22M | 494.37M | 512.96M | 522M | 521.83M | 527.12M | 517.09M | 453.52M | 487.26M | 339.66M | 445.73M | 423.22M | 398.04M | 366.56M | 264.58M | 235.05M | 236.54M | 266.01M | 222.96M | 183.38M | 163.98M | 155.59M | 155.18M | 149.47M | 234.95M | 178.24M | 184.9M | 151.7M | 125.7M | 97.8M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 30.24% | 31.01% | 35.31% | 36.71% | 38.07% | 40.73% | 41.09% | 44.91% | 47.58% | 33.77% | 42.61% | 41.65% | 46.02% | 54.99% | 56.89% | 56.18% | 58.3% | 63.69% | 60.88% | 52.71% | 52.35% | 53.14% | 55.96% | 52.85% | 78.37% | 58.71% | 52.11% | 52.35% | 58.33% | 61.2% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 273.05M | 267.78M | 236.73M | 249.83M | 249.01M | 250.34M | 256.04M | 258.98M | 225.3M | 260.92M | 231.7M | 216.83M | 207.11M | 199.13M | 195.8M | 152.35M | 140.65M | 141.04M | 173.51M | 170.87M | 134.16M | 124.3M | 117.59M | 110.52M | 112.92M | 133.42M | 137.31M | 128.8M | 113.9M | 95.7M | 71.6M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 15.22% | 14.85% | 17.2% | 17.51% | 18.27% | 19.78% | 20.58% | 22.31% | 25.48% | 23.04% | 20.73% | 20.38% | 23.02% | 29.37% | 32.76% | 33.61% | 34.76% | 41.54% | 46.66% | 38.56% | 39.68% | 40.16% | 39.86% | 39.92% | 44.5% | 45.23% | 36.3% | 39.3% | 44.41% | 44.81% |
| Research & Development | 172.72M | 167.54M | 146.68M | 140.76M | 146.31M | 144.31M | 139.29M | 146.57M | 143.63M | 136.92M | 169.9M | 145.92M | 144.21M | 142.56M | 133.76M | 90.18M | 74.08M | 77.51M | 45.9M | 52.09M | 40.77M | 39.69M | 38.01M | 35.37M | 35.03M | 40.53M | 38.83M | 34.6M | 25.4M | 0 | 14.5M |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 9.52% | 9.2% | 9.69% | 10.29% | 10.53% | 10.76% | 11.65% | 14.22% | 13.37% | 16.89% | 13.95% | 14.19% | 16.48% | 20.07% | 19.39% | 17.7% | 19.1% | 10.99% | 14.22% | 11.72% | 12.67% | 12.98% | 12.76% | 12.39% | 13.52% | 12.79% | 9.75% | 8.76% | - | 9.07% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 3M | 96.9M | 110.96M | 122.37M | 126.68M | 127.18M | 131.79M | 111.53M | 84.58M | 89.43M | -61.94M | 82.98M | 71.9M | 56.36M | 37M | 22.06M | 20.33M | 17.99M | 16.65M | 0 | 8.45M | 2K | 0 | 9.29M | 1.52M | 60.29M | 7.55M | 21.5M | 11.5M | 9.9M | 10.3M |
| Operating Income | 334.29M | 329.91M | 308.13M | 220.41M | 203.84M | 209.9M | 144.74M | 123.76M | 125.91M | 84.64M | 221.13M | 127.95M | 138.17M | 123.05M | 74.37M | 66.23M | 53.65M | 41.57M | 21.71M | 2.42M | 53.78M | 64.25M | 54.81M | 35.26M | 41.67M | -56.15M | -52.87M | 70.3M | 51.4M | 40M | 23.2M |
| Operating Margin % | 18.67% | 18.75% | 19.33% | 15.17% | 14.34% | 15.31% | 11.18% | 9.84% | 12.47% | 8.26% | 21.99% | 12.23% | 13.6% | 14.23% | 11.16% | 14.24% | 12.82% | 10.25% | 5.2% | 0.66% | 15.46% | 20.51% | 18.72% | 12.72% | 14.73% | -18.73% | -17.42% | 19.81% | 17.74% | 18.56% | 14.52% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 7.07% | 39.8% | 8.13% | -2.89% | 45.01% | 16.96% | -1.71% | 48.76% | -61.72% | 72.83% | -7.4% | 12.29% | 65.45% | 12.29% | 23.45% | 29.05% | 91.45% | 797.6% | -95.5% | -16.3% | 17.22% | 55.46% | -15.38% | 174.21% | -6.2% | -175.2% | 36.77% | 28.5% | 72.41% | 139.18% |
| EBITDA | 432.36M | 426.81M | 428.8M | 354.4M | 342.2M | 353.81M | 308.51M | 262.26M | 223.26M | 186.86M | 324.58M | 225.38M | 224.85M | 193.01M | 125.15M | 94.61M | 80M | 65.3M | 43.76M | 23.26M | 62.14M | 69.43M | 61.38M | 44.3M | 57.55M | -15.94M | -21.76M | 91.8M | 62.9M | 49.9M | 33.5M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 24.14% | 24.25% | 26.9% | 24.4% | 24.07% | 25.81% | 23.84% | 20.84% | 22.11% | 18.25% | 32.27% | 21.55% | 22.13% | 22.32% | 18.78% | 20.34% | 19.12% | 16.09% | 10.48% | 6.35% | 17.86% | 22.17% | 20.97% | 15.98% | 20.35% | -5.32% | -7.17% | 25.87% | 21.7% | 23.16% | 20.96% |
| EBITDA Growth % | -8.79% | -0.46% | 20.99% | 3.57% | -3.28% | 14.68% | 17.63% | 17.47% | 19.48% | -42.43% | 44.02% | 0.23% | 16.5% | 54.22% | 32.29% | 18.27% | 22.51% | 49.21% | 88.16% | -62.57% | -10.5% | 13.11% | 38.57% | -23.03% | 461.14% | 26.77% | -123.71% | 45.95% | 26.05% | 48.96% | 80.11% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 98.07M | 96.9M | 120.67M | 133.99M | 138.36M | 143.91M | 163.76M | 138.5M | 97.35M | 102.22M | 103.45M | 97.43M | 86.68M | 69.97M | 50.78M | 28.38M | 26.35M | 23.73M | 22.05M | 20.84M | 8.36M | 5.18M | 6.57M | 9.04M | 15.88M | 40.21M | 31.11M | 21.5M | 11.5M | 9.9M | 10.3M |
| EBIT | 341.09M | 364.52M | 322.88M | 226.11M | 259.83M | 220.13M | 155.26M | 136.24M | 133.33M | 82.58M | 225.76M | 154.75M | 138.51M | 120.38M | 75.69M | 66.74M | 50.7M | 35.96M | 32.57M | 2.42M | 53.78M | 64.25M | 54.81M | 35.26M | 41.67M | -56.15M | -52.87M | 70.3M | 51.4M | 40M | 23.2M |
| Net Interest Income | -40.95M | -42.97M | -56.55M | -64.27M | -40.65M | -33.54M | -45M | -52.07M | -30.39M | -38.45M | -39.65M | -40.99M | -39.16M | -26.56M | -9.5M | -1.12M | -1.33M | -1.81M | -2.4M | -2.56M | 7.64M | 0 | 0 | -1.79M | -3.93M | 2.39M | 2.57M | 2.5M | -200K | 0 | -200K |
| Interest Income | 14.42M | 14.87M | 15.93M | 14.21M | 12.55M | 11.52M | 11.63M | 11.97M | 11.14M | 564K | 530K | 386K | 575K | 659K | 914K | 1.31M | 665K | 1.04M | 2.61M | 4.08M | 7.83M | 0 | 0 | 1.21M | 1.67M | 4.4M | 3.48M | 2.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 55.36M | 57.85M | 72.47M | 78.49M | 53.19M | 45.06M | 56.63M | 64.03M | 41.53M | 39.01M | 40.18M | 41.37M | 39.74M | 27.22M | 10.42M | 2.43M | 2M | 2.86M | 5.01M | 6.64M | 185K | 0 | 0 | 3M | 5.6M | 2M | 912K | 400K | 200K | 0 | 200K |
| Other Income/Expense | -48.83M | -23.24M | -57.73M | -72.78M | 2.8M | -34.83M | -46.12M | -51.55M | -34.11M | -41.07M | -35.55M | -14.57M | -39.4M | -29.89M | -9.1M | -1.92M | -4.95M | -8.46M | 5.84M | -6.3M | 7.1M | 1.65M | 2.62M | -1.65M | -3.96M | -20.99M | -5.4M | 1.6M | 400K | 1.5M | 1.3M |
| Pretax Income | 285.46M | 306.67M | 250.41M | 147.63M | 206.63M | 175.06M | 98.63M | 72.21M | 91.8M | 43.57M | 185.58M | 113.37M | 98.77M | 93.16M | 65.27M | 64.31M | 48.7M | 33.11M | 27.56M | -3.88M | 60.88M | 66.11M | 57.44M | 33.61M | 37.71M | -44.81M | 3.59M | 71.9M | 51.3M | 37.9M | 21.8M |
| Pretax Margin % | 15.94% | 17.43% | 15.71% | 10.16% | 14.53% | 12.77% | 7.62% | 5.74% | 9.09% | 4.25% | 18.45% | 10.84% | 9.72% | 10.77% | 9.79% | 13.83% | 11.64% | 8.16% | 6.6% | -1.06% | 17.5% | 21.1% | 19.62% | 12.12% | 13.33% | -14.95% | 1.18% | 20.26% | 17.7% | 17.59% | 13.64% |
| Income Tax | 79.36M | 80.01M | 47.29M | 26.12M | 64.46M | 47.27M | 25.97M | 5.15M | 22.88M | 38.44M | 56.05M | 27.94M | 31.21M | 29.29M | 16.42M | 18.46M | 21.51M | 13.48M | 16.97M | 5.25M | 5.51M | 22.86M | 10.75M | 19.29M | 22.44M | -1.79M | 1.48M | 27.2M | 19.5M | 14.3M | 9.2M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 27.8% | 26.09% | 18.89% | 17.69% | 31.19% | 27% | 26.33% | 7.13% | 24.92% | 88.21% | 30.2% | 24.64% | 31.6% | 31.44% | 25.16% | 28.7% | 44.16% | 40.72% | 61.6% | -135.15% | 9.05% | 34.58% | 18.72% | 57.38% | 59.51% | 4% | 41.25% | 37.83% | 38.01% | 37.73% | 42.2% |
| Net Income | 206.09M | 226.66M | 203.12M | 121.51M | 142.18M | 127.79M | 72.66M | 67.06M | 68.92M | 5.13M | 129.53M | 85.44M | 67.56M | 63.87M | 48.85M | 45.85M | 27.2M | 19.63M | 10.58M | -9.13M | 55.37M | 43.25M | 46.69M | 14.32M | 15.27M | -43.02M | 2.11M | 44.7M | 31.8M | 23.6M | 12.6M |
| Net Margin % | 11.51% | 12.88% | 12.74% | 8.37% | 10% | 9.32% | 5.61% | 5.33% | 6.83% | 0.5% | 12.88% | 8.17% | 6.65% | 7.38% | 7.33% | 9.86% | 6.5% | 4.84% | 2.53% | -2.49% | 15.91% | 13.81% | 15.95% | 5.17% | 5.4% | -14.35% | 0.7% | 12.6% | 10.97% | 10.95% | 7.88% |
| Net Income Growth % | -23.59% | 11.59% | 67.16% | -14.54% | 11.26% | 75.88% | 8.35% | -2.7% | 1242.18% | -96.04% | 51.62% | 26.46% | 5.78% | 30.75% | 6.53% | 68.6% | 38.57% | 85.47% | 215.89% | -116.49% | 28.02% | -7.37% | 225.9% | -6.18% | 135.5% | -2137.75% | -95.28% | 40.57% | 34.75% | 87.3% | 231.58% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 206.09M | 226.66M | 203.12M | 121.51M | 142.18M | 127.79M | 72.66M | 67.06M | 68.92M | 5.13M | 129.53M | 85.44M | 67.56M | 63.87M | 48.85M | 45.85M | 27.2M | 19.63M | 10.58M | -9.13M | 55.37M | 43.1M | 46.69M | 14.32M | 15.27M | -80.06M | -50.06M | 44.7M | 32.3M | 27.2M | 15.2M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 2.00 | 2.16 | 1.91 | 1.12 | 1.24 | 1.08 | 0.62 | 0.57 | 0.59 | 0.04 | 1.09 | 0.72 | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.41 | 0.45 | 0.27 | 0.19 | 0.10 | -0.08 | 0.48 | 0.37 | 0.40 | 0.13 | 0.14 | -0.42 | 0.02 | 0.46 | 0.34 | 0.27 | 0.16 |
| EPS Growth % | -21.65% | 13.09% | 70.54% | -9.68% | 14.81% | 74.19% | 8.77% | -3.39% | 1375% | -96.33% | 51.39% | 24.14% | 9.43% | 29.27% | -8.89% | 66.67% | 42.11% | 90% | 221.36% | -117.17% | 29.73% | -7.5% | 207.69% | -7.14% | 133.33% | -1902.58% | -94.93% | 35.29% | 25.93% | 68.75% | 200.19% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 2.18 | 1.93 | 1.12 | 1.25 | 1.09 | 0.62 | 0.58 | 0.59 | 0.04 | 1.10 | 0.73 | 0.59 | 0.54 | 0.42 | 0.46 | 0.27 | 0.19 | 0.10 | -0.08 | 0.49 | 0.38 | 0.42 | 0.13 | 0.14 | -0.42 | 0.02 | 0.47 | 0.35 | 0.28 | 0.17 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 102.84M | 104.81M | 106.49M | 108.86M | 114.24M | 118.65M | 118.08M | 118.57M | 117.63M | 119.44M | 118.85M | 118.92M | 116.77M | 120.05M | 119.72M | 102.58M | 101.61M | 103.66M | 104.39M | 110.8M | 114.71M | 115.52M | 114.35M | 107.17M | 106.72M | 102.35M | 96.35M | 97.09M | 93.58M | 99.51M | 95M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 101.92M | 103.96M | 105.49M | 108.5M | 113.7M | 117.41M | 116.4M | 116.17M | 116.06M | 118.06M | 117.53M | 117.47M | 114.8M | 117.89M | 116.09M | 100.37M | 100.68M | 103.1M | 103.49M | 110.8M | 112.11M | 113.05M | 111M | 106.67M | 105.98M | 102.35M | 95.23M | 95M | 90.89M | 96M | 91.2M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cyclical Revenue Recognition Volatility
As reported in recent financial filings, ACIW's revenue growth has exhibited significant volatility, fluctuating between a 4.9% contraction in 2024Q4 and a 24.9% expansion in 2025Q1, suggesting that the company's top-line performance remains heavily dependent on the timing of large, lumpy software license renewals.
The erratic quarterly growth rates indicate that ACIW struggles to maintain a consistent organic trajectory, likely due to the reliance on project-based professional services and term-license recognition. Investors should monitor whether the shift toward recurring SaaS models can eventually smooth out these periodic revenue swings.
Based on the provided income statement data, gross margins have fluctuated widely from a low of 39.5% in 2024Q1 to a peak of 61.9% in 2023Q4, reflecting the inherent difficulty in maintaining consistent profitability within a hybrid model of transaction-heavy biller services and legacy software licensing.
The significant variance in gross margins suggests that the company's cost structure is highly sensitive to the product mix sold in any given quarter. This lack of margin stability implies that ACIW may lack the pricing power required to offset the rising costs of cloud infrastructure and specialized engineering talent.
According to historical income statements, operating margins have swung from as low as 3.0% in 2024Q1 to as high as 36.2% in 2023Q4, demonstrating that ACIW has yet to achieve the consistent operating leverage typically expected from a mature software infrastructure provider.
The inability to scale operating income predictably alongside gross profit suggests that SG&A and R&D expenses are not being managed with sufficient discipline to drive margin expansion. This volatility warrants further investigation into whether the company's cost base is truly fixed or if it requires constant, expensive reinvestment to remain competitive.
As indicated by the quarterly data, stock-based compensation has trended upward to $25.2 million in 2025Q4, which significantly impacts net income and suggests that reported EPS figures may be artificially supported by equity-based incentives rather than purely operational cash generation.
The reliance on stock-based compensation to manage the cost structure may mask the true cash cost of retaining specialized engineering talent. Analysts should adjust for these non-cash expenses to determine if the underlying business is generating sufficient economic value for shareholders.
While management emphasizes a transition to cloud-native solutions, the income statement data suggests that ACIW remains tethered to a legacy cost structure, as evidenced by the inconsistent profitability and the persistent need for high R&D spending to maintain aging, mission-critical payment architectures.
Short-sellers may focus on the risk that the company's legacy install base is a liability rather than a moat, particularly if cloud-native competitors continue to gain market share. The current financial performance appears to support the narrative that ACIW is a value-oriented utility rather than a high-growth fintech disruptor.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ACIW stock.
For fiscal year 2025, ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) reported total revenue of $1.76B. This represents a 1001.2% increase compared to $159.8M in 1996.
ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) is profitable, generating $226.7M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 12.9%.
ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) reported an operating income of $329.9M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 18.7%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) generated $862.1M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 49.0%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.