ACI Worldwide (ACIW) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 revenue and adjusted EBITDA exceeded expectations; YoY declines reflected high-margin license renewals shifting into Q4.

• Net new ARR bookings rose 86% YoY to $23.6M, with growth across Payment Software and Biller.

• Strategic progress included ACI Connetic’s first customer go-live, additional wins, Cranium Ventures’ card-switching capabilities and continued Speedpay ONE adoption.

Financial highlights

• Q3 revenue was $426.8M, down 12% YoY; recurring revenue rose 4% to $309.3M.

• Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $97.5M, down 43%; net income was $32.5M versus $91.3M.

• 9M revenue was $1,283.0M versus $1,278.2M; recurring revenue rose 6% to $958.5M and adjusted EBITDA fell 15% to $293.5M.

• 9M net income was $102.6M versus $162.3M; 2025 included a $21.7M after-tax gain on the Mindgate minority-interest sale.

• Q3 operating cash flow was $119M, up 63%; 9M operating cash flow rose 26% to $254.1M from $201.1M.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 revenue guidance remained $1.895B–$1.925B; adjusted EBITDA guidance rose to $550M–$565M from $545M–$560M.

• Q4 guidance is revenue of $612M–$642M and adjusted EBITDA of $257M–$272M.

• Both segments are expected to deliver upper-single-digit FY26 revenue growth; Q4 renewals are expected to drive the strongest Payment Software growth and significant YoY growth in revenue, EBITDA and margin.

• More than 95% of FY26 revenue outlook is signed, contracted or tied to license contracts renewing before year-end; FY new ARR and license and services bookings are expected to grow.

• 2027 guidance was deferred to the February year-end call.