2024 HIGHLIGHTS
- Total revenue of $1.594 billion grew 10%
- Net income of $203 million grew 67%
- Total adjusted EBITDA of $466 million grew 18%
- Cash flow from operating activities of $359 million grew
113%
- Expect 7-9% revenue growth in 2025
ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), an original innovator in global
payments technology, announced financial results today for the
quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.
"We are proud to have finished 2024 with stronger results than
we expected across our key financial metrics, and that strength has
continued as we start 2025. In 2024, we grew revenue 10%, increased
adjusted EBITDA margin by more than 300 basis points to 41%, and
more than doubled our cash flow to over $350 million,” said Thomas
Warsop, president and CEO of ACI Worldwide. “ACI is executing on
the strategy we launched in 2024 to become the global leader in
Intelligent Payments Orchestration.”
“Building on our momentum and track record of success, we are
entering 2025 from a position of strength, both financially and
operationally,” Warsop added. “We are confident in our ability to
continue driving strong financial performance and focused on
increasing shareholder value.”
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Full-year 2024 total revenue was $1.594 billion, up 10% from
2023. Net income was $203 million in 2024, up 67% from 2023. Total
adjusted EBITDA in 2024 was $466 million, up 18% from 2023. Cash
flow from operating activities in 2024 was $359 million, up 113%
compared to 2023.
- Bank segment revenue increased 14% and Bank segment adjusted
EBITDA increased 20% versus 2023.
- Merchant segment revenue increased 10% and Merchant segment
adjusted EBITDA increased 57% versus 2023.
- Biller segment revenue increased 6% and Biller segment adjusted
EBITDA decreased 8% versus 2023 due to certain one-time margin
benefits that did not recur in 2024.
ACI ended 2024 with $216 million in cash on hand and a debt
balance of $933 million, which represents a net debt leverage ratio
of 1.5x adjusted EBITDA. In 2024, the company repurchased
approximately 3.9 million shares for $128 million in capital. At
year end 2024 the company had $373 million remaining available on
the share repurchase authorization.
Q1 AND FULL-YEAR 2025 GUIDANCE
For the full year of 2025, we expect revenue growth to be in the
7% to 9% range on a constant currency basis, or in the range of
$1.685 billion to $1.715 billion. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be
in the range of $480 million to $495 million. For Q1 2025, we
expect revenue to be between $360 million and $370 million and
adjusted EBITDA of $70 million to $80 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
audio broadcast of the teleconference at
http://investor.aciworldwide.com/ or use the following number for
dial-in participation: toll-free 1 (888) 660-6377 and conference
code 3153574.
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 nearly 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) our strength continuing as we start 2025,
(ii) our execution on the strategy we launched in 2024 to become
the global leader in Intelligent Payments Orchestration, (iii)
building on our momentum and track record of success, we are
entering 2025 from a position of strength, both financially and
operationally, (iv) we are confident in our ability to continue
driving strong financial performance and focused on increasing
shareholder value, and (v) Q1 2025 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
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE
SHEETS
(unaudited and in
thousands)
December 31,
2024
2023
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
216,394
$
164,239
Receivables, net of allowances
414,399
452,337
Settlement assets
318,871
723,039
Prepaid expenses
29,218
31,479
Other current assets
11,940
35,551
Total current assets
990,822
1,406,645
Noncurrent assets
Accrued receivables, net
360,079
313,983
Property and equipment, net
35,069
37,856
Operating lease right-of-use assets
28,864
34,338
Software, net
92,893
108,418
Goodwill
1,226,026
1,226,026
Intangible assets, net
165,377
195,646
Deferred income taxes, net
72,713
58,499
Other noncurrent assets
53,450
63,328
TOTAL ASSETS
$
3,025,293
$
3,444,739
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
$
45,422
$
45,964
Settlement liabilities
317,484
721,164
Employee compensation
55,567
53,892
Current portion of long-term debt
34,928
74,405
Deferred revenue
75,419
59,580
Other current liabilities
73,808
82,244
Total current liabilities
602,628
1,037,249
Noncurrent liabilities
Deferred revenue
19,304
24,780
Long-term debt
889,649
963,599
Deferred income taxes, net
39,920
40,735
Operating lease liabilities
22,592
29,074
Other noncurrent liabilities
26,873
25,005
Total liabilities
1,600,966
2,120,442
Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock
—
—
Common stock
702
702
Additional paid-in capital
731,927
712,994
Retained earnings
1,598,085
1,394,967
Treasury stock
(784,914
)
(674,896
)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(121,473
)
(109,470
)
Total stockholders’ equity
1,424,327
1,324,297
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
$
3,025,293
$
3,444,739
ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
OPERATIONS
(unaudited and in thousands,
except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenues
Software as a service and platform as a
service
$
223,481
$
223,172
$
897,979
$
849,147
License
159,322
178,543
412,306
321,224
Maintenance
46,717
51,632
190,763
205,068
Services
23,518
23,216
93,240
77,140
Total revenues
453,038
476,563
1,594,288
1,452,579
Operating expenses
Cost of revenue (1)
200,087
181,689
791,783
719,211
Research and development
38,614
34,636
146,677
140,758
Selling and marketing
34,360
34,473
118,352
132,639
General and administrative
33,437
24,515
118,379
117,190
Depreciation and amortization
24,252
28,934
110,962
122,373
Total operating expenses
330,750
304,247
1,286,153
1,232,171
Operating income
122,288
172,316
308,135
220,408
Other income (expense)
Interest expense
(16,634
)
(19,845
)
(72,471
)
(78,486
)
Interest income
4,093
3,757
15,926
14,215
Other, net
511
(2,107
)
(1,181
)
(8,510
)
Total other income (expense)
(12,030
)
(18,195
)
(57,726
)
(72,781
)
Income before income taxes
110,258
154,121
250,409
147,627
Income tax expense
11,703
31,505
47,291
26,118
Net income
$
98,555
$
122,616
$
203,118
$
121,509
Income per common share
Basic
$
0.94
$
1.13
$
1.93
$
1.12
Diluted
$
0.93
$
1.12
$
1.91
$
1.12
Weighted average common shares
outstanding
Basic
105,104
108,703
105,491
108,497
Diluted
106,318
109,147
106,493
108,857
(1) The cost of revenue excludes charges for depreciation and
amortization.
ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. AND
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
CASH FLOWS
(unaudited and in
thousands)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
$
98,555
$
122,616
$
203,118
$
121,509
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net
cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation
3,162
5,017
18,161
23,739
Amortization
21,090
23,918
92,801
98,634
Amortization of operating lease
right-of-use assets
2,369
2,430
9,706
11,620
Amortization of deferred debt issuance
costs
655
908
2,912
4,323
Deferred income taxes
(10,901
)
21,122
(13,130
)
(4,085
)
Stock-based compensation expense
11,116
7,010
41,281
24,547
Other
1,740
(247
)
1,920
1,921
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities, net of impact of divestiture:
Receivables
(27,282
)
(105,010
)
(23,583
)
(62,998
)
Accounts payable
(1,026
)
3,423
(268
)
(3,775
)
Accrued employee compensation
14,012
11,025
2,887
8,146
Deferred revenue
10,002
(1,699
)
11,886
2,705
Other current and noncurrent assets and
liabilities
2,990
(4,770
)
11,057
(57,769
)
Net cash flows from operating
activities
126,482
85,743
358,748
168,517
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment
(6,939
)
(968
)
(15,402
)
(8,924
)
Purchases of software and distribution
rights
(6,471
)
(6,282
)
(29,649
)
(28,853
)
Net cash flows from investing
activities
(13,410
)
(7,250
)
(45,051
)
(37,777
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
789
697
2,918
2,819
Proceeds from exercises of stock
options
4,375
3,594
6,329
6,726
Repurchase of stock-based compensation
awards for tax withholdings
(3,812
)
(946
)
(13,111
)
(5,149
)
Repurchases of common stock
—
(27,587
)
(127,670
)
(27,587
)
Proceeds from revolving credit
facility
—
59,000
184,000
134,000
Repayment of revolving credit facility
(61,000
)
(64,000
)
(238,000
)
(115,000
)
Proceeds from term portion of credit
agreement
—
—
500,000
—
Repayment of term portion of credit
agreement
(9,375
)
(19,475
)
(557,198
)
(73,031
)
Payments on or proceeds from other debt,
net
(5,555
)
(4,293
)
(14,854
)
(16,766
)
Payments for debt issuance costs
—
—
(5,141
)
(2,160
)
Net decrease in settlement assets and
liabilities
(43,174
)
(10,769
)
(25,470
)
(15,404
)
Net cash flows from financing
activities
(117,752
)
(63,779
)
(288,197
)
(111,552
)
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on
cash
1,028
573
697
4,961
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents
(3,652
)
15,287
26,197
24,149
Cash and cash equivalents, including
settlement deposits, beginning of period
268,670
223,534
238,821
214,672
Cash and cash equivalents, including
settlement deposits, end of period
$
265,018
$
238,821
$
265,018
$
238,821
Reconciliation of cash and cash
equivalents to the Consolidated Balance Sheets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
216,394
$
164,239
$
216,394
$
164,239
Settlement deposits
48,624
74,582
48,624
74,582
Total cash and cash equivalents
$
265,018
$
238,821
$
265,018
$
238,821
Adjusted EBITDA (millions)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net income
$
98.6
$
122.6
$
203.1
$
121.5
Plus:
Income tax expense
11.7
31.5
47.3
26.1
Net interest expense
12.5
16.1
56.5
64.3
Net other (income) expense
(0.5
)
2.1
1.2
8.5
Depreciation expense
3.2
5.0
18.2
23.7
Amortization expense
21.1
23.9
92.8
98.6
Non-cash stock-based compensation
expense
11.1
7.0
41.3
24.5
Adjusted EBITDA before significant
transaction-related expenses
$
157.7
$
208.2
$
460.4
$
367.2
Significant transaction-related
expenses:
Cost reduction strategies
—
1.3
4.3
21.0
European datacenter migration
—
0.2
—
2.8
Other
—
—
1.0
4.4
Adjusted EBITDA
$
157.7
$
209.7
$
465.7
$
395.4
Revenue, net of interchange:
Revenue
$
453.0
$
476.6
$
1,594.3
$
1,452.6
Interchange
115.7
106.1
469.4
421.1
Revenue, net of interchange
$
337.3
$
370.5
$
1,124.9
$
1,031.5
Net adjusted EBITDA Margin
47
%
57
%
41
%
38
%
Segment Information (millions)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue
Banks
$
230.8
$
254.9
$
701.9
$
616.1
Merchants
42.0
43.0
165.9
150.6
Billers
180.2
178.7
726.5
685.9
Total
$
453.0
$
476.6
$
1,594.3
$
1,452.6
Recurring revenue
Banks
$
54.7
$
58.2
$
221.8
$
229.4
Merchants
35.3
37.9
140.4
138.9
Billers
180.2
178.7
726.5
685.9
Total
$
270.2
$
274.8
$
1,088.7
$
1,054.2
Segment adjusted EBITDA
Banks
$
150.7
$
188.2
$
425.5
$
355.5
Merchants
16.8
17.5
69.5
44.3
Billers
32.1
42.2
131.2
142.3
Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding.
EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant
Transaction-related Items (millions)
Three Months Ended December
31,
2024
2023
EPS Impact
$ in Millions
(Net of Tax)
EPS Impact
$ in Millions
(Net of Tax)
GAAP net income
$
0.93
$
98.6
$
1.12
$
122.6
Adjusted for:
Significant transaction-related
expenses
—
—
0.01
1.1
Amortization of acquisition-related
intangibles
0.04
4.5
0.06
6.4
Amortization of acquisition-related
software
0.03
3.3
0.03
3.5
Non-cash stock-based compensation
0.08
8.8
0.05
5.3
Total adjustments
$
0.15
$
16.6
$
0.15
$
16.3
Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and
significant transaction-related items
$
1.08
$
115.2
$
1.27
$
138.9
EPS Impact of Non-cash and Significant
Transaction-related Items (millions)
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
EPS Impact
$ in Millions
(Net of Tax)
EPS Impact
$ in Millions
(Net of Tax)
GAAP net income
$
1.91
$
203.1
$
1.12
$
121.5
Adjusted for:
Significant transaction-related
expenses
0.07
7.4
0.19
21.1
Amortization of acquisition-related
intangibles
0.22
23.3
0.24
25.7
Amortization of acquisition-related
software
0.13
13.8
0.14
15.5
Non-cash stock-based compensation
0.31
32.6
0.17
18.7
Total adjustments
$
0.73
$
77.1
$
0.74
$
81.0
Diluted EPS adjusted for non-cash and
significant transaction-related items
$
2.64
$
280.2
$
1.86
$
202.5
Recurring Revenue (millions)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
SaaS and PaaS fees
$
223.5
$
223.2
$
898.0
$
849.1
Maintenance fees
46.7
51.6
190.8
205.1
Recurring revenue
$
270.2
$
274.8
$
1,088.7
$
1,054.2
New Bookings (millions)
Three Months Ended December
31,
Years Ended December
31,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Annual recurring revenue (ARR)
bookings
$
35.2
$
28.8
$
65.7
$
73.5
License and services bookings
115.1
106.5
290.0
239.2
Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250227238651/en/
For more information contact:
Investor Relations John Kraft SVP, Head of Strategy and
Finance 305-894-2223 / john.kraft@aciworldwide.com
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