ACI Worldwide, Inc. (ACIW) stock analysis
Close on Nov 12, 2026Market cap $6.18BP/E 37.8Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed10 of 30 checks passed
ACI Worldwide passes 10 of the 30 checks behind our score; 5 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 0/6
- Growth
- 2/6
- Past performance
- 3/6
- Financial health
- 5/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 25.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 20.3% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 5.2 times.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 46.0% of total debt.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 42.6% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $61.85 is above our fair value estimate of $43.37.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 11.2% over the last twelve months and averaged 12.4% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital under 10%
Return on invested capital was 9.0%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Valuation0/6
P/E above its 5-year median
ACI Worldwide's P/E of 38.2 is above its own 5-year median of 25.4.
P/E above the industry
ACI Worldwide's P/E of 38.2 is above the Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median of 27.6.
EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median
ACI Worldwide's EV/EBITDA of 19.1 is above its 5-year median of 12.7.
P/B above the industry
ACI Worldwide's price-to-book of 4.18 is above the Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median of 3.32.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $61.85 is above our fair value estimate of $43.37.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 42.6% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth2/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 7.4% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 20.3% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth not accelerating
Net income grew -36.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 25.5% a year.
Growing slower than the industry
Revenue grew 1.9% over the last twelve months; the Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median is 9.6%.
Guidance raised
ACI Worldwide raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook on Aug 6, 2026.
Gross margin slipping
Gross margin was 47.0% over the last twelve months, against 49.7% a year earlier.
Past performance3/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 11.2% over the last twelve months and averaged 12.4% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital under 10%
Return on invested capital was 9.0%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
ACI Worldwide's return on equity of 11.2% is above the Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median of -1.2%.
Earnings grew over 5 years
Net income grew 25.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 9.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 10.7%.
Net margin above the industry
ACI Worldwide's net margin of 9.5% is above the Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median of -4.8%.
Financial health5/6
High debt
Debt is 54.7% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt falling against equity
Debt to equity fell from 95.7% five years ago to 54.7%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 46.0% of total debt.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 5.2 times.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 1.56 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 4.17; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
ACI Worldwide has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$43.37
The share price is 43% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 26.5× | 25.4× | 27.6× | $42.89 | 40% |
| EV/EBITDA | 15.7× | 12.7× | 18.8× | $49.95 | 35% |
| P/B | 3.1× | 3.0× | 3.3× | $46.53 | 10% |
| Earnings power | 9.9% cost of equity | – | – | $27.18 | 15% |
| Fair value | $43.37 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 25.4
- Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services median 27.6
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $52.78M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $38.66M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 12.3%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 34%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 0.76
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.00
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +10.4% | +7.4% | +6.3% | +5.3% | |
| Gross profit | +7.4% | +5.9% | +5.1% | +4.2% | |
| Operating income | +7.1% | +17.4% | +17.9% | +9.9% | |
| Net income | +11.6% | +16.8% | +25.5% | +10.2% | |
| EPS, diluted | +13.1% | +20.3% | +28.4% | +11.6% | |
| Free cash flow | -9.7% | +33.5% | +0.8% | +6.8% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 18.4% | 6.2% | 15.4% | |
| Return on assets | 6.7% | 2.2% | 7.4% | |
| Current ratio | 1.08 | 1.28 | 1.54 | |
| Debt to equity | 0.99 | 0.96 | 0.54 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.06× | 3.12× | 1.46× | |
| Interest coverage | 5.5× | 2.6× | 5.7× | |
| Capex to revenue | 4.1% | 1.4% | 0.7% | |
| Diluted shares | 119M | 118M | 105M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
ACI Worldwide generated $1.21B from operations and spent $742.73M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 10% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 12.9% | 0.57× | 2.08× | 15.4% |
| FY2024 | 12.7% | 0.49× | 2.35× | 14.8% |
| FY2023 | 8.4% | 0.44× | 2.64× | 9.7% |
| FY2022 | 10.0% | 0.45× | 2.61× | 11.7% |
| FY2021 | 9.3% | 0.42× | 2.67× | 10.4% |
| FY2020 | 5.6% | 0.39× | 2.84× | 6.2% |
| FY2019 | 5.3% | 0.47× | 2.47× | 6.2% |
| FY2018 | 6.8% | 0.51× | 2.20× | 7.6% |
| FY2017 | 0.5% | 0.54× | 2.48× | 0.7% |
| FY2016 | 12.9% | 0.52× | 2.75× | 18.4% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$226.66M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$322.83M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year5.9% → 7.5%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$322.83M vs $226.66M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell29.4% → 25.0%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.64 → 1.54
- No dilutionShare count did not rise106M → 105M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year50.34% → 48.99%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.46 → 0.58
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