ACI Worldwide, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Quarter and Full Year Ended December 31, 2024

Business Wire 27-Feb-2025 6:00 AM

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.

(1) The cost of revenue excludes charges for depreciation and amortization.

Note: Amounts may not recalculate due to rounding.

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