On today's call, we will discuss ACI's third quarter 2025 results and our financial outlook for the remainder of the year. You can find the full text of these statements in our presentation deck and earnings release, both available on our website and filed with the SEC. I'm going to share some key takeaways, and then Bobby will review our financials and guidance before we take your questions. We've spent the last couple of years investing in our leading software and working hard to structurally reshape ACI Worldwide for accelerating growth and financial predictability.

We delivered 7% year-over-year total revenue growth with double-digit recurring revenue growth in the quarter. For the year so far, both total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA are up 12%, reflecting consistent execution and operational efficiency across the business. Given this momentum, we're again raising our full-year guidance, and Bobby will share more about that shortly. As I've mentioned on prior calls, our team is working hard to reduce some of the variability introduced by our historic term license software business model.

Looking at our segments, the biller business continues to perform well, with Q3 revenue up 10% compared to a year ago. Our payment software segment delivered 4% growth compared to last year, and it's up 12% year-to-date with the strong start we had to 2025. We continue to see strong demand from both traditional banks and established payment processors, as well as from up-and-coming fintechs. Bottom line is the winners in the marketplace are investing, and they're often choosing ACI for their software needs.

What went well
  • Total revenue grew 7% year-over-year to $482 million (6% adjusted for FX), with double-digit recurring revenue growth; recurring revenue was $298 million, up 10%, and now represents 62% of total revenue.
  • Raised full-year 2025 guidance again on the back of strong year-to-date results, with both total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA up 12% for the first nine months.
  • Biller segment continued to perform well with revenue up 10% year-over-year to $198 million, driven by particularly strong growth in the utility and government verticals.
  • Signed Solaris, a German fintech and bank, as the first ACI Kinetic customer, and reported an expanding and strengthening Kinetic pipeline.
  • Net new ARR bookings grew 50% year-to-date to $46 million and new license and services bookings grew 8% to $189 million; 60-month backlog reached $7.1 billion with double-digit growth.
  • Increased share repurchase authorization to $500 million, after repurchasing 3.1 million shares (about 3% of shares outstanding) for $150 million year-to-date.
What went wrong
  • Adjusted EBITDA grew only 2% year-over-year to $171 million, well below the 7% revenue growth, and payment software segment Adjusted EBITDA was up just 1%.
  • Cash flow from operations declined year-to-date to $201 million from $232 million a year ago, reflecting the anticipated timing of receivables and tax payments between periods.
  • Management acknowledged ongoing quarter-to-quarter variability from the historic term license software business model, which they can lessen but not completely eliminate.

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Q&A Summary

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Reported 2025-11-06 · figures from the Aci Worldwide, Inc. Q3 2025 earnings call.

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