Q2 2026 ACI Worldwide, Inc. Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- ACI Worldwide Inc (ACIW) reported strong Q2 2026 results with 7% revenue growth, 12% adjusted EBITDA growth, and 54% adjusted diluted EPS growth, leading to another raise in full-year guidance.
- The company signed its first US-based Kinetic customer in Q2 and a second shortly after, validating its cloud-native payments modernization strategy and expanding its pipeline.
- AI integration is delivering tangible benefits, including reducing payment scheme mandate interpretation time from 2-3 weeks to minutes/hours and saving over 6,000 hours of engineering time in product rearchitecture.
- Payment software segment revenue grew 9% in Q2, driven by a 37% increase in issuing and acquiring revenue, reflecting strong customer expansions and renewals.
- The company maintains a strong balance sheet with net leverage of 1.2x adjusted EBITDA and continues to return capital to shareholders, repurchasing $107 million year-to-date.
- Biller segment shows healthy underlying demand with over 100 customers live on Speedpay1, and management expects upper single-digit revenue growth for the full year.
- Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $1.895-$1.925 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $545-$560 million, reflecting confidence in the pipeline and second-half performance.
- Biller segment revenue growth was only 5% in Q2, impacted by difficult year-over-year comparisons and non-recurring margin benefits from the prior year.
- Biller adjusted EBITDA declined year-over-year due to prior year comparison items and a one-time charge related to a terminated partnership, which was not excluded from adjusted EBITDA.
- Real-time payments revenue declined in Q2 due to fewer renewal and expansion opportunities compared to the prior year, though retention remains strong.
- Net new ARR bookings were $18 million in Q2, down from a particularly strong prior year period that benefited from several large payment software contract signings.
- The company expects a 40/60 revenue split between Q3 and Q4, with Q3 revenue guidance of $417-$427 million and adjusted EBITDA of $90-$95 million, indicating a back-half-loaded year.
- Management declined to comment on recent speculation about potential divestitures or acquisitions, creating uncertainty for investors regarding strategic direction.
- The company's M&A strategy remains opportunistic, but valuations for potential acquisitions are noted as more attractive, suggesting possible capital deployment risks.
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for joining us and welcome to the second quarter 2026 ACI Worldwide Earnings conference call.
After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)
I will now hand the conference over to John Kraft. Please go ahead.
Good morning everyone, and thanks for joining us.
On today's call, we will discuss ACI Worldwide second quarter 2026 results, as well as our updated financial outlook for the remainder of the year. We will then open the line for your questions. Slides and press release accompanying this webcast can be found at ACIworldwide.com under the investor relations tab and will remain available after the call. As always, today's call is subject to safe harbor and forward-looking statements. You can find the full text of these statements in our earnings materials and SEC filings.
Joining me this morning are Thomas W. Warsop, III, our President and CEO, and Robert Leibrock, our
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