In This Article:
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Total Revenue: $1.6 billion, up 10% from 2023.
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Adjusted EBITDA: $466 million, up 18% from 2023.
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Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 41%, expanded over 300 basis points from last year.
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Cash Flow from Operating Activities: $359 million, more than double the previous year.
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Bank Segment Revenue Growth: 14% increase from 2023.
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Merchant Segment Revenue Growth: 10% increase from 2023.
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Biller Segment Revenue Growth: 6% increase from 2023.
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Cash on Hand: $216 million at year-end.
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Total Debt Outstanding: Decreased by more than $100 million to $932 million.
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Net Debt Leverage Ratio: Declined to 1.5 times.
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Share Repurchase: Nearly 4 million shares repurchased, approximately 4% of shares outstanding.
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2025 Revenue Guidance: $1.685 billion to $1.715 billion, representing 7% to 9% growth over 2024.
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2025 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: $480 million to $495 million.
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Q1 2025 Revenue Guidance: $360 million to $370 million, representing 17% to 21% growth over last year.
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Q1 2025 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: $70 million to $80 million, representing 43% to 63% growth over last year.
Release Date: February 27, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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ACI Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:ACIW) reported a 10% increase in total revenue for 2024, surpassing their own expectations and guidance.
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Adjusted EBITDA grew by 18% with a margin expansion of over 300 basis points, highlighting the leverage in their software model.
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Cash flow from operating activities more than doubled to $359 million in 2024, indicating strong cash flow generation.
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The company successfully signed contracts earlier in the year, reducing seasonality and allowing focus on new customer wins.
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ACI Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:ACIW) has a strong start to 2025 with significant new sales bookings, including a large competitive takeaway in the Asia Pacific region.
Negative Points
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The Biller segment experienced a decline in EBITDA due to the absence of one-time non-recurring margin benefits from the previous year.
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Despite overall growth, the merchant segment has struggled to achieve the desired size and impact.
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There is a reliance on signing new business deals to maintain growth, which can introduce variability in financial performance.
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The company is still working on balancing revenue recognition throughout the year to reduce reliance on Q4 results.
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Incremental functionality for the new payment hub is still under development, which may delay full market rollout and impact short-term growth.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Could you comment on the Net Revenue dynamics within the Biller segment and the factors contributing to the year-over-year EBITDA decline? A: The decline is primarily due to certain one-time margin benefits in 2023 that did not recur in 2024. However, we expect Net Revenue and EBITDA to increase in 2025 as we move past these non-recurring benefits. Despite this, we achieved a 300 basis point margin expansion at the consolidated level.