ACIW
ACI Worldwide, Inc.
ACIW's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over ACIW overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ACIW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
ACIW's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ACIW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 20x | $31.80 | -48% |
| Forward | 22x | $61.26 | — |
| Fair | 29x | $46.13 | -25% |
| Current | 38x | $61.26 | — |
| Expensive | 46x | $74.84 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ACIW's PE is in its fair range at 38x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
MSFT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $523 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $525 | +0.4% |
| Current | 27x | $523 | — |
| Fair | 34x | $652 | +25% |
| Expensive | 37x | $711 | +36% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSFT has the edge over ACIW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ACIW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
ACIW has the edge over MSFT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MSFT, with profitability holding steady.
ACIW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.82 | +75% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.61 | -35% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.17 | -8.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.98 | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.16 | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.47 | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.36 | +39% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.53 | +87% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.91 | +71% |
ACIW's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.61 over the past year, against $2.53 in early 2025.
MSFT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $20.79 | +8.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.15 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.95 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.80 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.99 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.06 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.64 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.93 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.41 | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over ACIW on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ACIW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $426.8M | -12% |
| Q2 2026 | $430.4M | +7.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $425.7M | +7.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $481.6M | +6.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $482.4M | +6.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $401.3M | +7.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $394.6M | +25% |
| Q4 2024 | $453M | -4.9% |
ACIW's revenue has held roughly level: $427M last quarter, down 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | -14 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | -1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | -4.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | -0.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7% | -5.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | +12 points |
| Q4 2024 | 27% | -9.2 points |
ACIW's operating margin was 12% last quarter, down 14 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MSFT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.3B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $90B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $82.9B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $77.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $76.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $70.1B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6B | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over ACIW on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 47% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 49% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.9 points |
MSFT has the edge over ACIW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ACIW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $116.3M | +67% |
| Q2 2026 | $63.9M | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $61.2M | -19% |
| Q4 2025 | $116.6M | -2.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $69.6M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.6M | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $76.1M | -37% |
| Q4 2024 | $119.5M | +41% |
ACIW has the edge over MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSFT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.6B | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.6B | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.8B | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.9B | -9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.7B | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3B | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.5B | -29% |
MSFT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% from the year before.
ACIW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -360K shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -2.6M shares |
| 3 years | -7% | -7.6M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -17.2M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -17.3M shares |
ACIW has the edge over MSFT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50M |
| Q2 2026 | $41.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $65.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $52.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $16.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $119.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $14.4M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
ACIW spent $209M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 40% from the year before.
MSFT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -121M shares |
| Available history | -3.2% | -245M shares |
MSFT has 7.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
MSFT spent $21B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.2% from the year before.
ACIW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.7x | Healthy |
ACIW's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over ACIW on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ACIW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 77.4 | Neutral |
ACIW's weekly RSI is 70 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 77 (neutral).
MSFT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
MSFT's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
ACIW PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ACIW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 38x | 28x | 37% above |
| PE % | 65 | 35 | 30 pts above |
ACIW is trading at 38x earnings, a 37% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT has the edge over ACIW on valuation relative to its sector.
ACIW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $54.6 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $54.4 | 13% above |
| 50 week MA | $47.9 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $48.7 | 26% above |
| 200 week MA | $40.8 | 50% above |
ACIW has the edge over MSFT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MSFT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $524.7 | 0.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $484.8 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $446.9 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $453.8 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $411.5 | 27% above |
MSFT's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 27% above its 200-week average.
ACIW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $37.7 | $38.5 | +2.1% |
| 2021 | $38.5 | $34.9 | -9.4% |
| 2022 | $34.9 | $22.0 | -37% |
| 2023 | $22.0 | $30.6 | +39% |
| 2024 | $30.6 | $51.9 | +70% |
| 2025 | $51.9 | $48.7 | -6.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $48.7 | $61.3 | +26% |
ACIW has the edge over MSFT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MSFT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $159.0 | $222.8 | +40% |
| 2021 | $222.8 | $334.7 | +50% |
| 2022 | $334.7 | $238.7 | -29% |
| 2023 | $238.7 | $376.0 | +58% |
| 2024 | $376.0 | $430.5 | +14% |
| 2025 | $430.5 | $487.7 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $487.7 | $523.0 | +7.2% |
MSFT has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 7.2% so far in 2026.