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Side-by-side financial comparison of ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. (ACIW) and Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($425.7M vs $305.9M, roughly 1.4× Strategic Education, Inc.). Strategic Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 10.7% vs 9.0%, a 1.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, ACI WORLDWIDE, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.9% vs 0.8%). Over the past eight quarters, ACI WORLDWIDE, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (6.8% CAGR vs -1.0%).
ACI Worldwide is a digital payments software company headquartered in Elkhorn, Nebraska, that processes billions of transactions daily equating to trillions of U.S. dollars for customers in 94 countries. Banks, financial institutions, merchants, billers, acquirers, issuers, and other third-party payment service providers use its intelligent solutions to deploy secure payment rails across all channels.
Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is an education services holding company and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit, online Capella University and Strayer University, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.
ACIW vs STRA — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $425.7M | $305.9M |
| Net Profit | $38.3M | $32.8M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 13.5% | 13.4% |
| Net Margin | 9.0% | 10.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 7.9% | 0.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | — | 10.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.37 | $1.48 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q1 26 | $425.7M | $305.9M | ||
| Q4 25 | $481.6M | $323.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $482.4M | $319.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $401.3M | $321.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $394.6M | $303.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $453.0M | $311.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $451.8M | $306.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $373.5M | $312.3M |
| Q1 26 | $38.3M | $32.8M | ||
| Q4 25 | $64.3M | $37.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $91.3M | $26.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $12.2M | $32.3M | ||
| Q1 25 | $58.9M | $29.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $98.6M | $25.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | $81.4M | $27.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $30.9M | $29.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 53.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 53.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 41.5% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 45.9% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 55.8% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 56.3% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 45.6% | — |
| Q1 26 | 13.5% | 13.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 22.6% | 16.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 26.5% | 11.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 8.7% | 14.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.8% | 13.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 27.0% | 11.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 27.1% | 11.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 14.4% | 13.4% |
| Q1 26 | 9.0% | 10.7% | ||
| Q4 25 | 13.4% | 11.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 18.9% | 8.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | 10.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.9% | 9.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 21.8% | 8.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 18.0% | 9.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Q1 26 | $0.37 | $1.48 | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.61 | $1.65 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.88 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.12 | $1.37 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.55 | $1.24 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.92 | $1.05 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.77 | $1.15 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.29 | $1.24 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $161.8M | $150.3M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $807.4M | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.5B | $1.6B |
| Total Assets | $3.1B | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.54× | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $161.8M | $150.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $196.5M | $148.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $199.3M | $172.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $189.7M | $164.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $230.1M | $182.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $216.4M | $184.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $177.9M | $222.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $157.0M | $256.2M |
| Q1 26 | $807.4M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $817.6M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $867.8M | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $898.0M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $845.9M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $924.6M | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $994.3M | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.0B | — |
| Q1 26 | $1.5B | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.5B | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.5B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.4B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.5B | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.4B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.3B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.2B | $1.7B |
| Q1 26 | $3.1B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.1B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.2B | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.1B | $2.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.2B | $2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.0B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.1B | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.4B | $2.2B |
| Q1 26 | 0.54× | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.54× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.59× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.64× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.57× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.65× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.75× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.82× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | $87.4M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $77.3M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 25.3% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | — |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | 2.66× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $173.9M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $87.4M | ||
| Q4 25 | $121.8M | $39.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $73.0M | $60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $49.8M | $31.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $78.2M | $67.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $126.5M | $15.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $54.0M | $51.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $55.0M | $24.3M |
| Q1 26 | — | $77.3M | ||
| Q4 25 | $116.6M | $27.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $69.6M | $49.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $47.6M | $20.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $76.1M | $57.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $119.5M | $4.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $50.5M | $42.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $53.3M | $13.6M |
| Q1 26 | — | 25.3% | ||
| Q4 25 | 24.2% | 8.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 14.4% | 15.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 11.9% | 6.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 19.3% | 18.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 26.4% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.2% | 13.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 14.3% | 4.3% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.1% | 3.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.7% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.5% | 3.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.5% | 3.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.8% | 3.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.5% | 3.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.66× | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.89× | 1.03× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.80× | 2.26× | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.08× | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.33× | 2.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.28× | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.66× | 1.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.78× | 0.81× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
ACIW
| Software as a service and platform as a service | $262.0M | 62% |
| License | $88.0M | 21% |
| Maintenance | $50.9M | 12% |
| Services | $24.8M | 6% |
STRA
| U.S. Higher Education | $212.6M | 69% |
| Australia/New Zealand | $51.8M | 17% |
| Education Technology Services | $41.5M | 14% |
