NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Key Points

• Q1 beat: NiCE reported non‑GAAP EPS of $2.64 versus $2.52 expected and revenue of $768.6M (+9.8% YoY), with cloud revenue up ~14.6% and AI ARR rising ~66%, driving record cloud ACV bookings and backlog growth.
• Guidance and near‑term pressure: Management raised FY2026 EPS guidance to $10.98–$11.18 but signaled variability — a wider cloud-growth range and a softer Q2 (roughly 5.5% YoY) after taking commercial concessions to secure long‑term AI commitments, creating short‑term ARR/NRR and margin timing risk.
• Market reaction and capital return: Shares fell about 22.5% on heavy volume despite strong cash generation (operating cash flow $179M, FCF $149M) and aggressive buybacks — $253M repurchased in Q1 plus a $600M repurchase authorization and a pledge to return >50% of FCF.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $768.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.94 million. NiCE had a net margin of 20.78% and a return on equity of 18.26%. NiCE's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. NiCE updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.980-11.180 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 2.600-2.700 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from NiCE's conference call:

• Q1 beat: NICE reported revenue of $769 million and non‑GAAP EPS of $2.64, both above guidance, with cloud revenue up 14.6% YoY and AI ARR growing 66% (now ~14% of cloud revenue) alongside record cloud ACV bookings and a 24%–27% cloud backlog increase.
• Cognigy integration ahead of schedule: Cognigy is tightly integrated into CXone enabling Automated Insights and production‑grade agentic AI, driving AI backlog growth of 78% YoY and large enterprise wins (e.g., Openreach and Lufthansa) with demonstrable cost and CX improvements.
• Guidance variability and near‑term revenue phasing — NICE widened its cloud range (13%–15%) and guided a softer Q2 (about 5.5% YoY) after taking deliberate commercial concessions (renewal pricing/term actions) to lock long‑term AI commitments, creating short‑term ARR/NRR pressure and timing volatility.
• Strong cash generation and capital return — operating cash flow of $179 million, free cash flow of $149 million, a record $253 million of share repurchases in Q1 (3.5% of market cap) with $745 million remaining authorization, and a commitment to repurchase >50% of FCF.

NiCE Stock Down 22.5%

Shares of NiCE stock traded down $28.16 on Wednesday, hitting $96.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,746,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,648. NiCE has a one year low of $94.65 and a one year high of $180.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $111.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.79.

Institutional Trading of NiCE

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NICE. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in NiCE in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in NiCE during the second quarter valued at $65,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in NiCE by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 845 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in NiCE during the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in NiCE by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.34% of the company's stock.

NiCE declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

NiCE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NiCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and cloud strength: NICE reported Q1 revenue of $768.6M (+9.8% YoY) and EPS that beat consensus; cloud revenue grew ~14.6%, showing continued demand for cloud CX products. NiCE Q1 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Raised full‑year EPS view: NICE raised FY2026 non‑GAAP EPS guidance above consensus (10.98–11.18), signaling management’s confidence in full‑year profitability despite near‑term pressure. Earnings release & guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and materials available: Management discussed drivers, integration costs and margin trajectory on the Q1 call — the transcript and slide deck provide detail for modeling near‑term expenses. Q1 2026 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst/institutional backdrop: Analysts still show predominantly positive ratings and varied price targets; recent 13F/hedge‑fund moves are mixed, so analyst views may provide support but aren’t unanimous. QuiverQuant roundup
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and weaker GAAP results: Both GAAP and non‑GAAP margins declined YoY; GAAP net income and GAAP EPS fell materially (affected by amortization and other items), flagging near‑term profitability headwinds. Margin pressure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 revenue guidance below consensus: Q2 revenue guidance ($761M–$771M) was below street estimates while Q2 EPS guidance was slightly ahead — the revenue comparison and implied slowdown prompted concerns about growth momentum. Guidance details
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction focused on timing of margin recovery: Investors appear concerned that integration costs and investment for CX AI will delay margin recovery, making near‑term cash/earnings weaker even if long‑term opportunities remain. Investor reaction analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday selling and volume: Trading has been well above average, indicating active repositioning by investors reacting to the margin/guidance mix. Market coverage summary

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of NiCE in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of NiCE in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of NiCE from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of NiCE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $184.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.17.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.