NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The technology company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $768.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.94 million. NiCE had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 20.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter 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 Trading Down 22.5%

NASDAQ:NICE traded down $28.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,746,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,648. NiCE has a 12-month low of $94.65 and a 12-month high of $180.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $111.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82.

Trending Headlines about NiCE

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

NiCE declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of NiCE in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised NiCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of NiCE in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of NiCE in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered NiCE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiCE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in NiCE in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in NiCE in the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in NiCE by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 845 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in NiCE in the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in NiCE by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

NiCE Company Profile

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.